(^:> 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


THE    LIFE 

OF 

GEORGE  THE  FOURTH 


INCLUDING 


HIS  LETTERS  ^A^M^^WtjSriOI^S 


A  VIEW  OF  THE   MEN,  MANNERS,  AND  POLITICS  OF 
HIS  REIGN 


BY 
PERCY   FITZGERALD,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 


ILLUSTRATED 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 
;gAUFOg^ 

NEW  YORK 
HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE 

1881 
{Stereotyped  and  Printed  by  S.  W,  Green's  Son) 


namfm 


r3^ 


TO   LOKD   HOUGMITON. 

Dear  Lord  Houghton:  One  of  the  pleasures  associated  with  the 
conclusion  of  this  labor  of  many  years,  is  that  of  inscribing  the  fol- 
lowing pages  to  you,  by  whose  kind  suggestions  they  have  materially 
benefitted.     Believe  me,  always  sincerely  yours, 

Fane  Valley.  PERCY  FITZGERALD. 


312171 


BOOK  I. 

PBINCB  OF  WALES— \m%-i9n. 


or  THC 
Of 


THE 

LIFE   OF   GEOEGE   IV. 


CHAPTER  I. 

1762. 


From  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  August  12th,  1762,  crowds  had 
been  assembled  round  St.  James's  Palace,  waiting  the  news  of  the 
birth  of  a  royal  child,  which  was  hourly  expected.  Inside  the 
palace  were  gathered  all  the  great  officers  of  state  who  had  been  in 
attendance  all  the  night,  with  the  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales,  the 
Dukes  of  Devonshire  and  Rutland,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  other  distinguished  personages.  Dr.  Hunter,  the  great  sur- 
geon, was  "in  attendance,"  but  only  in  reserve  in  case  of  emergen- 
cy, for  the  Queen  had  prejudices  against  calling  in  the  assistance 
of  the  accoucheur;  and  the  office  of  assisting  her  Majesty  through 
the  crisis  was  delegated  to  a  simple  midwife.*  Twenty-four  min- 
utes past  seven  o'clock  was  the  exact  moment  that  ushered  the 
future  prince,  prince  regent,  and  king  into  this  world.  At  thirteen 
minutes  past  three  o'clock,  on  a  Saturday  morning  in  June,  sixty- 
seven  years  later,  this  new-born  babe  was  to  depart  from  it.  The 
contrast  between  the  joyful  acclamations  and  the  splendid  retinue 
which  welcomed  his  birth,  and  the  desertion  and  indifference  which 
attended  his  death,  was  significant,  and  worthy  of  the  study  of 
princes.  One  companion  of  his  pleasures,  and  a  few  doctors  and 
servants,  were  all  who  witnessed  that  scene;  while  outside,  the  feel- 
ing was  about  that  of  relief  and  satisfaction.  He,  however,  was 
now  a  smiling  infant  in  Mrs.  Draper's  arms.  No  one  could  forecast 
the  life  that  was  in  store  for  it,  and  there  was  universal  joy  at  the 


*  Mrs.  Stephens.    Huish,  "  Memoirs  of  George  IV.,"  i.  8.   Mrs.  Draper  is  men- 
tioned in  the  publication,  but  she  was  the  Pziuce  of  Wales's  nurse. 

1* 


10  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

birth  of  an  heir  to  the  Crown.  The  young  king,  in  his  satisfaction, 
presented  the  messenger  that  brought  the  good  news  with  a  "grati- 
fication "  of  five  hundred  pounds,  and  was  presently  drawn  to  the 
window  of  his  palace  to  witness  an  omen  of  excellent  augury.  The 
Park  guns  were  still  firing,  when  loud  rumbling  announced  the 
passage  of  a  train  of  tumbrels  known  to  contain  the  treasure  cap- 
tured from  a  Spanish  galleon — a  prize  of  enormous  value,  now  on 
its  way  to  the  Tower.  Twenty  wagons  descended  St.  James's 
Street,  and  passed  before  the  King  and  Court.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, then,  came  into  the  world  the  future  George  lY.,  the 
Prince Kegent,  and  "first  gentleman  of  Europe." 

Not  until  August  17th,  the  royal  infant,  who  was  born  Electoral 
Prince  of  Brunswick-Lunenburg,  Duke  of  Cornwall  and  Rothesay, 
Earl  of  Carrick,  Baron  of  Renfrew,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  and  Great 
Steward  of  Scotland,  was  created  Prince  of  Wales  and  Earl  of 
Chester  by  patent.* 

The  royal  pair  were  anxious  to  encourage  access  of  all  comers  to 
the  new  hope  of  the  kingdom.  Before  the  infant  was  a  fortnight 
old,  public  notice  was  given  that  all  who  desired  it  might  visit  St. 
James's  Palace,  "on  drawing-room  days,"  between  one  and  three 
o'clock,  an  offer  of  which  abundant  advantage  was  taken.  The 
crowd  of  ladies  thus  tempted  to  flock  to  the  Court,  to  see  the  child 
and  taste  her  Majesty's  caudle  and  cake,  soon  became  enormous, 
the  daily  expense  for  cake  alone  being  estimated  at  forty  pounds, 
while  the  consumption  of  wine  was  "greater  than  could  have  been 
expected."! 

The  christening  took  place  on  September  8th,  in  the  great  coun- 
cil-chamber of  the  palace,  and  was  performed  by  Seeker,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury — "that  right  reverend  midwife,"  as  Mr.  "VVal- 
pole  styled  him,  in  allusion  to  his  presence  at  the  Queen's  accouche- 
ment.    The  names  chosen  were  George  Augustus  Frederick,  and 


*  Thus,  for  this  most  familiar  of  his  designations,  the  heir-apparent  is  in- 
debted to  the  favor  of  the  Crown.  His  inherited  honors  give  him  no  liigher 
dignity  than  a  dukedom.  It  was  noted  that  George  IV.  held  no  Irisli  dignity, 
but  the  present  Prince  of  Wales  was  created  Earl  of  Dublin  when  nine  years 
old— a  dignity  which  is  to  be  enjoyed  by  him  and  his  heirs  forever. 

t  Many  stories  were  told  of  the  free-and-easy  behavior  of  the  eager  throng. 
Two  Jewish  ladies  sent  their  footman  to  the  palace,  "  to  know  how  the  Queen 
did?"  and  were  told  by  Lady  Northampton  that  they  should  have  come  in 
person.  "That's  good!"  said  the  fellow,  "why  she  lies  in  herself;"  if  she 
had  not,  I  suppose  she  would  have  expected  the  Queen  to  send  to  her.— Wal- 
pole  "  Letters"  (Cunningham),  iii.  18. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  H 

the  godfathers  were  the  Dukes  of  Cumberland  and  Mecklenburgh- 
Strelitz — the  latter  represented  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire — the 
Princess  of  Wales  being  godmother.  At  this  ceremony,  which  was 
held  at  night,  there  was  shown  the  same  eagerness  to  gratify  the 
loyal  aspirations  of  the  crowd.  All  who  came  were  admitted;  but 
this,  fortunately,  had  not  got  abroad,  so  but  few  used  the  privilege, 
and  not  more  than  half-a-dozen  ladies  of  title  attended.  But,  in 
spite  of  all  these  efforts,  the  royal  pair  were  not  popular,  and  when 
the  Queen  showed  herself  in  public  at  an  installation,  there  was  an 
outcry  against  '  •  the  indelicacy  of  so  early  an  appearance, "  and  the 
matter  was  warmly  controverted.  Her  friends  had  to  defend  her 
on  the  ground  of  her  German  training  and  habits.* 

The  usual  addresses  and  loyal  demonstrations  were  offered  by 
the  Parliament,  universities,  and  the  leading  cities  of  the  kingdom. 
Later  on,  fresh  offence,  however,  was  given  when  it  was  known 
that  the  royal  child  was  to  be  submitted  to  inoculation,  then  a  nov- 
elty, and  the  preachers  protested  that  it  was  interfering  with  the 
order  of  Providence.  The  King  and  Queen,  however,  were  firm, 
and  had  the  courage  to  adopt  the  new  preservative  in  the  case  of  all 
their  children.  Lady  Charlotte  Finch  was  appointed  governess,  and 
Mrs.  Henrietta  Coulsworth  deputy  governess,  f 

From  his  birth  set  in  that  long  series  of  portraits  in  which  the 
figure  and  features  of  the  young  prince  and  maturer  regent  were 
being  portrayed  on  the  canvas.  No  one  was  painted  so  frequently. 
We  are  told  that  "  soon  after  his  birth  the  Queen  had  a  whole-length 
portrait  modelled  in  wax.  He  was  represented  naked.  The  figure 
was  half  a  span  long,  lying  upon  a  crimson  cushion,  and  it  was 
covered  by  a  bell-glass.     Her  Majesty  had  it  constantly  on  her  toilet 


*  A  preacher  of  note— Mr.  Simpson— inveighed  from  the  pulpit  against  this 
"  indelicacy;"  and  a  Dr.  Vandegucht,  a  Dutch  clergyman,  who  defended  the 
Queen,  was  roughly  handled  by  the  mob.— Huish,  i.  9. 

t  The  two  selected  nurses,  "  wet  and  dry,"  it  was  solemnly  announced,  were 
Mrs.  Scott  and  Mrs.  Chapman;  the  "necessary  woman"  was  Mrs.  Dodson, 
and  the  two  "  rockers  "  were  Jane  Simpson  and  Catherine  Johnson.  The 
person  who  had  enjoyed  the  honor  of  suckling  the  Prince  was  a  lady— Mrs. 
Scott,  of  Scottshall— of  an  old  Scotch  family  but  much  reduced,  and  to  whom 
the  office  was  very  welcome.  "  She  is  much  liked  by  our  King  and  royal 
family,"  wrote  Mrs.  Montagu,  who  looked  to  the  children  obtaining  little 
places  in  the  household;  "  and  I  hope  the  scheme,  which  I  have  forwarded  to 
the  utmost  of  my  power,  will  save  an  ancient,  honorable  family  from  ruin. 
Her  royal  nursling  is  as  fine  and  healthy  a  child  as  can  be."— Dr.  Doran,  "  A 
Lady  of  the  Last  Century,"  p.  131. 


12  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

at  Buckingham  House.  At  the  decease  of  her  Majesty  it  was  ex- 
hibited ;  the  likeness  was  still  palpable,  though  the  original  had  out- 
lived the  date  of  the  fairy  model  more  than  half  a  century.  Few 
years  passed,  it  is  believed,  without  her  Majesty  having  his  portrait 
either  in  miniature,  enamel,  silhouette,  modelled  in  marble  or  wax, 
or  in  some  other  style  of  art.  One  of  the  latest,  if  not  the  very  last, 
was  a  miniature  head  of  his  royal  highness,  enamelled  by  Mr.  Bone, 
which  he  had  the  honor  of  placing  in  her  Majesty's  hands  at  Wind- 
sor the  year  before  her  death."*  Another  picture  of  the  young 
prince  was  painted  about  this  time  by  Cotes.  It  represented  him  in 
his  mother's  arms;  a  rather  large-faced  child,  a  singular  anticipation 
of  the  features  of  his  future  child,  the  Princess  Charlotte.  The  hand 
of  the  Queen  is  raised  as  if  to  enjoin  quiet  and  silence.  This  was 
always  a  favorite  with  the  King,  as  representing  the  two  persons  to 
whom  he  was  moct  attached. 

Evidence  of  his  promising  condition  was  soon  given  when  a 
deputation  from  a  society  styled  the  Ancient  Britons  presented 
him  with  an  address.  It  seems  scarcely  credible  that  an  infant, 
not  three  years  old,  should  have  to  acknowledge  such  a  compli- 
ment either  vicariously  or  otherwise,  but  he  was  said  to  have  done 
so  in  a  set  speech:  "  I  thank  you  for  this  mark  of  your  duty  to  the 
King,  and  wish  prosperity  to  the  charity."  These  words,  we  are 
told,  were,  according  to  the  delighted  courtiers,  delivered  with  sin- 
gular propriety,  and  a  grace  that  even  then  almost  warranted  the 
adoption  of  his  well-known  sobriquet.^ 

In  the  following  year,  on  August  16th,  a  second  son  was  born — 
the  Duke  of  York,  whose  christening,  fourteen  months  after  his 
birth,  was  attended  by  some  curious  ceremonies.  Within  seven 
months  the  King  had  appointed  the  infant  to  be  Bishop  of  Osua- 
burg,  a  promotion  that  caused  some  scandal  as  well  as  much  angry 
contention  with  the  chapter  of  Cologne,  who  contended  that  the 
appointment  lay  with  them.  The  dispute  went  on  for  .some  years, 
until  it  was  compromised  through  the  mediation  of  the  great 
Frederick,  and  the  young  prince  was  allowed  to  bear  the  title  and 
revenues  of  his  office. t  The  first  formal  introduction  of  the  young 
children  to  the  public  was  on  the  occasion  of  a  drawing-room,  held 

♦Huish. 

t  He  was  "  tutored  "  In  the  speech  for  days  before.  But  the  Ancient  Britona 
were  told  that  they  would  not  be  received  again. 

X  One  loyal  writer,  Burgh,  actually  dedicated  a  work  "  To  the  Right  Rev- 
erend Father  In  God,"  of  three  years  old. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  13 

by  them  in  their  own  name  in  October,  1769.  The  Prince  of 
Wales,  we  are  told,  was  assisted  by  his  sister,  the  Princess  Royal, 
then  two  years  old.*  The  order  of  their  daily  life  and  the  arrange- 
ments for  their  education  were  creditable  to  the  good  sense  and 
care  of  the  royal  parents.  The  old  house  at  Kew,  which  had 
belonged  to  Secretary  Molyneux,  had  now  been  settled  on  the 
Queen,  and  was  called  the  Queen's  House,  later  to  be  the  scene  of 
many  painful  trials.  The  Bower  Lodge  and  the  houses  on  the  old 
Green  w^ere  given  up  to  the  children,!  who  did  not  reside  under  the 
same  roof  with  their  parents.  Their  day  was  after  this  pattern. 
If  they  had  become  a  little  indisposed,  the  King  was  afoot  at  live  in 
the  morning,  and,  going  down  to  their  house,  would  tap  at  their  doors 
and  inquire  how  they  had  rested.  At  eight  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
Prince  Frederick,  the  Princess  Royal,  and  the  princes  William 
and  Edward,  were  brought  from  their  several  apartments  on  the 
Green  at  Kew  to  the  Queen's  house  to  breakfast  with  their  parents. 
"At  nine  the  youngest  children  attended,  and  whilst  the  eldest 
were  closely  plying  their  tasks,  the  little  ones  with  their  nurses 
passed  the  morning  in  Richmond  Gardens.  The  King  and  Queen 
frequently  amused  themselves  with  sitting  in  the  room  while  the 
children  dined;  and  once  a  week,  accompanied  by  the  whole 
group  in  pairs,  they  made  a  tour  round  these  extensive  plantations. 
In  the  evening  it  was  the  custom  for  all  the  children  again  to  pay 
their  respects  at  the  Queen's  house  before  they  retired  to  rest;  and 


*  Some  ridicule  attended  this  proceeding,  which  was  borrowed  from  Ger- 
man etiquette,  and  caricatures  were  published  representing  the  children 
going  through  the  ceremonies  with  their  tops,  kites,  etc.  They  at  last  rebelled ; 
and  a  story  went  that  the  boys  had  refused  to  leave  their  cricket,  saying  the 
company  might  wait. 

tWhen   making   aiTangements,  the  careful  monarch  thus  wrote  to  his 

minister:  "  I  take  this  opportunity  of  enclosing  you  a  list  of  the  servants  that 

I  find  absolutely  necessary  to  place  about  my  third  and  fourth  sons."    He 

adds,  he  has  brought  the  expense  as  low  as  the  nature  of  the  thing  would 

admit. 

Precentors   '>^^-  ^e  Bude £350 

i-receptors  -j  j^^^  Mr.  Hooke 300 

Pages  of  the  )  Mannerlay  j  Each:  Salary,  £80  |  gr^ 

Backstairs  f  Miller  |  Morning,  20  j   '^^ 

Housekeeper 50  , 

For  keeping  three  hounds,  each  £20 60 

Porter 30 

Watchman 25 

Writing  Master 100 

£1115 


14  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

the  same  order  was  observed  through  each  succeeding  day,  with- 
out any  deviation,  while  at  that  place  of  residence.  On  Sunday 
every  member  of  the  family  of  a  proper  age  was  required  to  attend 
public  worship ;  and  in  the  evening  his  Majesty  himself  made  it  a 
rule  to  read  a  discourse  from  the  writings  of  some  of  our  best 
divines."* 

This  is  an  agreeable  family  picture,  though  the  impression  abroad 
was  that  the  discipline  was  far  too  severe.  The  Duke  of  Sussex, 
nearly  seventy  years  later,  complained  to  Dr.  Holland  of  the  too 
great  strictness  of  his  royal  father,  and  described  himself  as  being 
then  afflicted  with  an  asthmatic  breathing,  which  his  tutor  "re- 
quired him  to  stop;"  and  which,  after  various  rebukes  and  threats, 
ended  in  sound  flogging.  This,  he  added,  was  by  no  means  a  rare 
occurrence.  A  tutor  would  scarcely  have  ventured  to  have  thus 
indulged  his  temper  unless  he  felt  that  he  would  be  supported. f 

The  Duke  of  York  also  retailed  painful  impressions  of  this 
period,  describing  how  the  tutor  would  hit  them  with  his  pencil  on 
the  head  if  they  were  inattentive.:): 


*  Watkins,  "Mem.  Duke  of  York,'"  p.  28. 

t  Ticknor's  "  Life,"  ii.  152. 

t  In  what  kind  of  family  circle  the  children  were  reared  may  be  conceived 
from  the  training  their  mother  had  to  pass  through.  "  Except  the  Ladies  of 
the  Bedchamber,"  says  Mrs.  Harcourt,  in  her  Diary  (pp.  45,  4C),  printed  by 
Mr.  Locker,  "for  %  an  hour  in  a  week  in  a  funeral  circle,  or  a  ceremonious 
drawing  Rm  she  never  had  a  soul  to  speak  to  but  the  King.  That  this  con- 
tinued till  her  first  child  the  P.  of  Wales  was  bom,  that  then  the  nurse  &  his 
Governess  Lady  C.  Finch  coming  into  the  Room  was  a  little  treat,  but  that 
they  had  still  for  years  no  other  society  till  by  degrees  the  Ladies  of  the  Bed 
Chamber  came  more  frequently,  and  latterly  the  Society  for  various  reasons, 
the  Children  growing  up,  the  joumies  «S:c.  was  much  encreased.  .  .  .  Ex- 
pecting to  be  Queen  of  a  gay  Court,  finding  herself  confined  as  in  a  Convent, 
&  hardly  allowed  to  think  without  the  leave  of  her  husband  checked  her 
spirits,  made  her  fearful  &  cautious  to  an  extreme,  «S:  when  the  time  came 
that  amusements  were  allowed  her  her  mind  was  formed  to  a  difft  manner 
of  Ufe." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  15 


CHAPTER  II. 
1771—1776. 

This  early  stage,  however,  was  soon  passed.  In  the  year  1771, 
when  the  royal  child  was  nine  years  old,  it  was  considered  time 
that  a  scheme  for  his  education  should  be  formally  arranged.  The 
second  brother  was  to  receive  a  thoroughly  German  education.  A 
system  of  complete  and  careful  English  instruction  was  determined 
upon.  Accordingly,  in  February,  Dr.  Markham,  lately  Master  of 
Westminster  School,  and  now  Bishop  of  Chester,  was  appointed 
preceptor.  Dr.  Cyril  Jackson,  sub-preceptor,  while  Lord  Holder- 
nesse  became  governor.  The  latter  was  the  real  director  of  the 
children,  and  was  to  look  after  their  conduct  generally.  For  the 
post  of  sub-governor — a  highly  important  office — there  were  many 
candidates. 

Among  the  candidates  for  this  office  were  two  clergymen  of  a 
doubtful  notoriety.  One  was  Kidgell,  who  had  done  dirty  work 
for  Lord  Sandwich,  and  had  been  a  sort  of  bludgeon-man  on  the 
press.  He  had  contrived  to  get  permission  to  dedicate  some  fables 
to  the  young  princes;  but  when  the  King  read  the  book  he  was  so 
disgusted  at  the  mixture  of  levity  and  gross  flattery  that  he  was  at 
the  expense  of  buying  up  the  whole  impression.  The  other  clergy- 
man, who  had  greatly  attracted  the  Queen,  was  the  unfortunate 
Dr.  Dodd.  She  was  in  his  favor,  but  the  King  positively  declined, 
not  relishing  the  style  and  manner  of  the  candidate. 

But  the  person  chosen  was  Mr.  Smelt,  a  well-known  figure  in 
Madame  D'Arblay's  memoirs;  a  man  of  signal  uprightness  and 
virtue,  but  "a  violent  revolution  whig."  As  assistant  tutors. 
Lord  Holdernesse  selected  two  foreign  refugee  Protestants,  Bud6 
and  Salzes,  the  latter  a  Swiss  of  much  worth,  while  Dr.  Majendie, 
the  Queen's  reader,  attended  them  for  Latin  and  English.  The 
King  and  Queen  added  their  exertions;  the  former  being  considered 
to  read  with  propriety  and  grace,  while  the  Queen  imparted  instruc- 
tion in  French,  German,  and  even  English,  which  she  could 
scarcely  as  yet  have  been  very  familiar  with.        * 


16  THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV. 

The  sub-preceptor  gave  lessons,  while  the  bishop  supervised  and 
controlled  the  whole.  Markham  was  a  highly-successful  school- 
master, who  had  been  promoted  to  the  deanery  of  Christ  Church, 
and  afterwards,  as  was  becoming  a  prince's  instructor,  received  the 
rich  prize  of  the  archbishopric  of  York.  He  was  a  pert,  arrogant 
man,  by  Mr.  Walpole's  account,  and  owed  his  recommendation  to 
Lord  Mansfield.  Dr.  Jackson  was  a  person  of  a  rather  unique 
type,  having  refused  bishoprics  three  times.*  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  worthy  and  conscientious  man,  spoken  of  with  much 
respect  by  his  contemporaries.  Lord  Holdernesse,  Mr.  Walpole 
tells  us,  "owed  his  office  to  his  insignificance  and  his  wife,"  Miio, 
it  was  supposed,  prompted  her  husband  to  use  the  opportunities 
afforded  by  his  residence  at  the  Cinque  Ports  for  smuggling,  f  A 
board  composed  of  such  heterogeneous  elements  was  not  likely  to 
work  harmoniously,  and  almost  at  once  the  Court  was  agitated  by 
what  might  be  considered  a  scandal. 

It  became  known  that  the  governor  and  sub-preceptor  were  at 
open  war.  Late  in  1775,  the  former,  from  "a  violent  humor"  in 
his  face,  which  struck  in  upon  his  breast  and  affected  his  hearing, 
had  been  obliged  to  go  to  the  South  of  France.  On  his  return  he 
found  that  advantage  had  been  taken  of  his  absence  to  prejudice 
the  minds  of  his  pupils  against  him.  "They  had  treated  his 
authority  with  contempt,  and  often  ridiculed  him  to  his  face.":!: 
The  juvenile  Bishop  of  Osnaburg  "set  on"  his  elder  brother;  what 
he  was  to  do  very  often  later,  even  when  both  were  old  men.  The 
latter,  however,  was  always  showing  himself  self-willed  and  head- 
strong to  his  father  as  well  as  to  his  mother,  who  could  not  control 
him.  Lord  Holdernesse  accused  Jackson  of  setting  his  pupils 
against  him.  There  were  suspicions  that  the  bishop  was  at  the 
bottom  of  the  confusion,  while  Jackson  declared  the  governor  to 
be  "most  trifling  and  unfit  for  his  charge."  In  this  general 
wrangle  the  only  course  was  to  provide  a  new  set  of  instructors. 
The  King,  indeed,  wished  to  retain  Lord  Holdernesse;  but  the 
latter  declined  to  stay,  on  the  ground,  it  would  seem,  that  he  had 


*  Hurd,  his  successor  in  the  tutorship,  declined  the  primacy  of  Ireland,  as 
Jackson  was  said  to  have  done  that  of  England. 

t  It  was  stated  that  in  a  single  "  venture  "  she  introduced  one  hundred  and 
fourteen  dresses. 

t  "  Last  Journals"  of  Walpole,  11.  61,  which  see  also  for  an  account  of  the 
whole  incident.  ' 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  17 

lost  all  control  oyer  his  charge.  Smelt,  whose  character  Mrs. 
Delany  declared,  with  some  exaggeration,  "to  be  of  the  most  noble 
and  delicate  kind,  and  deserving  the  pen  of  a  Clarendon  to  do 
justice  to  it,"  followed  his  patron,  refusing  a  pension  from  the 
King.  De  Salzes,  the  refugee,  also  insisted  on  retiring,  significantly 
giving  as  a  reason  the  "ungovernable  temper  of  his  charge,  the 
Prince  of  Wales."* 

This  was  told  by  Lord  Holdernesse  himself  to  Lord  Hertford, 
who  reported  it  to  Walpole.  It  speaks  badly  for  the  system  that 
the  humors  of  a  headstrong  child  should  have  had  a  share  in  such 
changes. 

But  the  most  painful  part  of  this  transaction  was  this  early  antici- 
pation of  future  discord  between  the  King  and  Prince;  for  it  seems 
certain  that  between  the  boy  of  fourteen  and  his  father  there  was 
already  implanted  a  reciprocal  dislike;  and  Lord  Hertford  declared 
that  the  boy  stood  in  no  awe  of  either  his  father  or  his  mother. 
The  King  was  seriously  affected  by  this  discovery ;  and  it  was  noticed 
that  he  was  wasted  with  the  anxiety.  In  a  letter  to  Lord  North,  he 
says  it  had  made  him  forget  important  business.  It  will  be  seen 
from  the  following  how  harassed  he  was,  and  what  steps  he  took. 
The  passage  that  his  sons  "  would  secretly  feel  a  kind  of  victory,  if 
the  bishop  remained,"  is  significant. 

"My  dear  Lord"  (he  wrote  from  Kew,  on  May  27th,  1776),— 
".  .  .  .  I  mentioned  the  Lord[s]  Dartmouth,  Ashburnham,  and 
Bruce  as  the  only  persons  that  occurred  to  me  in  the  least  from 
their  characters,  as  fit  to  succeed  Lord  Holdernesse.  ...  I  also 
mentioned  that  from  principles  of  honor  I  could  not  press  Mr. 
Smelt  to  continue  Sub-Governor  with  any  other  Governor  than 
Lord  Holdernesse ;  that  Mr.  Jackson,  knowing  he  was  to  be  removed 
prior  to  my  receiving  any  intimation  of  Lord  Holdernesse's  inten- 
tions to  retire,  the  Bishop  of  Chester  was  the  only  one  of  the  estab- 
lishment concerning  whom  it  was  necessaiy  for  me  to  take  any 
decision;  that  on  principle  I  think  the  Governor  is  my  representa- 
tive, and  as  such  no  one  about  them  must  have  more  hold  on  them 
than  him,  therefore  that  on  the  new  appointment  of  a  Governor  I 
must  produce  a  new  preceptor:  when  to  this  is  added  the  want  of 
regard  of  my  sons  to  Lord  Holdernesse  has  made  him  resign,  though 
he  will  put  it  on  his  health,  they  would  secretly  feel  a  kind  of  vic- 


*  "  Last  Journals  "  of  Walpole,  ii.  53. 


18  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

tory  if  the  Bishop  remained :  I  therefore  yesterday  took  the  painful 
task  of  sending  for  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  and  with  kindness  and 
frankness  told  him  that,  as  Lord  Holdernesse  meant  to  retire,  I  should 
at  the  same  time  appoint  a  new  preceptor.  ...  On  Thursday  I 
saw  Lord  Bruce,  and  used  every  argument  to  compell  him  to  step 
forth  to  my  assistance.  ...  On  Saturday  he  wished  to  decline, 
but  after  a  very  full  conversation,  seeing  my  distress  of  mind,  he 
very  handsomely  consented  to  accept,  provided  the  Bishop  of 
Litchfield  came  to  his  assistance.  He  has  by  my  direction  spoke 
this  morning  to  that  Bishop,  and  on  Wednesday  I  hope  to  be  able 
to  say  to  you  that  I  have  secured  those  two,  which  will  restore  my 
mind  to  a  state  of  ease,  which  you  cannot  think  a  tender  father  can 
possess  unless  satisfied  of  the  moral  principles  of  men  to  whose 
care  he  intrusts  his  children." 

In  another  letter  he  writes: 

"  Lord  North, — The  letter  I  received  this  day  from  you,  in 
answer  to  mine  of  yesterday,  is  the  most  ample  proof  of  your  affec- 
tionate feeling  for  me.  The  Bishop  of  Litchfield  has  with  great 
modesty  and  propriety  agreed  to  come  as  preceptor  to  my  children. 
I  shall  therefore  direct  Lord  Bruce  and  him  to  come  and  kiss  hands 
at  the  levee  on  Friday." 

For  sub-governor  the  King  found  "a  highly  proper  person  "  in 
Colonel  Hotham.  The  new  preceptor  owed  his  post  directly  to 
Lord  Mansfield,  who  brought  under  the  King's  notice  some  "  Dia- 
logues on  the  British  Constitution."  He  brought  with  him  his  own 
chaplain,  Dr.  Arnald,  as  sub-preceptor;  a  man  of  much  reputation 
at  the  university,  and  "  whose  mildness,  morals,  and  cheerfulness," 
according  to  the  King,  were  as  conspicuous  as  his  talents.* 

Hurd  recommended  himself  much  at  Court,  and  the  King  always 
displayed  a  particular  affection  to  him,  writing  to  him  in  the 
warmest  terms,  and  when  invasion  was  apprehended  selected  his 
palace  as  the  place  he  was  to  retire  to.  He  was,  no  doubt,  an 
excellent  man,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  disliked  by  his  royal  pupils, 
by  whom  Markham  was  preferred,  is  scarcely  to  his  discredit. 
Years  after,  at  a  great  dinner  given  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  in  St. 


*  Letter  to  Lord  North,  II,  33,  But  about  1782  his  wits  became  unsettled,  and 
his  delusions  seem  to  Imve  been  oddly  connected  with  preferment,  for  he  used 
to  wear  a  mitre  about  the  house. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  19 

James's  Square,  where  were  the  Prince,  Fox,  Sheridan,  Erskine, 
Dr.  Parr,  and  other  persons  of  note,  a  discussion  took  place  on  the 
comparative  merits  of  the  two  preceptors,  and  which  is  even  dra- 
matic in  its  illustration  of  the  character  of  the  Prince  and  of  the 
resohite  Parr. 

"  The  Archbishop  of  York,"  writes  one  who  took  down  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  scene  from  Parr's  own  lips,  then  in  a  declining  state  of 
health,  "being  alluded  to,  the  Prince  observed:  ' I  esteem Markham 
a  much  greater,  wiser,  and  more  learned  man  than  Hurd,  and  a 
better  teacher.  You  will  allow  me  to  be  a  judge,  as  they  were  botli 
my  preceptors.'  Said  Dr.  Parr:  *Is  it  your  Royal  Highness's 
pleasure  that  I  should  enter  upon  the  topic  of  their  comparative 
merits  as  a  subject  of  discussion?  '  '  Yes,"  said  the  Prince.  '  Then, 
sir, '  said  Parr, '  I  totally  differ  from  your  Royal  Highness  in  opinion. ' 
*  As  I  knew  them  both  so  intimately,'  replied  the  Prince,  'you  will 
not  deny  that  I  had  the  power  of  more  accurately  appreciating 
their  respective  merits  than  you  can  have  had.'  The  Prince  then 
spoke  of  Markham's  natural  dignity  and  authority  as  compared 
with  Kurd's  smoothness  and  softness,  '  and,  with  proper  submission 
to  your  authority  on  such  a  subject,  his  experience  as  a  school- 
master and  his  better  scholarship.'  'Sir,'  said  Parr,  'your  Royal 
Highness  began  the  conversation,  and  if  you  permit  it  to  go  on  must 
tolerate  a  very  different  inference.'  '  Go  on,'  said  the  Prince.  '  I 
declare  that  Markham  understands  Greek  better  than  Hurd,  for 
when  I  hesitated  Markham  immediately  explained  it,  and  then  he 
went  on,  but  when  I  hesitated  with  Hurd  he  always  referred  me  to 
the  dictionary;  I  conclude  he  therefore  wanted  to  be  informed  him- 
self.' 'Sir,'  replied  Parr,  '  I  venture  to  differ  from  your  Royal 
Highness's  conclusion.  I  am  myself  a  schoolmaster,  and  I  think 
that  Dr.  Hurd  pursued  the  right  method,  and  that  Dr.  Markham 
failed  in  his  duty.  Hurd  desired  your  Royal  Highness  to  find  the 
word,  not  because  he  did  not  know  it,  but  because  he  wished  you 
to  find  by  search  and  learn  it  thoroughly.'  '  Have  you  not  changed 
your  opinion  of  Hurd?  '  exclaimed  the  Prince.  '  I  have  read  a  work 
in  which  you  attacked  him  fiercely.'  *  Yes,  sir,  I  attacked  him  on 
•one  point  which  I  thought  important  to  letters,  and  I  summoned 
the  whole  force  of  my  mind  and  took  every  possible  pains  to  do  it 
well,  for  I  consider  Hurd  to  be  a  great  man.  .  .  .  There  is  no  com- 
parison between  Markham  and  Hurd  as  men  of  talent.  Markham 
was  a  pompous  schoolmaster;  Hurd  was  a  stiff,  cold,  but  correct 
gentleman.    Markham  was  at  the  head  of  a  good  school,  tutor  of  a 


20  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

good  college,  and  finally  became  an  archbishop ;  in  all  these  stations 
he  had  trumpeters  of  his  fame  who  called  him  great,  though  he 
published  one  "Concio"  only,  which  has  already  sunk  in  oblivion. 
From  a  farmhouse  and  village  school  Hurd  emerged,  the  friend  of 
Gray  and  a  circle  of  distinguished  men,  and  sent  from  the  obscurity 
of  a  country  village  a  book,  sir,  which  your  royal  father,  sir,  is 
said  to  have  declared  made  him  a  bishop.  And  perhaps,  sir,  a  por- 
tion  of  the  adroitness  and  power  you  have  manifested  in  this  debate 
might  have  been  owing  to  him.*  Fox,  when  the  Prince  was  gone, 
exclaimed  in  his  high  tone  of  voice:  'He  thought  he  had  caught 
you,  but  he  caught  a  Tartar.*  The  argument  was  maintained  with 
some  heat."* 

The  shallowness  of  the  Prince's  reasoning— which  bad  yet  a 
specious  air — may  be  contrasted  with  the  doctor's  intrepid  vindica- 
tion of  Hurd,  to  whom  he  bore  no  good-will ;  as  indeed  his  adver- 
sary, with  some  malice,  took  care  to  remind  him.f 

Though  the  new  preceptor  started  hopefully  on  his  course,  writ- 
ing to  his  friends  that  his  pupils  were  "extremely  promising,"  he 
was  not  long  in  forming  a  judgment  of  the  character  of  the  eldest. 
Indeed,  it  seems  that  the  Prince  exhibited,  at  this  early  age,  many  of 
those  ungracious  qualities  which  were  to  distinguish  him  when  he 
was  grown  up  j  and  his  new  master  augured  but  badly  of  his  future 
career.  To  his  cousin,  Mrs.  Parsons,  the  bishop  said  one  day  in 
reply  to  a  question  as  to  the  progress  of  his  pupil:  '*  My  dear,"  he 
replied,  laying  his  peculiarly  small  white  hand  upon  her  arm,  "I 
can  hardly  tell;  he  will  be  either  the  most  polished  gentleman  or 
the  most  accomplished  blackguard  in  Europe;  possibly  an  admix- 
ture of  both.":}: 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  event  of  his  childhood  was  the  meet- 
ing with  Dr.  Johnson,  who  met  witli  him  one  day  when  he  was 
reading  in  the  royal  library.  The  doctor,  who  spoke  to  him  some 
grave  words  of  encouragement,  had  thus  been  in  some  sort  of  com- 
munication with  five  sovereigns.  He  had  been  touched  for  the  evil 
by  Queen  Anne;  he  must  have  often  seen  the  first  and  second 


♦Parr,  "Life,"  1.322. 

t  In  testimony  of  his  regard  for  Markham,  he  included  his  portrait  in  the 
collection  he  had  made  of  his  friends'  portraits,  and  on  that  prelate's  death 
went  to  the  expense  of  having  it  engraved.— "  Memoirs  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,"  1808. 

X  Kilvert,  "  Life  of  Hurd,"  p.  378. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  21 

Georges  in  the  streets  of  London ;  with  the  third  and  fourth  he  had 
spoken. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  that  with  these  appoint- 
ments the  king's  troubles  were  only  to  recommence.  Lord  Bruce 
was  barely  established  in  his  place,  and  had  dined  once  with  his 
pupil,  when  he  abruptly  retired  to  the  country.  It  was  said,  indeed, 
that  he  left  it  to  the  Bishop  of  Litchfield  to  tell  the  King  that  he 
would  not  return.  The  cause  was  said  to  be  his  wife,  who  thought 
she  would  be  deprived  of  his  society.  The  poor  worried  King  thus 
unfolds  his  distress  to  his  counsellor: 

"Lord  North"  (he  wrote  on  June  2nd,  1776), — "I  thought  by 
the  step  I  had  taken  yesterday  that  my  distress  was  at  an  end;  but 
after  you  left  me  this  day  I  saw  the  Bishop  of  Litchfield,  who 
brought  me  the  melancholy  news  that  some  difficulties  from  Lady 
Bruce  had  so  agitated  her  husband  that  he  was  come  to  acquaint 
me  from  him  that  he  could  not  think  of  being  Governor  to  my 
children.  The  Bishop  broke  it  with  the  greatest  gentleness.  I 
instantly  sent  Lord  Ashburnham,  whose  secrecy  I  could  depend 
upon,  to  acquaint  the  D.  of  Montague  of  this  event,  and  to  desire 
the  Duke  to  come  to  me.  I  have  so  powerfully  shewn  that  my 
fresh  distress  arose  from  his  family,  that  I  have  persuaded  him  to 
supply  the  place  of  his  brother,  which  he  does  on  the  following 
conditions — not  to  be  appointed  until  Wednesday,  by  which  he 
avoids  appearing  on  the  birthday,  for  which  he  has  no  cloaths,  and 
that  Lord  Bruce  may  still  have  the  Earldom  of  Ailesbury." 

The  Duke  of  Montague  agreed  to  take  the  place  on  these  valuable 
considerations. 

In  connection  with  this  matter,  a  curious  scene  occurred  between 
the  King  and  the  Bishop,  which  is  reported  by  the  Duke  of  Leeds 
in  his  MS.  memoranda:  "The  King  sent  for  him,  and  told  him  that 
'he  had  determined  on  making  an  entirely  new  establishment.' 
The  other  seemed  surprised,  and  not  very  respectfully  said,  '  Has 
your  Majesty  consulted  Lord  Mansfield?'  The  King,  astonished 
at  so  strange  a  question,  replied  he  surely  was  master  to  appoint 
whom  he  pleased  to  overlook  the  education  of  his  children,  and 
repeated  his  determination.  The  Bishop,  from  the  imperious  tone 
with  which  he  had  just  addressed  his  sovereign,  now  changed  to 
the  most  abject  humility,  and  with  tears  begged  the  King  to  con- 
sider his  numerous  family.    His  Majesty  assured  him  it  should 


23  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

make  no  alteration  in  his  future  preferment.  The  Bishop  retired 
confused." 

Walpole,  however,  did  not  at  this  moment  know  of  the  story 
that  was  circulated  at  Lord  Bruce's  expense — viz.  that  his  lively 
pupil,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  had  maliciously  led  him  to  expose  his 
ignorance  in  Homer  and  Greek  generally.  The  Prince,  it  was 
added,  was  able  to  set  him  right  in  a  quotation,  as  well  as  to  point 
out  a  false  quantity.  This  was  questioned  by  the  tutor,  on  which 
the  pupil  appealed  to  better  authority,  and  it  was  decided  against 
Lord  Bruce,  who  was  much  laughed  at.     Such  was  the  story. 

The  new  governor  was  probably  indulgent  enough,  though  it  is 
difficult  to  arrive  at  a  true  estimate  of  his  disposition;  for  Mr. 
Walpole  tells  us  he  was  one  of  the  "weakest  and  most  ignorant 
men  living,"  while  Hurd's  obsequious  biographer  extols  him  as  a 
nobleman  of  singular  worth  and  virtue,  of  an  exemplary  life,  and 
of  the  best  principles  in  Church  and  State.  He  was  very  attentive 
to  his  charges,  and  executed  that  trust  with  great  propriety  and 
dignity.  The  preceptor  {i.e.,  Bishop  Hurd)  was  honored  with  his 
confidence,  and  there  never  was  the  least  misunderstanding  between 
them;*  this  last  reason  may  account  for  this  cordial  estimate. 

Under  this  new  direction  the  education  of  these  princes  was 
started  afresh.  They  were  now  removed  to  Kew  Palace,  and  were 
directly  under  the  eye  of  the  King  and  Queen.  A  course  of  study 
was  marked  out  for  them.  Eight  hours  a  day  were  given  to  classics 
and  languages.  Cicero's  Offices  was  a  favorite  work  of  study,  and 
there  was  an  attempt  at  carrying  out  a  sort  of  German  ideal  by 
instructing  the  youths  in  husbandry  and  such  matters.f 

We  are  told  that  a  spot  of  ground,  in  the  garden  at  Kew,  was  dug 
by  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  by  his  brother  the 


*Kilvert,p.  365. 

tin  the  British  Museum  is  to  be  seen  a  translation  made  by  the  Prince 
about  this  time,  of  which  the  following  is  a  specimen : 

"  As  soon  as  I  heard  your  daughter  Tullia  was  dead,  I  confess  I  was  ex- 
tremely concerned,  as  it  became  me  to  be  at  a  loss  which  I  regarded  as  com- 
mon to  us  both ;  and  if  I  had  been  with  you  I  should  not  have  been  wanting  to 
you,  but  should  have  openly  testified  the  bitterness  of  my  grief.  'Tis  true  this 
is  but  a  poor  and  miserable  consolation,  because  those  who  ought  to  admin, 
ister  it,  I  mean  our  nearest  friends  and  relations,  are  almost  equally  affected 
with  ourselves,  nor  can  they  attempt  it  without  shedding  many  a  tear,  so  that 
they  appear  more  to  be  in  want  of  comfort  themselves,  than  perform  that 
duty  toothers." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  23 

Duke  of  York,  who  sowed  it  with  wheat,  attended  the  growth  of 
their  little  crop,  weeded,  reaped,  and  harvested  it  solely  by  them- 
selves. "They  threshed  out  the  corn  and  separated  it  from  the 
chaff,  and  at  this  period  of  their  work  were  brought  to  reflect,  from 
their  own  experience,  on  the  various  labors  and  attentions  of  the 
husbandman  and  the  farmer.  The  Princes  not  only  raised  their 
own  crop,  but  they  also  ground  it,  and  having  parted  the  bran  from 
the  meal,  attended  to  the  whole  process  of  making  it  into  bread, 
which,  it  may  well  be  imagined,  was  eaten  with  no  slight  relish. 
The  King  and  Queen  partook  of  the  philosophical  repast,  and  beheld 
with  pleasure  the  very  amusements  of  their  children  rendered  the 
source  of  useful  knowledge." 

The  Prince's  instructor  in  the  graces  of  elocution  was  Mr.  Bartley, 
one  of  the  last  of  the  good  old  school  of  actors,  who  had  deserved 
Charles  Lamb's  praise.  His  drawing-master  was  a  Russian  named 
Cozens,  while  Angelo  taught  him  fencing.  Nothing,  indeed,  was 
more  remarkable  than  the  elegant  tastes  of  this  royal  family,  pursued 
with  thorough  conscientiousness;  and  it  was  no  doubt  owing  to  his 
being  brought  up  in  such  an  atmosphere  that  the  Prince  owed  his 
tone  of  connoisseurship.  The  number  of  masters  and  professors 
engaged  at  the  palace  was  considerable.  The  Queen  herself  took 
lessons  from  Gainsborough ;  the  King  himself  was  taught  architec- 
tural drawing  by  Sir  William  Chambers,  perspective  by  Kirby,  and 
grammar  by  Mrs.  Trimmer.  Quin  had  instructed  him  in  elocution, 
and  Denoger  was  the  drawing-master  for  the  princes.  The  Princess 
Elizabeth  published  a  folio  of  etchings ;  while  the  walls  of  Frogmore 
were  hung  with  her  pen-and-ink  drawings,  and  decorated  in  the 
"Asiatic  style,"  whatever  that  was  then  considered  to  be.  She  even 
tried  her  skill  at  mezzotint  engraving. 

Little  wine  was  allowed,  and  great  regularity  of  hours  was  insisted 
on.  This,  however  well-intentioned,  seemed  hardly  judicious,  and 
it  was  only  natural  to  suppose  that  the  Prince  should  look  eagerly  to 
the  time  when  he  should  be  emancipated.  The  preceptor  was,  of 
course,  entirely  on  the  side  of  the  patron  who  had  favored  him,  and 
is  described  as  "a  little  plausible  man,  affecting  a  singular  decorum 
that  endeared  him  highly  to  devout  old  ladies."  So  that  here  were 
severe  and  arbitrary  parents,  a  weak  preceptor,  and  "the  most  fool- 
ish man  in  England  "  as  governor — influences  not  likely  to  operate 
favorably  on  a  self-willed,  self-indulgent,  and  hot-tempered  youth. 
The  tutor  being  thus  engrossed  with  "curr3dng  favor"  with  the 
King,  the  pupil  was  left  to  the  company  of  servants  and  grooms. 


24  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV. 

The  ston'  went  that  the  King  did  all  he  could  to  protract  his  son's 
nonage,  and  keep  him  a  schoolboy.  He  was  made  to  wear  a  child's 
frilled  collar,  to  which  he  one  day  called  a  servant's  attention,  say 
ing:  "  See  how  they  treat  me!"  *  It  was  not  wonderful  that  he  took 
every  means  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  his  guardians.  The  worthy 
Mrs.  Chapone,  however,  gives  a  highly  favorable  picture  of  the 
interior  of  the  royal  family  circle.  This  occurred  in  the  year  1778- 
"Mr.  Buller,"  she  says,  "went  to  Windsor  on  Saturday;  saw  the 
King,  who  inquired  much  about  the  Bishop  [of  Winchester],  and 
hearing  that  he  would  be  eighty-two  next  Monday,  '  Then, '  said  the 
King,  '  I  will  go  and  wish  him  joy.'  *  And  I,'  said  the  Queen,  '  will 
go  too. '  Mr.  B.  then  dropt  a  hint  of  the  additional  pleasure  it  would 
give  the  Bishop  if  he  could  see  the  Princes.  '  That,'  said  the  King, 
'  requires  contrivance ;  but  if  I  can  manage  it,  we  will  all  go. '  On 
the  Monday  following,  the  royal  party,  consisting  of  their  Majesties, 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  Duke  of  York,  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  Princess 
Royal,  and  Princess  Augusta,  visited  the  Bishop.  The  King,"  con- 
tinues Mrs.  Chapone,  ' '  sent  the  Princes  to  pay  their  compliments  to 
Mrs.  Chapone;  himself,  he  said,  was  an  old  acquaintance.  Whilst  the 
Princes  were  speaking  to  me,  Mr.  Arnald,  sub-preceptor,  said,  '  These 
gentlemen  are  well  acquainted  with  a  certain  ode  prefixed  to  Mrs. 
Carter's  Epictetus,  if  you  know  anything  of  it.'  Afterguards  the 
King  came  and  spoke  to  us,  and  the  Queen  led  the  Princess  Royal 
to  me,  saying:  '  This  is  a  young  lady  who,  I  hope,  has  much  profited 
by  your  instructions.  She  has  read  them  ["Letters  on  the  Improve- 
ment of  the  Mind "]  more  than  once,  and  will  read  them  often;'  and 
the  Princess  assented  to  the  praise  which  followed  with  a  very  modest 
air.  I  was  pleased  with  all  the  Princes,  but  particularly  with  Prince 
William,  who  is  little  of  his  age,  but  so  sensible  and  engaging,  that 
he  won  the  Bishop's  heart,  to  whom  he  particularly  attached  himself, 
and  would  stay  with  him  while  all  the  rest  ran  about  ihc  house.  His 
conversation  was  surprisingly  manly  and  clever  for  his  age,  yet,  with 
the  young  BuUers,  he  was  quite  the  boy,  and  said  to  John  Buller,  l)y 
way  of  encouraging  him  to  talk,  'Come,  we  are  both  boys,  you 
know.'  All  of  them  showed  affectionate  respect  to  the  Bishop;  the 
Prince  of  Wales  pressed  his  hand  so  hard  that  he  hurt  it. " 

A  yet  more  pleasing  picture  of  the  simple  tastes  of  tliis  excellent 
King  and  his  Queen  was  the  mode  of  commemorating  the  birthday 
of  the  young  Prince  of  Wales.     In  these  happy  times  Windsor  and 


*Walpole,  *' Last  Journals,*'  i.  106. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  25 

Weymouth  were  favorite  places  of  mlleggiatura  for  the  royal 
family.  At  the  former  place  the  morning  was  ushered  in  so  early  as 
six  o'clock  by  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  a/ew  dejoie  was  fired.  Before 
nine  the  young  princes  arrived  from  Kew  to  wait  on  their  father, 
and  at  ten  a  procession  was  formed  of  all  the  royal  family  and  the 
attendants,  who  walked  in  state  to  the  church.  The  Prince  and  his 
six  brothers  walked  two  and  two,  sumptuously  arrayed  in  blue  and 
gold;  the  three  young  princesses  followed.  In  the  church,  all 
marched  up  to  the  table  and  made  their  offerings  of  gold  and  silver. 
On  their  return  a  procession  was  formed  again,  which  was  swelled 
by  the  canons  and  clergy,  who  attended  them  to  the  door  of  the 
palace.  Later  in  the  day  the  royal  children  appeared  on  the  terrace, 
where  they  were  greeted  with  a  salute  of  three  volleys  from  the  sol- 
diers ;  this  was  with  the  good-natured  purpose  of  showing  themselves 
to  the  loyal  Windsor  folks,  who  thronged  in  crowds  to  look  at  them. 
They  retired  to  dine,  and  at  half -past  six  the  Prince  and  his  brothers 
took  leave  of  their  father  and  returned  to  Kew.  So  simple  and 
innocent  a  mode  of  celebrating  a  birthday  might  seem  strange  and 
old-fashioned  in  our  time.  And  it  may  be  said  that  this  custom  of 
royal  personages  exhibiting  themselves  to  the  public  in  the  "walks 
at  Windsor,"  and  which  was  persevered  in  all  through  that  long  reign, 
would  seem  to  have  been  a  very  wise  and  laudable  one.  For  in  this 
fashion  was  loyalty  fostered.  But  this  patriarchal  system  was  not  to 
last  much  longer. 
3 


26  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  m. 

1779. 

The  Prince  op  Wales  was  now  approaching  his  nineteenth 
year,  when  he  was  to  become  legally  of  age,  as  heir  to  the  throne. 
Complaints  of  the  rigorous  system  of  discipline  began  to  be  heard. 
It  was  stated  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  appear  at  balls  until  the 
summer  of  the  year  1779,  and  then  only  because  the  Spanish 
minister  asked  it  as  a  favor.  He  himself  began  to  protest  loudly. 
"The  Prince  of  "Wales,"  so  ran  a  paragraph  in  one  of  the  papers, 
"  with  a  spirit  which  does  him  honor,  has  three  times  requested  a 
change  in  that  system.  Time  will  show  whether  ilia  junta  have 
laid  their  foundations  upon  a  rock  or  upon  sand."  He  had  already 
begged  to  have  a  commission  in  the  army,  and  to  be  allowed  to  go 
about  as  he  pleased,  like  other  young  men  of  the  day.  It  hap- 
pened at  this  time  that  the  King  was  busily  engaged  in  visiting  the 
forts  and  dockyards,  and  in  further  kindling  the  public  enthusiasm 
by  tours  of  inspection  and  reviews.  The  two  young  men  earnestly 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  attend  him  on  these  occasions.  Their 
request  was  refused,  but,  instead,  they  were  taken  out  to  Kew 
Gardens  to  receive  lessons  in  fortification  and  gunnery.  They  were 
also  allowed  to  shift  their  residence  occasionally  from  Windsor  to 
Kew.  This  pedantic  restraint  overshot  the  mark,  and  the  young 
princes  seized  eagerly  the  opportunity  of  their  father's  absence  to 
cultivate  an  intimacy  with  the  gay  nobles  of  the  day,  who  quickly 
instructed  them  as  to  how  they  were  to  break  loose  from  this  disa- 
greeable bondage.  These  lessons  they  almost  at  once  bettered,  as 
the  King  was  presently  to  learn,  and  within  a  few  months  the 
forebodings  of  the  worthy  bishop,  their  tutor,  were  to  be  realized. 

It  is  probable  that  if  sounder  instruction  had  been  given  he 
would  not  have  followed;  but  still  it  must  be  owned  that  the  stupid, 
odious,  German,  sergeant-system  of  discipline  that  had  been  so 
rigorously  applied  was,  in  fact,  responsible  for  the  b'emiphes  in  the 
young  prince's  character.  It  will  be  seen,  as  we  pur>uc  ihc  cnurso 
of  his  life,  that  an  indifference  to  truth  was  one  of  ihcse  blemishes; 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  27 

and  this,  as  may  be  conceived,  was  owing  to  childish  terror  of 
those  above  him.  There  are  two  simple  anecdotes  connected  witli 
this  matter  which  are  almost  convincing.  Lord  Essex,  riding  out 
with  the  King,  met  the  young  prince  arrayed  in  a  wig,  and  asked 
him  sharply  the  reason  of  his  wearing  it.  No  doubt  in  some  alarm, 
the  Prince  answered  hastily:  "  That  he  was  ordered  to  do  so  by  the 
doctor  as  he  was  subject  to  cold."  On  which  the  King  turned  to  his 
companion,  and  said:  "A  lie  is  ever  ready  when  it  is  wanted." 
This  shows  what  the  feeling  of  the  father  was,  and  how  little  he 
cared  to  show  his  respect  for  his  son.*  Many  years  after,  the  son, 
become  Prince  Regent,  consulted  Lady  Spencer  as  to  the  choice  of 
a  governess  for  his  daughter.  "Above  all,"  he  said,  "I  must 
teach  her  to  tell  the  truth."  Then  he  added  this  remarkable  decla- 
ration: "You  know  that  I  don't  speak  the  truth  and  my  brothers 
don't,  and  I  find  it  a  great  defect,  from  which  I  would  have  my 
daughter  free.  We  have  been  brought  up  badly,  the  queen  having 
taught  us  to  equivocate."  f  No  one  corroborated  this  candid  con- 
fession and  defect  so  heartily  as  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  again 
and  again  seems  to  declare  that  he  could  not  believe  a  word  the 
Prince  said.  Let  the  blame,  however,  or  an  important  share  of  it, 
be  placed  where  it  is  properly  due.  Yet  the  young  prince  was  good- 
natured  ;  and  had  he  been  properly  directed  might  have  turned  out 
more  creditably  than  he  did.  He  was  after  heard  to  say:  "  I  wish 
every  one  would  tell  me  what  I  ought  to  do;  nobody  gives  me  any 
instructions." 

It  is  melancholy,  too,  to  trace  another  result  of  this  system. 
Being  jealously  shut  up  in  the  palace,  and  deprived  of  rational 
amusements,  he  had  contracted  a  habit  of  private  drinking,  which 
told  upon  the  scrofulous  humors  which,  it  was  said,  the  Princess 
of  Wales  had  introduced  into  the  family,  and  which  now  broke  out 
all  over  his  face.  To  these  excesses  he  was  incited  by  his  wild, 
ever-favorite  brother,  the  youthful  bishop,  who  had  the  most  spirit, 
and  put  him  on  to  acting  with  spirit.  Unfortunately,  too,  at  this 
time,  the  King  was  harassed  by  the  insubordination  of  his  brothers; 
and,  in  the  dissensions  that  followed,  the  young  princes  found  them- 
selves encouraged  to  take  part  with  them.  The  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, a  man  of  depraved  character,  was  not  slow  to  profit  by  this 
spirit,  and  became  the  guide  and  prompter  of  his  nephews.     We 


*  McCullagh  Torrens's  "  Life  of  Lord  Melbourne,"  i.  156. 
tibid.  p.  157. 


28  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

find  the  young  prince  taking  sides  against  liis  father  in  some  of  the 
exciting  questions  of  the  hour,  such  as  the  Keppel-Palliser  episode 
— congratulating  Miss  Keppel  on  the  result,  and  "declaring  it  the 
happiest  event  he  had  ever  known  " — and  then  "  cutting  "  various 
persons  who  were  on  the  side  of  the  Court.  In  the  question  of  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester's  marriage,  he  vehemently  espoused  his  uncle's 
side,  assuring  him  "though  he  could  not  come  to  see  him  now 
without  the  King's  leave,  that  in  a  short  time  he  would  be  of  age, 
and  his  own  master.  That  now  he  would  give  out  that  he  intended 
to  visit  him."* 

All  this  was  as  unpromising  as  it  was  unbecoming.  But  the 
unlucky,  if  injudicious  father,  worried  by  brothers  and  sons,  was 
now  to  feel  shame  at  the  discovery  that  this  precocious  youth  had 
been  secretly  engaged  in  a  scandalous  intrigue  with  a  notorious 
personage,  Mrs.  Robinson.  This  lady  has  left  memoirs  and  poems, 
in  which  the  whole  transaction  is  set  out  at  length  in  a  romantic 
high-flown  strain;  but  in  which  the  prosaic  and  businesslike  issues 
to  which  she  conducted  it,  viz.  the  extorting  of  a  bond  for  twenty 
thousand  pounds,  is  lightly  touched  upon.  The  King  had  to  undergo 
the  humiliation  of  having  to  enter  into  a  transaction  with  this  person 
to  save  public  exposure. 

"I  am  sorry,"  he  wrote  on  August  28th,  1781,  "to  be  obliged  to 
open  a  subject  that  has  long  given  me  much  pain,  but  I  can  rather 
do  it  on  paper  than  in  conversation :  it  is  a  subject  of  which  I  know 
he  is  not  ignorant.  My  eldest  son  got  last  year  into  a  very  improper 
connection  with  an  actress  and  woman  of  indifferent  character 
through  the  friendly  assistance  of  Ld.  Maiden;  a  multitude  of 
letters  past,  which  she  has  threatened  to  publish  unless  he,  in  short, 
bought  them  of  her.  He  had  made  her  very  foolish  premisses  [sic], 
which,  undoubtedly,  by  her  conduct  to  him  she  entirely  cancelled. 
I  have  thought  it  right  to  authorize  the  getting  them  from  her,  and 
have  employed  Lieut. -Col.  Hotham,  on  whose  discression  \»ic]  1 
could  depend,  to  manage  this  business.  He  has  now  brought  it  to  a 
conclusion,  and  has  her  consent  to  get  these  letters  on  her  receiving 
£5000,  undoubtedly  an  enormous  sum ;  but  I  wish  to  get  my  son 
out  of  this  shameful  scrape.  I  desire  you  will  therefore  see  Lieut. - 
Col.  Hotham  and  settle  this  with  him.  I  am  happy  at  being  able 
to  say  that  I  never  was  personally  engaged  in  such  a  transaction, 
which  perhaps  makes  me  feel  this  the  stronger." 

♦  Walpole,  "  Last  Journals,"  p.  417. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  29 

Of  the  bond  engagement  the  King  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
aware,  fancying  all  was  arranged  when  the  letters  were  secured  at 
such  an  enormous  price.  Mr.  Fox,  at  this  time  one  of  the  most 
reckless  cf  the  London  roues  and  a  chosen  companion  of  the  Prince, 
undertook  the  arrangement  of  this  delicate  matter,  and  succeeded 
in  recovering  it  in  return  for  an  annuity  of  four  hundred  pounds. 
This  is  more  disastrous  record  than  the  career  of  this  hapless  crea- 
ture, who,  forsaken  and  paralyzed,  sank  into  misery  and  beggary, 
from  which  she  appealed  to  her  former  admirer. 

the  prince  of  wales  to  mrs.  robestson. 

"Dear  Mrs.  Robinson, 

"I  have  receiv'd  your  letter,  and  it  really  quite  overcomes 
me,  the  scene  of  distress  you  so  pathetically  paint.  I  will  certainly 
wait  upon  you,  but  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  late  before  I  can  come 
to  the  Ship,  as  I  have  company  with  me.  Should  it  be  within  the 
compass  of  my  means  to  rescue  you  from  the  abyss  you  apprehend 
that  is  before  you,  and  for  which  you  mention  Mr.  Brent,  I  need 
say  that  the  temptation  of  gratifying  others,  and  at  the  same  time 
and  by  the  same  means  making  one's  self  happy,  is  too  alluring  to 
be  neglected  a  single  moment ;  however,  you  must  allow  me  to  be 
thus  explicit  and  candid,  that  it  must  in  great  measure  depend 
upon  the  extent  of  what  will  be  necessary  to  be  done  for  your  ser- 
vice, and  how  far  my  funds  may  be  adequate,  as  well  as  my  power 
equal  to  attain  that  object.  In  the  meantime  only  rest  assured  of 
my  good  wishes  and  good  intentions, 

"I  am,  dear  Mrs.  Robinson,  very  sincerely  yours, 

"George.* 

"To  Mrs.  Robinson,  Ship  Inn,  Brighton." 

There  is  some  feeling  and  good-nature  in  this  reply,  which  is  at 
the  same  time  significant.  For  all  through  his  life  he  was  found 
ready  to  answer  an  immediate  and  instant  appeal  to  his  sympathy 
and  affection.  But  after  a  delay,  when  these  had  time  to  grow 
cold,  nothing  would  be  done.  Benevolence  on  such  principles  is 
simply  gratifying  an  appetite,  and  is  worthless. 

As  the  secluded  prince  was  presently  to  be  enlarged,  it  was 
natural  that  some  of  the  nobility  should  have  expressed  a  wish  that 

*  MS.  in  the  possession  of  Sholto  Hare,  Esq. 


30  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

he  should  visit  their  houses  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
thus  become  acquainted  with  his  future  associates.  Tlie  young 
man  eagerly  hailed  the  notion  of  what  was,  in  truth,  a  respectable 
and  sensible  mode  of  introduction;  but  the  King  refused  to  sanction 
the  proposal.  The  best  opinions  seem  to  point  to  the  Queen  as  the 
person  most  accountable  for  the  whole  course  of  treatment  adopted 
towards  the  Prince.* 


*  During  the  Gordon  Riots,  he  set  his  guardians  at  defiance,  and  hurried  up 
to  London  to  join  his  father,  attended  by  a  friend  and  a  servant. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  31 


CHAPTER  IV 


It  was  now  the  year  1780,  and  the  King  felt  that  he  could  no 
longer  refuse  his  eldest  son  his  freedom.  In  the  summer  it  was 
noted  as  significant  that  their  Majesties  had  drunk  tea  at  Carlton 
House,  and  it  was  assumed  that  this  mansion  was  to  be  got  ready 
for  the  Prince.  As  a  first  step,  however,  it  was  determined  to  send 
away  tlie  Prince  Frederick  (the  Bishop  of  Osnaburg)  to  the  Conti- 
nent, as  it  was  imagined  that  his  aid  and  advice  would  not  be  of 
advantage  to  the  Prince  of  Wales.  This  was  the  view  taken  by  the 
public  at  the  time.  The  Prince  was  really  distressed  at  losing  his 
companion,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  with  him.  The  scene 
of  the  parting  is  described  as  very  affecting,  "the  Prince  being  so 
moved  that  he  stood  in  a  state  of  entire  sensibility,  unable  to  speak, 
or  to  express  the  concern  by  which  he  was  agitated."  * 

The  establishment  now  set  on  foot  was  but  a  "bit  of  one,"  as 
Walpole  called  it,  for  the  Prince  was  to  be  kept  at  Buckingham 
House  still  under  the  royal  eye.  The  King's  letters  will  show  how 
anxiously  and  equitably  he  proceeded  to  arrange  this  important 
matter.  After  declaring  that  he  had  been  turning  to  his  own  old 
accounts,  he  says  that  he  "considered  that  in  addition  to  my  eldest 
son's  establishment  I  must  furnish  the  incidental  expenses  to  my 
second  son's  travelling  and  education,  and  the  taking  the  three  eld- 
est boys  now  in  the  nursery  and  placing  them  with  me:  tliis  I  felt 
would  require  much  deliberation,  the  result  of  which  I  will  now 
fully  state.     .     .     . 

"I  have,  therefore,  in  this  view  formed  an  honorable  establish- 
ment, and  given  my  son  for  Robes  and  Privy  Purse  the  exact  sum 
I  had.  His  stables  will  be  more  expensive  in  point  of  saddle-horses, 
I  keeping  at  that  time  but  four,  he  will  have  sixteen;  but  by 
appointing  a  Groom  of  the  Stolecnstead  of  a  Master  of  the  Horse,  a 

*  Lloyd,  "Life  of  George  IV.,"  p.  83. 


32  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

set  of  horses  and  two  footmen  are  diminished,  which  alone  attended 
that  officer  in  the  first  establishment  of  my  late  father.  As  my  son 
will  live  in  my  house,  he  cannot  have  any  occasion  for  those  ser- 
vants, necessary  only  if  he  kept  house.  .  .  .  The  difficulty  I 
find  of  having  persons  whose  private  conduct  I  think  may  with 
safety  be  placed  about  a  young  person  is  not  surprising,  as,  I  thank 
Heaven,  my  morals  and  course  of  life  have  but  little  resembled 
those  too  prevalent  in  the  present  age;  and  certainly,  of  all  objects 
in  this  life,  the  one  I  have  most  at  heart  is  to  form  my  cliildren  that 
they  may  be  useful  examples  and  worthy  of  immitation  [sic].  I 
shall  therefore  be  scrupulous  as  to  the  private  lives  of  those  I  place 
about  my  son,  though  in  other  cases  I  never  wish  to  be  informed, 
unless  of  those  great  enormities  that  must  make  every  man  of  prin- 
ciple shun  the  company  of  such  persons;  but  in  the  case  of  my 
children,  my  happiness,  as  well  as  the  good  of  the  public,  is  mate- 
rially concerned  in  this  investigation. 

"  Lord  North  seemed  to  insinuate  that,  if  the  whole  additional 
expense  of  my  children  did  not  exceed  £30,000,  he  thought  the 
money  could  be  found.  I  have  tried  to  keep  it  to  £20,000,  because 
from  the  very  numerous  familly  \sic\  I  have,  it  is  impossible  to  lodge 
them,  and  I  must  make  some  alterations  for  that  purpose  in  the 
wings  of  the  Queen's  House."* 

It  is  amusing  to  see  the  fixed  purpose  of  the  father  to  keep  his 
son  still  in  leading  strings  by  "serving  him  out  "  supplies  as  they 
were  wanted,  and  making  him  live  in  his  own  house.  The  young 
Prince,  of  course,  cordially  accepted  the  arrangement,  but  as  an 
instalment,  f 


♦The  reader  will  bear  this  in  mind  later  when  the  question  of  the  Prince's 
"  arrears  "  come  to  be  considered.  Here  we  find  the  King  declaring  that  the 
cost  for  all  his  children  would  not  exceed  the  sum  named. 

tThe  pnident  king  made  the  following  calculation  of  the  expenses  of  Prince 
Edward's  table  for  twelve  months: 

£     8.  d. 

Kitchen 1519    3    0 

Spicery 93  11    0 

Beer  and  ale 92    8    0 

Bread 107    4    1^ 

Dessert 357    0    0 

Wines 115  18    0 

Butter  and  cheese 37    6    0 

2322  10    lyi 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  33 

But  it  IS  curious  to  note  the  misgiving  the  King  entertained,  and 
the  rather  tortuous  mode  which  he  adopted  to  obtain  public 
approval.  "  Some  one,"  he  wrote  to  his  ministers  in  February, 
1781,  "of  the  P.  of  Wales's  family  may  be  authorized,  if  it  should 
in  the  debate  be  thought  right,  just  to  drop  that  he  is  satisfied  with 
the  arrangements  I  have  made  for  him;  for  it  would  be  highly 
indelicate  for  me  to  speak  to  my  son  on  the  subject;  indeed,  I  have 
done  for  him  all  that  could  in  reason  be  expected  from  me,  and  I 
have  already  grounds  to  judge  the  extraordinaries,  from  his  love  of 
expence,  will  be  great,  besides  some  other  calls  for  money  that  will 
come  from  that  quarter,  which  convinces  me  the  more  that  if  the 
allowance  had  been  greater  that  would  not  have  prevented  this 
other  article." 

Colonel  Hotham  was  to  be  Treasurer,  and  a  second  son  of  Lord 
Dartmouth,  who  was  to  be  Groom  of  the  Chamber,  had,  indeed,  the 
drawback  of  being  a  young  man,  but  the  King  waived  the  objection 
in  consequence  of  "the  known  piety  of  the  father."  There  was  a 
dulness  and  a  lack  of  knowledge  in  these  provisions  which  might 
make  us  augur  the  worst. 

Thus  appointed  and  thus  emancipated,  the  young  prince  was 
launched  upon  his  new  career.  We  shall  now  see  what  qualifi- 
cations he  was  fitted  with  on  entering  on  the  world  of  fashion,  and 
what  figure  he  presented  to  admiring  society,  eager  to  welcome 
him,  and  indulgently  condone  as  well  as  encourage  his  follies. 

On  New  Year's  Day,  1781,  the  Prince  appeared  at  Court,  enfran- 
chised, in  his  new  capacity,  attended  by  his  retinue.  He  received 
the  congratulations  of  all  the  nobility  and  foreign  ministers.  From 
the  pictures  of  him  at  this  time  by  Cosway  and  others,  he  appears 
as  a  good-looking  youth  of  a  highly  florid  tone,  made  more  con- 


£     s.     d. 

Carried  forward  from  page  32 2323  10    1% 

Supposing  H.  R.  H.  to  dine  at  home  every  day: 

In  these  twelve  months  H.  R.  H.  dined  at  Windsor  42 
days,  which  makes  a  deduction  of 267    3    0 

Total  expense  of  the  last  twelve  months £2055    7    1 J^ 

£5000  per  annum  for  my  dearly-beloved  son  P.  Frederick. 
2500  per  annum  for  my  dearly-beloved  sons  P.  William  and  P.  Edward. 
3500  per  annum  for  my  dearly -beloved  sons  P.  Ernest,  P.  Augustus,  and 
P.  Adolphus.  G.  R. 

The  Duke  of  Sussex  told  Mr.  Adolphus  that  till  he  was  twenty-one  his 
pocket-money  never  exceeded  a  guinea  a  week.  When  he  was  thirty  he  was 
allowed  £2000  a  year. 


OF 


') 


34  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY. 

spicuons  by  the  powder  he  wore  and  his  high  neckerchief.  His 
coat  was  of  piuk  silk,  with  white  cuffs;  his  waistcoat  of  white  silli, 
embroidered  with  various-colored  foil,  but  adorned  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  Frencli  paste;  and  his  hat  was  ornamented  with  two  rows 
of  steel  beads,  five  thousand  in  number,  with  a  button  and  loop  of  the 
same  metal,  and  cocked  in  the  new  military  stjie.  "  The  King  at 
the  same  time  commanded  all  the  domestics  of  his  kitchen  to  sub- 
mit their  heads  to  be  shaved,  and  wear  wigs,  on  pain  of  being  dis- 
charged; forty  complied  with  the  royal  mandate,  how  many  proved 
refractory  does  not  appear." 

"The  graces  of  his  person,"  says  one  of  his  admirers — Mrs. 
Robinson — "the  irresistible  sweetness  of  his  smile,  the  tender- 
ness of  his  melodious  yet  manly  voice,  will  be  remembered  by  me 
till  every  vision  of  this  changing  scene  are  forgotten.  The  polished 
and  fascinating  ingenuousness  of  his  manners  contributed  not  a 
little  to  enliven  our  promenade.  He  sang  with  exquisite  taste,  and 
the  tones  of  his  voice,  breaking  on  the  silence  of  the  night,  have 
often  appeared  to  my  entranced  senses  like  more  than  mortal 
melody."  He  was  free  and  "offhand  "  in  his  manners,  but  already 
had  acquired  the  coarse  language  which  w\as  in  vogue  among  the 
bloods  and  bucks  of  the  day.*  He  was  considered  to  be  a  young  man 
of  great  accomplishments  and  education,  and  when  he  chose  could 
assume  that  pleasant  graciousness  and  interest  in  the  person  he  was 
addressing  for  wliich  the  present  heir  to  the  crown  is  remarkable. 
He  could  speak  French,  Italian,  and  German  with  ease,  and  par- 
ticularly affected  a  knowledge  of  all  points  relating  to  art  and  the 
belles-lettres.  He  took  pleasure  in  coming  forward  as  arbiter  on  a 
question  of  a  disputed  quotation  or  classical  allusion.  For  music 
he  seems  to  have  had  a  genuine  relish,  and  he  could  sing  and  play 
respectably.  The  following  description  of  his  gifts  is  amusing,  as 
a  specimen  of  the  "valet"  style  of  panegyric,  which  admiration 
for  the  Prince  invariably  inspired. 

"  He  could  perform  on  the  violoncello,  having  been  instructed  by 
a  well-known  ])rofessor  named  Crossdill;  Parsons,  of  the  King's 
band,  taught  him  singing,  and  it  must  be  said  that  he  was  con- 
sidered to  have  a  good  voice,  and  could  take  his  part  in  a  glee  or 
catch. f    He  was  an  assiduous  patron  of  the  various  musical  socie- 

♦  Walpole,  *'  Last  Journals,"  ii.  458,  for  a  ppecimen. 

t  He  Is. the  reputed  author  of  the  second  verse  of  the  glee  of  "The  Happy 
Fellow,'  **  I'll  ne'er,"  etc.,  and  also  of  a  verse  in  the  song,  "  By  thegayly  circling 
glass,"  wnich  he  was  accustomed  to  slug  in  his  convivial  moments  with  great 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  35 

ties,  the  Concerts  of  Ancient  Music,  for  wliicli  he  selected  pieces, 
the  Philharmonic,  the  opera;  though  from  the  Ancient  Concerts  he 
withdrew,  owing  to  a  slight  shown  to  a  lady  in  whom  he  was  inter- 
ested." 

Unfortunately,  in  company  with  these  elegant  and  praiseworthy 
tastes  were  found  others  of  a  low  and  vulgar  description.  He  took 
delight  in  "rowdy  "  escapades  and  riotous  jests,  later  to  be  in  high 
fashion,  and  described  in  works  like  "Tom  and  Jerry"  and  "The 
Finish."  He  was  fond  of  Ranelagh  and  Vauxhall,  where  he  was 
often  engaged  in  scuffles  and  broils,  being  prudent  enough,  how- 
ever, to  retain  a  number  of  "bruisers"  to  attend  him,  and  rescue 
him  if  overpowered;  for  among  other  accomplishments  he  had 
been  instructed  by  Angelo  in  pugilism.  In  the  pleasures  of  the 
turf,  owing  to  the  strict  injunctions  of  the  King,  he  could  not  yet 
indulge  himself. 

Thus  equipped,  this  gay  young  prince  "came  upon  town,"  and,  it 
may  be  conceived,  stimulated  the  current  of  gayety  and  extrava- 
gance. Balls  and  masquerades  of  the  most  brilliant  kind  attended  his 
course.  His  wardrobe  alone  for  a  single  year  was  said  to  have  cost 
ten  thousand  pounds.  Under  his  direction,  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
masquerades  was  given  at  a  club  in  St.  James's  Street,  opened  by 
the  Prince  and  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire.  At  these  entertainments 
the  fairest  and  most  aristocratic  dames  were  not  ashamed  to  mix 
with  courtesans  who  enjoyed  the  royal  patronage;  indeed,  there 
was  a  general  obsequious  acceptance  of  public  scandal  which  now 
seems  incredible. 

This  new  and  riotous  mode,  as  may  be  conceived,  was  to  be  a 
source  of  fresh  trial  to  the  King,  and  widened  the  breach  between 
him  and  his  son.  The  hopeful  prince  showed  his  disrespect  and 
contempt  by  ignoring  the  officers  w^ho  had  been  so  recently  placed 
about  his  person,  studiously  affecting  never  to  address  them;  he 
looked  on  them  as  spies  set  to  watch  and  report  hirch     To  Lord 


effect.— Huish,  i.  46.  As  a  critic  he  could  not  rank  so  high,  to  take  as  a  speci- 
men his  comparison  of  Crossdill  and  Cervetto.  Speaking  of  the  performances 
of  these  eminent  men,  his  royal  highness  was  heard  to  say,  that  the  execu- 
tion of  Crossdill  had  all  the  fire  and  brilliancy  of  the  sun,  whilst  that  of  Cer- 
vetto had  all  the  sweetness  and  mildness  of  the  moonbeam.  It  wrs  the 
delight  of  his  royal  highness  to  attend  the  Italian  Opera,  merely  to  hear  Cer- 
vetto's  accompaniments  of  the  recitatives,  which  were  acknowledged  to  be 
unrivalled.  "  It  was  a  banquet  for  the  ear,"  he  said,  "at  which  the  appetite 
increased  in  proportion  as  it  was  administered  to." 


36  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Chesterfield  he  made  the  objection  "that  he  had  hanged  his  tutor, 
the  unfortunate  Dr.  Dodd,"  that  he  had  for  patron  so  depraved  a 
person  as  Lord  Sandwich.  Yet,  not  long  after,  with  characteristic 
uncertainty,  he  soon  took  as  violent  a  penchant  to  this  very  noble- 
man, and  drove  him  publicly  in  the  park  in  his  own  chaise.* 

The  town,  indeed,  was  full  of  stories  of  his  wild  doings.  No 
sooner  had  the  King  gone  to  bed,  than  he  and  his  brother  broke  out 
of  the  palace  in  search  of  riotous  adventures.  One  of  these  out- 
rageous scenes  may  be  taken  as  a  specimen  of  the  rest.  One  night, 
with  his  chief  favorite  and  the  worthy  Duke  of  Cumberland,  he  set 
off  for  Blackheath,  to  sup  with  Lord  Chesterfield,  where  the  whole 
company  presently  got  so  drunk  that  the  Prince  was  obliged  to  lie 
down.  One  of  the  party  actually  proposed  a  toast,  "A  short  reign 
to  the  King,"  which  the  inebriated  prince  felt  was  in  bad  taste,  or 
perhaps  an  affront  to  himself.  He  rose  and  gave  his  father's  health. 
The  next  exploit  was  to  let  loose  a  large  and  ferocious  dog,  with 
whom  Mr.  George  Pitt,  a  man  of  uncommon  strength,  engaged  in  a 
fight,  attempting,  we  al^  told,  "to  tear  out  his  tongue."  The  enraged 
animal  broke  from  him,  flew  at  Mr.  Windham,  tore  his  arm,  then 
mangled  a  footman,  on  which  the  whole  party  assailed  him  en  masse. 
He  had  just  seized  the  coat  of  the  Prince  when  he  was  felled  to  the 
ground.  At  six  in  the  morning  the  Prince  was  setting  off  for  home, 
when  his  host,  attempting  to  light  him  to  his  coach,  fell  down  the 
steps,  and  all  but  fractured  his  skull.  The  story  of  this  orgie  soon 
got  abroad,  t  The  poor  king  was  so  shocked  at  the  prospect  that  all 
this  opened  that  he  fell  ill,  and  told  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  tliat  he 
had  not  slept  for  ten  nights.  But  there  were  other  family  discussions 
raging  which  helped  to  trouble  the  unhappy  monarch's  slumbers. 
His  brother,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  a  vicious  and  ill-conditioned 
prince,  was  now  at  war  with  the  King,  whom  he  insulted  in  public 
and  private.  He  and  liis  wife  acquired  a  sort  of  influence  over  the 
heir-apparent,  and  fostered  and  encouraged  his  excesses.  The  duke 
would  insolently  ignore  the  King  and  go  to  the  Queen's  House  every 
day  to  see  his  son.     The  King  would  complain  that  if  he  met  the 


*See  Walpole,  "Last  Journals,"  il.  451. 

t  Walpole  would  appear  to  have  written  these  lines  in  the  papers: 

Then  stupid  rise,  and  with  the  rising  sun 

Drive  the  high  car,  a  second  Phaeton. 

Ijet  these  exploits  your  fertile  wit  evince; 

Drunk  as  a  lord  and  happy  as  a  prince. 

•'  Last  JoiuTials,"  ii.  459. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  37 

duke,  the  latter  would  take  off  his  hat  and  turn  on  his  heel.  "  I  am 
ashamed,"  he  would  say  piteously,  "to  see  my  brother  paying  court 
to  my  son."  With  the  same  object  the  duke  would  go  to  the  Court 
balls,  though  not  invited.  He  himself  gave  a  ball  to  the  Prince, 
which  the  King  forbade  his  son's  retainers  to  attend.  The  duke  then 
invited  his  household  to  a  dinner-party  to  indemnify  them,  at  which 
the  King  again  forbade  their  attendance. 

We  can  scarcely  credit  the  story  told  by  Mr.  Walpole,  that 
within  earshot  of  the  King  the  duke  and  his  nephew  talked  of  him 
in  the  grossest  terms.  People  wondered  why  his  Majesty  did  not 
forbid  the  graceless  pair  to  see  each  other;  but  he  frankly  owned 
that  he  feared  his  son  would  not  obey  him.  The  duke  as  frankly 
owned  that,  by  means  of  his  influence  over  the  Prince,  he  meant  to 
intimidate  his  sovereign  into  recognizing  the  duchess.* 

At  the  Queen's  drawing-room  the  Prince  drank  too  much,  and 
in  consequence  was  seized  with  a  fever,  which  seems  to  have 
brought  him  to  a  penitent  spirit,  for  he  told  Lord  Graham  that  he 
never  thought  of  the  night  at  Lord  Chesterfield's  without  sorrow, 
and  that  he  was  determined  never  to  be  drunk  again. 

Indeed,  the  treatment  with  which  the  King  had  to  put  up  with 
amounted  to  outrage.  Out  hunting,  neither  would  speak  to  him. 
So  once,  at  an  out-of-the-way  village,  they  both  seized  on  the  only 
postchaise,  and  left  the  King  to  get  back  to  London  as  he  could. 
If  he  asked  the  Prince  to  dine,  he,  with  studious  contempt,  always 
aiTived  one  hour  late,  so  that  all  the  servants  saw  the  father  wait- 
ing for  the  son.  Such  were  the  King's  complaints  to  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  and  reported  by  him  to  Walpole. 

To  pander  to  their  nephew's  tastes,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Cumberland  kept  a  faro-bank,  and  when  he  did  not  go  out  brought 
confreres  to  the  Queen's  House,  where  he  lived.  They  even  pur- 
sued worse  excesses.  But  soon  the  fickle  youth  grew  tired  of  this 
violent  friendship,  even  though  the  duke  had  carried  him  to  com- 
mon places  of  debauchery,  where  they  got  dead  drunk  and  were 
often  carried  home  in  that  condition.  The  uncle  had  grown  famil- 
iar, and  was  so  free  as  to  call  him  "  Taffy,"  in  allusion  to  his  Prin- 
cipality. The  Prince  haughtily  begged  that  he  might  not  be 
addressed  in  such  fashion,  but  without  the  least  effect. 

A  friendship  which  he  had  contracted  with  a  foreign  visitor  who 
came  to  England — the  Duke  of  Chartres,  the  notorious  *'  Egalite  " — 

*  Walpole,  "  Last  Journals,"  ii.  457. 


38  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

was  not  -without  its  effect.  With  this  companion — the  most  depraved 
man  in  Europe — he  appeared  at  every  phice  of  amusement  and  pub- 
lic resort.  The  Frenchman  flattered  him  by  copying  his  dress,  and 
pressed  him  to  visit  liim  in  Paris,  a  plan  which  the  Prince  pressed 
with  passionate  eagerness  on  his  father.  The  latter  refused  his  con^ 
sent,  but  discreetly  proposed  a  visit  to  Hanover  instead. 

The  Duke  of  Chartres's  grooms,  costumes,  and  equipages  were 
all  English,  and  heralded  that  Anglomania  which  set  in  on  the  eve 
of  the  Revolution,  ,  Other  friends  of  a  more  respectable  type— and 
it  must  be  said  that  from  the  first  he  always  cultivated  the  society 
of  men  of  parts  and  position — were  Lords  Rawdon,  Hastings,  Corn- 
wallis,  Hugh  Seymour,  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk,  Bedford,  Devonshire, 
with  Messrs.  Erskine,  Coke,  Crewe,  Fitzpatrick,  Francis,  Grey, 
Plumer,  Pigot,  Taylor,  Windham,  and  others.  The  most  familiar 
and  intimate  of  all  was  Fox,  who,  combining  wit,  talents,  and 
intiuence  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  was  for  more  than  twenty 
years  to  exercise  much  influence,  and  at  the  present  time  held  him 
by  a  sort  of  fascination. 

In  the  following  year,  1782,  the  King  had  been  compelled  to  dis- 
miss the  North  ministry,  and  in  a  sort  of  agony  of  reluctance  to 
accept  Lord  Rockingham  and  the  Whigs.  A  year  later  the  death  of 
this  nobleman  had  brought  Fox  into  power  as  foreign  secretary. 
Fox,  as  is  well  known,  was  particularly  odious  to  the  King,  who 
looked  on  him  as  the  counsellor  and  instigator  of  his  son's  excesses. 
It  may  be  conceived  what  torture  it  w^as  to  the  father's  heart  to 
find  the  son  whom  he  could  not  control  thus  fortified  by  the  assist- 
ance of  a  man  whose  power  was  based  on  his  subjection.  The 
humiliation  before  the  nation,  to  whom  this  unfortunate  relation 
was  notorious,  made  the  matter  worse.  It  will  be  seen  how 
envenomed  was  the  hostility  to  the  Crown  and  the  Government 
of  the  Crown,  from  the  significant  fact  that  Fox  and  his  friends 
wore  a  dress  copied  exactly  from  Washington's  uniform,*  and  by 
the  "  parricide  joy  "  of  a  patriot  duke — no  doubt  the  Duke  of  Port- 
land, who  actually  gloated  over  the  loss  of  an  English  ship  of  war 
sent  to  America.f  At  this  time  Mr  Fox  was  about  thirty-three 
years  old — a  brilliant  debauched  creature,  the  idol  of  his  friends, 
already  too  a  ruined  gambler,  and  his  health  impaired  by  excess. 
"  His  features,  in  themselves  harsh,  dark,  and  saturnine,  like  those 


♦  Wraxall,  "  Hist.  Mem."  il.  289.    Third  edition, 
t  Life  and  Letters  of  Sir  G.  Elliot,"  L  74. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  39 

of  Charles  II,,  from  whom  he  descended  in  the  maternal  line, 
derived  nevertheless  a  sort  of  majesty  from  the  additions  of  two 
black  and  shaggy  eyebrows.  Even  these  features,  however  seem- 
ingly repulsive,  yet  did  not  readily  assume  the  expression  of  anger 
or  of  enmity,  whereas  they  frequently,  and  as  it  were  naturally, 
relaxed  into  a  smile  the  effect  of  which  became  irresistible.  His 
figure— broad,  heavy,  and  inclined  to  corpulency,  appeared  desti- 
tute of  all  elegance  or  grace,  except  the  portion  conferred  on  it  by 
the  emanations  of  intellect,  which  at  times  diffused  over  his  whole 
person  when  he  was  speaking  with  the  most  impassioned  animation. 
In  his  dress  he  had  become  negligent  to  a  degree."  *  Such  was  the 
friend  of  the  young  prince,  for  whom  he  was  now  affectionately 
"my  dear  Charles,"  and  over  whom  he  exercised  the  most  un- 
bounded influence.  At  this  time  he  was  lodging  in  St.  James's 
Street,  so  as  to  be  near  the  great  gaming  club,  Brookes's;  and  here 
of  a  morning,  when  he  had  just  left  his  bed  and  was  making  his 
toilette,  was  he  obsequiously  attended  by  the  young  heir  to  the 
crown,  together  with  a  crowd  of  followers  and  admirers,  "all  his 
disciples."  Walpole  describes  the  scene.  "His  bristly  black  per- 
son and  shagged  breast,  quite  open,  and  rarely  purified  by  any 
ablutions,  was  w-rapped  in  a  foul  linen  night-gown,  and  his  bushy 
hair  dishevelled.  In  these  cynic  weeds  and  with  epicurean  good 
humor  did  he  dictate  his  politics,  and  in  this  school  did  the  heir 
of  the  crown  attend  his  lessons  and  imbibe  them."  f 

Fox's  followers  were  quite  unrestrained  in  their  conversation 
about  the  sovereign.  At  Brookes's  they  laid  wagers  on  his  life, 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  irreverent  talk  at  the  club  was  re- 
ported to  the  King  as  having  been  uttered  at  that  morning  levee  in 
the  presence  of  his  son.  The  graceless  youth,  when  the  King  was 
resisting  the  Whig  ministry  then  forced  upon  him,  w^as  heard  to 
exclaim  in  the  public  rooms  of  the  palace,  "that  his  father  had 
not  yet  agreed  to  take  them,  but  he  bhould  be  made  to  agree  to  it." 
Indecent  as  this  was,  some  excuse  might  be  found  in  the  rebellious- 
ness of  youth,  and  the  inconsiderate  folly  which  made  him  the 
tool  of  counsellors  old  enough  to  have  known  what  was  becoming. 
But  party  passions  were  intensified  by  the  attitude  of  the  King, 
who  was  contending  with  his  own  subjects.  If  the  King  joined 
their  enemies,  they  held  it  to  be  quixotic  not  to  use  the  sou  against 
the  father. 

*  Wraxall,  sup.  t  Walpole,  "  Last  Journals,"  ii.  599 


40  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

It  was,  therefore,  at  this  time  that  the  unhappy  monarch  con- 
ceived that  bitter  hatred  to  Fox  which,  as  was  well  said,  in  time 
became  "a  rankling  ulcer."  In  his  anguish  he  implored  the  rough 
and  surly  Thurlow  to  tell  him  what  to  do.  The  reply  was  that  "he 
would  never  have  peace  till  he  put  both  in  the  Tower."  Such  at 
least  was  the  story.  On  the  other  hand,  at  a  supper  given  by  the 
Duchess  of  Cumberland,  the  Prince  called  out  loud  that  he  hoped 

"  that  d d  fellow,  the  chancellor,  would  be  turned  out."*    This 

influence  of  Fox,  disastrous  because  that  of  a  clever,  much-ad- 
mired man,  was  to  endure  for  many  years,  though  it  became 
enfeebled  as  the  Prince's  character  was  revealed.     Not  unexpectedly 

do  we  find  that  within  a  few  years  "the  d d  fellow  "  was  to 

become  the  Prince's  trusted  counsellor  and  choice  companion. 

His  friends  were  now  installed  in  oflace.  To  what  a  degree  Fox 
had  become  his  dme  damnee  will  be  seen  from  a  few  letters  written 
by  the  young  prince  to  his  friend.  In  the  first  there  is  almost  a 
nervous  and  passionate  eagerness  to  show  his  affection  and  devo- 
tion. 

THE  PKENCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.   FOX. 

"  Wednesday  evening,  10  October. 
"  Dear  Fox, 

"  Nothing  could  give  me  more  satisfaction  than  the  message 
you  w^ere  so  good  as  to  send  me  this  morning.  You  know  how 
sincerely  you  have  my  good  wishes,  and  therefore  will  be  con- 
vinced that  I  shall  rejoice  not  a  little  if  I  again  see  you  in  admin- 
istration, as  I  look  upon  it  as  the  most  fortunate  event  that  can 
happen  to  us  all.  I  mean  not  only  to  myself  in  particular,  but 
to  the  nation  in  general.  With  respect  to  your  friendly  kindness  to 
me  I  shall  ever  be  happy  to  acknowledge  it  with  the  gratitude  it 
so  justly  deserves.  I  will  not  take  up  any  more  of  your  time  at 
present  than  merely  to  ask  you  whether  it  will  be  convenient  to 
you  or  not,  my  calling  upon  you  between  court  (if  it  is  over  in 
proper  time)  and  dinner  to-morrow.  You  may  depend  upon  my 
coming  the  moment  I  am  released.  I  can  assure  you  no  one  can 
be  more  anxious  than  I  am  to  see  you  at  the  present  moment,  as 
no  one  has  your  interest  more  sincerely  at  heart,  and  I  hope  you 
will  ever  look  upon  me  as 

"  Your  most  affectionate  Friend, 

"George  P." 


♦  Walpole,  "  Last  Journals,"  U.  600 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  41 

In  others  will  be  noted  a  boyish  anxiety  to  be  of  use,  and  to 
receive  direction  from  his  friend, 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.    FOX. 

"  Queen's  House,  4  o'clock. 
"Dear  Charles, 

"I  am  now  returned  home,  and  if  you  have  anything  par- 
ticular you  wish  to  say  to  me,  I  am  ready  either  to  come  to  you  or 
to  receive  you  at  the  Queen's  House,  whichever  is  most  convenient 
to  you.  But  if  you  should  have  nothing  to  say  to  me,  I  intend 
going  out  of  town  early  this  evening. 

"  I  am  most  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P." 

THE  SAME. 

"  %  past  2  o'clock, 
"'Dear  Charles, 

"I  am  waiting  for  you  at  your  own  house;  pray  come 
directly  if  you  can,  as  I  wish  very  much  to  speak  to  you.  I  will 
not  detain  you  three  minutes.  Yours  most  truly, 

"George  P." 

"If  you  have  not  got  your  own  carriage  you  had  better  take 
somebody  else's." 

It  is  creditable  to  him  that  he  did  not  forget  his  old  tutor,  and 
at  the  first  opportunity  used  his  interest  for  him. 

THE  same. 

"  Queen's  House,  12  o'clock,  Ap.  30,  1783. 
"Dear  Charles, 

"I  did  not  return  home  till  it  was  too  late  to  answer 
your  kind  letter  last  night.  I  cannot  express  to  you  how  happy 
you  made  me  by  the  contents  of  it,  as  I  have  always  enter- 
tained the  highest  opinion  of  Dr,  Cyril  Jackson,  and  have  always 
had  the  greatest  friendship  for  him.  You  may  easily  conceive 
how  much  pleased  I  shall  be  at  seeing  him  in  so  eligible  a  situation, 
and  in  a  situation  he  must  so  wish  for  himself.  Before  I  conclude, 
allow  me  to  thank  you,  my  dear  Charles,  for  your  kind  attention 
to  me  on  this  and  every  other  occasion,  and  believe  me, 

"Ever  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P." 


42  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV. 


CHAPTER  V. 
1783. 

But  now  the  formal  emancipation  of  the  Prince  was  at  hand;  in 
June,  1783,  he  wanted  but  a  couple  of  months  of  being  of  age.  He 
was  to  have  a  suitable  establishment  and  an  allowance  voted  by 
the  nation,  and,  what  his  harassed  father  brought  himself  reluc- 
tantly to  entertain,  a  recognized  portion  of  authority  and  independ- 
ence. It  will  be  seen  how  painful  this  question  must  have  been 
for  the  King,  since  an  unfortunate  turn  in  the  political  cards  had 
placed  its  settlement  in  the  power  of  the  Prince's  devoted  friends, 
and  of  those  whom  the  King  disliked.  As  a  matter  of  course  these 
had  made  lavish  promises  to  their  young  patron,  and  he  might  look 
for  bountiful  treatment  at  their  hands.  Already  he  was  largely  in 
debt,  and  it  was  natural  that  from  his  boon  companions  he  should 
expect  relief;  but  this  was  not  to  be  done  without  a  serious  diflS- 
culty,  and  the  question  well-nigh  overturned  the  new  ministry. 

The  Shelburne  party  during  their  brief  tenure  of  oflSce  had  prom- 
ised him  the  magnificent  allowance  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds 
a  year!  When  Fox  came  into  power  he  felt  himself  bound  to  do  as 
much,  though  he  and  the  Duke  of  Portland  and  Lord  Keppcl  were 
the  only  members  of  the  Cabinet  that  favored  so  extravagant  a  sum. 
Lord  North  and  the  rest  being  strongly  opposed  to  it.  AVhen  the  mat- 
ter came  to  be  laid  before  the  King,  on  June  2nd,  he  appeared  to 
accept  this  plan,  allowed  it  to  be  discussed  by  the  ministers,  and  suf- 
fered the  arrangement  to  be  made  for  its  being  submitttcd  to  the 
House  on  the  16th.  Suddenly  on  the  15th,  when  the  duke  came  to 
make  the  final  settlement  for  the  following  day,  he  announced  that 
the  ministry  had  thouglit  it  better  to  make  the  allowance  an  addition 
to  the  Civil  List,  as  being  more  palatable  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
But  he  was  thunderstruck  to  hear  the  King  angrily  declare  that 
this  was  a  departure  from  the  first  proposition,  and  that  he  there- 
fore declined  to  sanction  the  business.  The  duke,  alarmed,  said  that 
they  would  then  go  back  to  the  first  nrraniretnent;  when  the  King 
declared  warmly  that  he  had  not  changed  his  bad  opinion  of  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  43 

ministry,  that  he  disapproved  of  the  whole.  He  proceeded  to 
make  a  violent  attack  on  them;  with  all  their  professions  of  econ- 
omy, here  they  were,  he  said,  ready  "to  sacrifice  the  public  inter- 
ests to  the  wishes  of  an  ill-advised  young  man."  Finally,  he  would 
never  forgive  or  forget  their  conduct,  and  would  therefore  him- 
self give  out  of  his  own  slender  allowance  half  the  sura. 

This  burst  produced  no  less  astonishment  than  consternation.  It 
really  manifested  not  a  movement  of  petulance,  but  the  long  pent- 
up  agony  of  his  subservience  and  hatred  of  his  masters.  It  was 
obvious,  too,  that  the  stroke  was  politic  enough,  for  he  appeared 
to  the  nation  as  the  patron  of  economy,  and  ready  to  sacrifice  him- 
self, while  he  held  up  the  ministry  as  favoring  extravagance  and 
profligacy.  A  letter  of  Fitzpatrick's  to  Lord  Ossory  sets  out  the 
view  of  the  party  as  to  the  treatment  they  had  received:  * 

"June  17th,  1783. 

*'  This  letter  will  inform  jou  of  the  fate  of  the  present  adminis- 
tration, and  the  short  account  of  it  is  this:  The  King  originally 
agreed  that  the  whole  business  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  establish- 
ment should  be  settled  by  the  Duke  of  Portland;  and  his  first  plan 
was  that  Parliament  should  be  applied  to  for  the  whole  £100,000. 
This  was  consented  to.  But  upon  further  conversation  it  was 
thought  that  a  part  from  Parliament,  and  a  part  from  the  Civil  List, 
would  be  more  palatable  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  Duke  of 
Portland  apprised  the  King  of  this  in  a  letter  the  day  before  yester- 
day, in  answer  to  which  he  wrote  a  very  angry  letter,  complaining 
of  the  departure  from  the  first  proposal.  In  answer  to  this  the 
Duke  of  Portland  wrote,  that  he  did  not  mean  the  latter  should 
supersede  the  first  plan,  which  he  was  ready  to  propose  to  Par- 
liament. The  King  answered  this  by  saying,  that  he  had  not 
changed  his  opinion  of  their  (his  ministers')  conduct  by  this  letter; 
-that  he  totally  disapproved  of  the  whole  of  their  proposal;  that  he 
could  not  think  of  burthening  the  public,  but  was  ready  to  give 
£50,000  a  year  from  the  Civil  List,  which  he  thought  sufficient;  and 
that  he  found,  notwithstanding  all  the  professions  of  the  present 
ministers  for  economy,  they  were  ready  to  sacrifice  the  public  inter- 

*Here  are  exactly  the  tactics  pursued  by  the  King  when,  in  1806.  he  dis- 
missed another  ministry  equally  odious  to  him.  The  parallel  is  curious.  The 
same  devices  were  adopted  by  his  son  when  the  Catholic  question  was  sub- 
mitted in  1829. 


44  THE  LIFE  OJ   OEORGE  IV. 

ests  to  the  wishes  of  an  ill-advised  young  man;  that  he  would 
never  forget  or  forgive  the  conduct  of  the  present  ministers  towards 
him.  This,  we  suppose,  has  been  settled  with  the  enemy,  and  no 
measures  are  yet  determined  upon ;  but  as  we  have  a  good  attend- 
ance of  friends  in  town,  the  wish  is  to  do  something  to-morrow, 
and  at  least  to  die  handsomely.  Everybody  thinks  they  cannot 
form  any  government  that  can  have  the  appearance  of  lasting. 
This  is  coming  to  you  by  express,  to  hope  you  will  come  at  any 
ate  for  to-morrow,  though  it  is  qjiite  uncertain  what  may  be  done. 

"Yours,  R.  F." 

The  secret  of  this  sudden  change  in  the  King's  tactics  is  thus 
explained:  A  day  or  two  after  he  had  seen  the  Duke  of  Portland, 
Lord  Temple,  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  arrived  suddenly  from  Ireland, 
and  to  whom,  as  a  chosen  confidant,  the  King  revealed  his  trouble, 
imploring  his  aid.  But  Lord  Temple  shall  himself  relate  what 
took  place.  "  He  spoke,"  says  Lord  Temple,  "with  strong  expres- 
sions of  resentment  and  disgust  of  his  ministers,  and  of  personal 
abhorrence  of  Lord  North,  whom  he  charged  with  treachery  and 
ingratitude  of  the  blackest  nature.  He  then  stated  the  proposition 
made  to  him  by  the  Duke  of  Portland  for  the  annual  allowance  of 
£100,000  to  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales.  I  gave  to 
him,  very  much  at  length,  my  opinion  of  such  a  measure,  and  of 
the  certain  consequences  of  it:  in  all  which,  as  maj"  reasonably  be 
supposed,  his  Majesty  ran  before  me,  and  stated  with  strong  dis- 
gust the  manner  in  which  it  was  opened  to  him — as  a  thing  decided, 
and  even  drawn  up  in  the  shape  of  a  message,  to  which  his  signa- 
ture was  desired  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  be  brought  before  Parlia- 
ment the  next  day.  To  all  this  he  assented;  but  declared  his  inten- 
tion to  resist,  at  all  events  and  hazards,  the  proposition  for  this 
enormous  allowance  to  his  Royal  Highness,  of  whose  conduct  he 
spoke  with  much  dissatisfaction.  He  asked,  what  he  might  look 
to  if  upon  this  refusal  the  ministry  should  resign:  and  I  observed, 
that,  not  having  had  the  opportunity  of  consulting  my  friends,  I 
could  only  answer  that  their  resignation  was  a  proposition  widely 
differing  from  their  dismissal,  and  that  I  did  not  see  tlic  impossi- 
bility of  accepting  his  administration  in  such  a  contingency,  pro- 
vided the  supplies  and  public  bills  were  passed,  so  as  to  enable  us 
to  prorogue  the  Parliament.  To  all  this  he  assented,  and  declared 
his  intention  of  endeavoring  to  gain  time,  that  the  business  of  Par- 
liament might  go  on;  and  aunod  with  iiic  that  such  a  resignation 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  45 

was  improbable,  and  that  it  would  be  advisable  not  to  dismiss 
them  unless  some  very  particular  opportunity  presented  itself."  * 

Such  was  the  rather  disingenuous  game  played  by  the  King. 
But  he  was  not  prepared  for  what  followed,  though  he  fancied  he 
might  indulge  his  feelings  in  thwarting  the  ministers.  The  latter, 
indignant  at  such  treatment — for  they  declared  that  the  King  had 
actually  agreed  to  their  whole  scheme — insisted  on  resigning,  being 
pressed  by  the  Prince  to  do  so,  who  had  nearly  got  a  fever  from  dis- 
appointment and  annoyance.  It  was  soon  shown  to  the  King  that 
such  a  step  would  leave  him  in  the  helplessness  and  contemptible 
position  of  having  to  sue  to  them  to  come  back.  The  cautious 
Scotchman  saw  it  would  not  do,  and  Lord  Bute  shrank  from  mak- 
ing himself  odious  to  the  Prince,  as  he  felt  that  the  whole  change 
would  be  set  down  to  him.  Lord  Thurlow  was  too  sagacious  not 
to  see  the  danger.  "This  shiftiness  in  high  places  engendered  an 
equal  shiftiness  in  those  who  depended  on  the  King's  favor,  and 
the  double-dealing  of  Lord  Weymouth,  the  son's  officer,  was  spe- 
cially noted.  The  most  shallow  of  men,  he  was  the  one  in  whom 
the  King  had  most  confidence.  Into  his  bosom  he  poured  all  his 
complaints  of  his  son's  behavior,  and  from  him  he  heard  welcome 
abuse  of  that  son."  It  was  remarked,  Walpole  adds,  that  not  a  day 
passed  without  a  secret  interview  between  this  nobleman  and  the 
King,  though  the  former  was  actually  holding  office  under  Fox  and 
his  friends.  This  subserviency  had  attracted  the  suspicions  of  the 
Prince,  who  gave  due  notice  to  his  friend.  Certainly  here  was  an 
edifying  situation. 

THE   PRINCE   OP  WALES  TO  MR.    FOX. 

"  Monday  night,  }4  past  13  o'clocb, 
*'  Dear  Charles, 

"  When  I  left  the  Queen's  House  this  evening,  Weymouth 

was  with  the  King.     I  wish  you  would  tell  me  in  a  short  note 

how  you  interpret  his  frequent  visits,  and  let  me  know  whether  you 

have  heard  anything  fresh  this  evening. 

**  I  am  most  sincerely  yours, 

"G.  P." 

The  King's  device  therefore  was  not  to  succeed.  He  became 
almost  terror-stricken  at  the  sudden  embarrassment  that  was  open- 

•  "  Court  and  Cabinets  of  George  in.,"  p.  305. 


46  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ing  before  him.  When,  on  the  16th,  the  ministers  had  met  to 
arrange  their  resignation,  the  Duke  of  Portland  was  sent  for  to  the 
King.  In  an  agony  of  tears,  he  fell  on  the  duke's  neck  and  owned 
that  he  had  gone  too  far.  He  implored  him  to  rescue  him,  which 
the  duke  was  well  disposed  to  do,  for  his  own  sake.* 

The  difficulty  was  now  small;  a  retreat  was  to  be  managed,  as 
the  ministry  was  pledged  to  the  Prince,  and  he,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  set  his  heart  on  the  arrangement.  It  will  be  found  how  com- 
pletely he  was  in  the  hands  of  his  friend  Fox,  and  how  ductile  he 
was.  The  skilful  Loughborough  was  the  first  to  suggest  this  mode 
of  operation.     He  wrote  to  Fox  : 

"Bedford  Square,  Tuesday,  6  p.m. 
"DearSir, 

".  .  .  .  I  really  do  not  see  that  there  are  two  lines  to  take, 

whether  successful  or  not.      Submission  for  the  present  is  the 

only  reasonable  course.     But  it  would  be  much  better,  and  much 

handsomer,  if  it  were  possible  to  dispose  his  Royal  Highness  to 

give  way  respectfully,   and  with  a  dutiful  remonstrance  profess 

himself  ready  to  show  his  obedience,  and  to  wait  until  his  Majesty 

entertains  another  view  of  the  matter.     If  my  idea  appears  just  to 

you,  would  it  not  be  of  great  consequence  that  ycu  should,  as  soon 

as  possible,  try  to  persuade  the  Prince  ot  Wales  to  make  a  virtue 

of  necessity,  and  gain  the  public   favor  by  declining   cheerfully 

any  appearance  of  contest,  which  makes  better  ground  for  him 

hereafter  and  can  do  him  no  prejudice  at  present?     Excuse  me 

throwing  out  thus  hastily  what  has  occurred  to  me,  and  believe  me 

"  Most  sincerely  yours,  &c., 

"L." 

With  what  good  grace  the  Prince  yielded  will  be  seen  from  his 
letters  to  Fox  : 

"  Queen's  House,  1  o'clock. 
"Dear  Charles, 

"  I  have  a  thousand  excuses  to  make  to  you  for  not  having 
answered  your  letter  immediately,  but  I  am  only  this  instant 
awake,  and  therefore  have  only  just  had  time  to  read  your  letter. 
I  saw  the  Duchess  of  Portland  yesterday,  and  took  the  liberty 


•Mr.  Jesse,  in  his  admirable  "Memoirs  of  George  III.,"  speaks  of  the 
King's  "  Independent  and  resolute  conduct "  (ii.  437);  but  the  reader  can  judge 
whether  it  deserves  such  a  compliment. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV,  47 

or  desiring  her  Grace  to  deliver  a  message  from  me  to  the  Duke 
of  Portland,  desiring  him,  if  it  was  not  inconvenieut  to  him,  to 
allow  me  to  come  to  him  to-morrow  at  eleven  instead  of  to-day. 
I  ought  to  have  explained  this  to  you  at  Carlisle's  when  1  desired 
you  to  meet  me  in  Downing  Street,  on  Sunday,  at  eleven  o'clock, 
but  it  really  quite  slipped  out  of  my  memory.  I  must  therefore 
entreat  you  to  clear  up  the  matter  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  and 
make  all  proper  apologies  for  me.  I  cannot,  however,  conclude 
without  seizing  the  opportunity  of  thanking  you  for  the  part  you 
have  taken  in  bringing  this  essential  business  to  me  so  near  a  con- 
clusion, which,  I  can  assure  you,  I  shall  never  forget  as  long  as  I 
live.  I  remain,  my  dear  Charles, 

''Ever  most  sincerely  yours, 

"Geokge  p. 

"  P.  S. — You  may  depend  upon  seeing  me  to-morrow  at  eleven." 

♦'  Queen's  House,  June  18th,  1783. 
"Dear  Charles, 

"  After  what  has  already  passed,  I  did  not  require  this  addi- 
tional proof  of  your  friendship  and  attachment ;  and  you  will  see  by 
a  letter  I  have  this  instant  written  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  how 
ready  I  am  to  take  your  advice,  and  that  I  leave  it  entirely  to  the 
Cabinet.  Yours  most  sincerely, 

"George  P." 


"  Cumberland  House,  J4  past  9  o'clock. 
"Dear  Charles, 

"I  have  this  instant  received  your  kind  letter.  I  am  most 
exceedingly  sensible  of  the  kind  and  friendly  attention  you  have 
shown  me  throughout  the  whole  of  this  business,  which  is  of  so  much 
importance  to  my  happiness.  Should  anything  arrive  that  you  wish 
me  to  be  immediately  apprised  of,  pray  send  it  to  the  Queen's  House. 
I  shall  leave  a  servant  there  to  bring  me  any  letter  that  may  come 
from  you,  wherever  I  am,  James  Luttrell  I  sent  an  express  for 
immediately,  but  have  not  as  yet  sent  to  Lord  Herbert,  and  according 
to  your  advice,  the  step  not  being  as  yet  taken,  I  shall  not  send  for 
him  at  all.  I  remain,  dear  Charles, 

"Ever  most  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P," 


48  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

By  the  17th  all  was  happily  aiTanged,  as  the  following  extracts 
from  Fox's  letters  will  show:* 


MK.    FOX  TO  LORD  NORTimsGTON. 

_  ^  "  St.  James's,  June  19th,  1783. 

"Dear  Northington, 

"There  is  reason  to  think  that  the  storm  is  for  the  present 

dissipated,  and  therefore  I  hope  you  have  not  mentioned  to  any  one, 

except  Windham,  my  last  letter.     The  Prince  has  behaved  in  the 

handsomest  manner,  and  his  reasonableness  under  the  hardest  usage 

is  likely  to  keep  everything  quiet;  for  how  long  is  a  question  which 

cannot  for  some  days  at  least  be  decided.     I  hope  in  a  few  days  to 

be  able  to  write  to  you  a  detailed  account  of  the  whole  business,  but 

really  have  not  now  time.  Yours  ever, 

"C.J.  Fox." 

"As  to  the  opinion  of  our  having  gained  strength  by  it,"  wrote 
Fox  to  the  same  friend  on  July  17th,  "  the  only  rational  foundation 
for  such  an  opinion  is,  that  this  event  has  proved  that  there  subsists 
no  such  understanding  between  the  King  and  Lord  Temple  as  to 
enable  them  to  form  an  administration,  because  if  there  did,  it  is 
impossible  but  they  must  have  seized  an  occasion  in  many  respects 
so  fortunate  for  them.  They  would  have  had  on  their  side  the 
various  cries  of  paternal  authority,  economy,  moderate  establishment, 
mischief -making  between  father  and  son,  and  many  other  plausible 
topics.  The  King  has  certainly  carried  one  point  against  us.  The 
truth  is  that,  excepting  the  Duke  of  Portland  and  Lord  Keppel,  there 
was  not  one  minister  who  would  have  fought  with  any  heart  in  this 
cause.  I  could  see  clearly  from  the  beginning,  long  before  the  diffi- 
culties appeared,  that  Lord  North  and  Lord  John,  though  they  did 
not  say  so,  thought  the  large  establishment  extravagant,  and  you  will, 
I  am  sure,  agree  with  me  that  to  fight  a  cause,  where  the  latter 
especially  was  not  hearty,  would  have  been  a  most  desperate  measure. 
Under  all  these  circumstances  there  appeared  to  me  no  alternative 
in  common  sense  but  to  yield  witli  the  best  grace  possible,  if  the 
Prince  of  Wales  could  be  brought  to  be  of  that  mind.  I  believe  he 
was  naturally  very  averse  to  it,  but  Colonel  Lake  and  others  whom 
he  most  trusts  persuaded  him  to  it,  and  the  intention  of  doing  so 
came  from  him  to  us  spontaneously.     If  it  had  not,  I  own  I  should 


*  "  Memorials  of  Fox,"  il.  109. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOMGE  IV.  49 

have  felt  myself  bound  to  follow  his  Royal  Highness's  line  upon  the 
subject,  though  I  know  that  by  so  doing  I  should  destroy  the  minis- 
try in  the  worst  possible  way,  and  subject  myself  to  the  imputation 
of  the  most  extreme  wrongheadedness.  I  shall  always  therefore 
consider  the  Prince's  having  yielded  a  most  fortunate  event,  and  shall 
always  feel  myself  proportionally  obliged  to  him  and  to  those  who 
advised  him.  In  short,  the  only  thing  that  ought  to  be  said  is,  that 
it  was  not  a  point  upon  which  ministers  ought  to  dispute  his  Majesty's 
pleasure,  and  that  they  were  the  better  enabled  to  yield  by  the 
generosity  of  the  Prince,  who  was  most  ready  to  give  up  his  own 
interest  rather  than  be  the  cause  of  any  confusion,  or  appear  to  be 
wanting  in  duty  to  the  King. " 

But  it  will  be  noted  that  there  was  an  almost  too  great  exuber- 
ance of  goodwill  on  the  side  of  the  Prince,  which,  perhaps,  was 
owing  to  a  weakness  of  character. 

The  King,  it  would  thus  appear,  had  done  both  Fox  and  the 
Duke  of  Portland — "my  son's  ministry,"  he  called  it — some  injus- 
tice in  supposing  that  they  had  "set  his  son  against  him."  Fox  at 
his  very  first  interview  vindicated  himself,  and  protested  he  had 
never  said  a  word  which  he  would  not  have  been  glad  that  the 
King  should  have  heard,  while  the  Duke  of  Portland,  during  the 
course  of  his  trouble,  had  written  a  letter  to  the  Prince,  conjuring 
him  to  submit  to  his  father;  on  which  the  King  was  charmed,  and 
said  "  he  did  not  know  the  duke  was  so  honest  a  man."* 

Accordingly,  on  June  23rd,  Lord  John  Cavendish,  the  Chancel- 
lor of  the  Exchequer,  brought  down  the  following  royal  message 
to  the  House:  "  His  Majesty,  reflecting  on  the  propriety  of  a  sepa- 
rate establishment  for  his  dearly-beloved  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
recommends  the  consideration  thereof  to  this  House,  relying  on 
the  experienced  zeal  and  affection  of  his  faithful  Commons  for  such 
aid  towards  making  that  establishment  as  shall  appear  consistent 
with  a  due  attention  to  the  circumstances  of  his  people,  every  addi- 
tion to  whose  burthens  his  Majesty  feels  with  the  most  sensible 
concern.— G.  R."  And  on  the  25th  he  introduced  the  matter  in  a 
speech,  showing  that  the  King's  Civil  List  was  about  nine  hundred 
thousands  pounds  a  year,  of  which  fifty  thousand  were  set  apart 
for  the  King,  the  remainder  being  scarcely  sufficient  for  all  the 
claims  that  were  on  it.     His  Majesty,  however,  was  willing  to  sup* 


Walpole,  "  Last  Journals,"  ii.  631, 


50  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ply  the  whole  of  the  allowance  for  his  son,  viz.  fifty  thousand 
pounds  a  year,  provided  the  House  voted  a  sum  of  thirty  thousand 
pounds  for  debts,  and  as  much  more  for  an  outfit.  His  son  would, 
besides,  have  the  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  the  whole 
giving  him  an  income  of  about  sixty-two  or  sixty-three  thousand  a 
year.  This,  at  the  present  value  of  money,  was  equal  to  about 
eighty  thousand  a  year. 

This  moderate  addition  was  opposed  by  Pitt,  who  reminded 
Lord  North  of  his  promises,  given  some  years  before,  that  there 
should  be  no  addition  to  the  Civil  List.  However,  the  whole  was 
voted  unanimously.  The  legislators  little  dreamed  what  painful 
discoveries  were  in  store  for  them,  and  how,  for  years  to  come, 
the  "Prince's  allowance"  and  "the  Prince's  debts"  would  be  a 
thorn  in  their  sides. 

In  this  fashion,  the  King,  who  had  a  certain  cleverness,  or  cun- 
ning as  some  described  it,  contrived  to  secure  popularity.  But 
there  were  no  lack  of  warnings  that  the  insufficiency  of  the  allow- 
ance would  lead  to  future  difficulties.  The  implied  suggestion  here 
was  significant ;  viz.,  that  the  income  should  be  proportioned  to  the 
extravagant  temper  of  the  recipient,  and  not  to  the  general  stand- 
ard of  what  was  becoming  in  the  case  of  a  person  of  his  rank. 
Considering  what  the  value  of  money  was  a  hundred  years  ago,  it 
was  certainly  a  suitable  provisiou. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  51 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1783—1784. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  came  of  age  in  August,  1783,  an  event 
celebrated  by  festive  rejoicings.  By  this  time  lie  was  established 
at  Carlton  House,  the  old  residence  of  the  Princess  Dowager,  and 
which  had  been  tenantless  since  her  death.  It  was  discovered  to 
be  out  of  repair,  and,  unfortunately  for  himself  and  for  the  nation, 
offered  itself  to  the  Prince  as  a  fitting  object  for  the  display  of  his 
elegant  tastes  and  reckless  expenditure. 

For  nearly  forty  years  it  v/as  destined  to  swallow  up  enormous 
sums  in  reconstruction  and  alterations,  and  when  these  were  com- 
pleted after  nearly  thirty  years'  labor,  was  capriciously  razed  to  the 
ground.  The  Duchess  of  Devonshire  and  Lady  Melbourne  were 
consulted  by  the  young  prince  on  the  furniture  and  decorations, 
while  Holland,  later  to  be  the  architect  of  one  of  the  Drury  Lane 
Theatres,  with  one  Nuovosielchi,  furnished  plans  for  the  altera- 
tions. This  was  but  the  beginning  of  that  building  niania — the 
most  ruinous  of  passions — in  which  he  indulged  to  the  last  hour  of 
his  life,  and  of  which  Buckingham  Palace,  the  Brighton  Pavilion, 
and  the  Ivy  Cottages  at  Virginia  Water  are  the  rather  indifferent 
results.  On  the  11th  of  the  same  month  he  took  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Peers,  subscribed  the  declaration  of  supremacy,  the  oath  of 
allegiance,  etc. ,  and,  on  the  occasion  of  a  motion  relating  to  a  proc- 
lamation for  preventing  seditious  meetings  and  writings,  made  a 
speech.  He  said,  "that  on  a  question  of  such  magnitude,  he  should 
be  deficient  in  his  duty  as  a  member  of  Parliament,  unmindful  of 
the  respect  he  owed  to  the  constitution,  and  inattentive  to  the  wel- 
fare, the  peace,  and  the  happiness  of  the  people,  if  he  did  not  state 
to  the  world  what  was  his  opinion  on  the  present  question.  He  was 
educated  in  the  principles,  and  he  should  ever  preserve  them,  of  a  rev- 
erence for  the  constitutional  liberties  of  the  people ;  and,  as  on  those 
constitutional  principles  the  happiness  of  that  people  depended,  he 
was  determined,  as  far  as  his  interest  could  have  any  force,  to  sup- 
port them.     The  matter  in  issue  was,  in  fact,  whether  the  constitu- 


52  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOUOE  IV. 

tion  was  or  was  not  to  be  maintained ;  whether  the  wild  ideas  of 
theory  were  to  conquer  the  wholesome  maxims  of  established  prac- 
tice; and  whether  those  laws  under  which  we  had  flourished  for 
such  a  series  of  years  were  to  be  subverted  by  a  reform  unsanctioned 
by  the  people.  As  a  person  nearly  and  dearly  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare and,  he  should  emphatically  add,  the  happiness  and  comfort  of 
the  people,  it  would  be  treason  to  the  principles  of  his  mind  if  he 
did  not  come  forward  and  declare  his  disapprobation  of  those  sedi- 
tious publications  which  had  occasioned  the  motion  now  before  their 
Lordships;  his  interest  was  connected  with  that  of  the  people;  they 
were  so  inseparable,  that  unless  both  parties  concurred,  happiness 
could  not  exist.  On  this  great,  this  solid  basis  he  grounded  the  vote 
which  he  meant  to  give,  and  that  vote  should  unequivocally  be  for 
a  concurrence  with  the  Commons  in  the  address  they  had  resolved 
upon.  His  royal  highness  spoke,  we  are  assured,  in  a  manner  that 
called  not  only  for  the  attention,  but  the  admiration  of  the  House, 
and  the  following  words  were  remarkably  energetic :  "  I  exist  by  the 
love,  the  friendship,  and  the  benevolence  of  the  people,  and  their 
cause  I  will  never  forsake  as  long  as  I  live."  The  PriiKe  tlien  con- 
cluded by  distinctly  saying :  "  I  give  my  most  hearty  assent  to  the 
motion  for  concurring  in  this  wise  and  salutary  address."  * 

During  the  progress  of  the  India  Bill  he  made  himself  conspicu- 
ous by  appearing  at  the  debates  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
showed  liis  sympathies  and  partisanship  so  strongly  that  it  was 
urged  during  this  perilous  discussion,  that  "if  the  great  personage 
in  question,  not  content  with  merely  listening  to  the  debates,  should, 
on  any  occasion,  testify  by  his  behavior  or  gesticulation,  while  in  the 
House,  a  predilection  or  partiality  for  any  set  of  men,  such  marks  of 
his  preference  would  be  unbecoming,  and  miglit  oinrate  as  a  means 
of  influence."  Lord  North,  however,  uttered  a  panegyric  on  the 
Prince's  "eminent  abilities,"  expressing  his  personal  gratification  in 
seeing  "a  prince,  to  whom  the  country  must  look  u]i  as  its  ho]>e. 
thus  practically  becoming  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  tliis  limiK  <1 
government,  rather  than  taking  up  the  hearsay  of  the  liour,  or  look 
ing  for  his  knowledge  to  flatterers."  Mr.  Fox  characterized  the 
charges  as  "  pernicious  and  ridiculous  alike,  adopted  by  men  no  less 
the  enemies  of  free  discussion  in  that  House  than  the  calumniators 
of  the  motives  of  a  distinguished  personage,  whose  whole  spirit  was 
honor."    "  Was,"  he  asked,  "  the  mind  which  might,  at  any  hour,  by 

♦  Hulsh,  i.  88. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  53 

the  common  chances  of  mortality,  be  summoned  to  the  highest 
duties  allotted  to  man,  to  be  left  to  learn  them  by  accident?  For 
his  part  he  rejoiced  to  see  that  distinguished  personage  disdaining 
to  use  the  privileges  of  his  rank  and  keep  aloof  from  the  debates  of 
that  House.  He  rejoiced  to  see  him  manfully  coming  among  them, 
to  imbibe  a  knowledge  of  the  constitution  within  the  walls  of  the 
Commons  of  England.  He,  for  his  part,  saw  nothing  in  the  circum- 
stances which  had  called  down  so  much  volunteer  eloquence." 
At  the  first  division  he  had  even  cast  his  vote  for  his  friends,  but 
finding  that  this  inflamed  the  King,  he  acted  on  the  judicious  ad- 
vice of  Mr.  Fox  and  abstained  from  further  part  in  the  contest.* 
As  the  sovereign  had  become  himself  a  partisan,  and  was  secretly 
plotting  with  some  of  his  subjects  to  overthrow  his  own  ministers, 
the  praise  of  moderation  seems  to  be  due  to  the  heir-apparent,  f 
General  Fitzpatrick,  however,  writing  excitedly  on  the  night  of  their 
defeat,  says  that  "the  Prince  voted  in  the  minority." 

It  has  been  often  told  and  retold  how,  within  a  few  hours,  the 
ministry  were  ignominioush^  required  to  deliver  up  their  seals,  and 
what  popular  execration  followed  them  into  retirement.  This 
extended  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who,  when  he  appeared  at  the 
theatre,  was  hissed.  After  this  rout  of  his  friends  he  fell  ill,  it  was 
thought  from  mortification,  and  Mrs.  Montagu  learned  that  he  had 
an  abscess  in  his  side  and  was  suffering  much.  He  soon  rallied, 
and,  when  the  general  election  took  place,  joined  eagerly  in  the 
struggle  that  followed,  and  which  ended  so  disastrously  for  his 
friends.  Fox,  "the  man  of  the  people,"  had  now  to  pass  through 
the  critical  Westminster  election,  in  which  the  fascinating  Gcorgi- 
ana.  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  took  so  conspicuous  a  share.  Carlton 
House  became  the  candidate's  committee  rooms.  The  fair  can- 
vasser— to  whom  a  stolen  picture  has  given  a  popularity  that  she 
might  otherwise  never  have  enjoyed — was  then  in  all  her  beauty, 
and  much  admired  by  the  Prince.  One  who  knew  her,  Sir  N. 
Wraxall,  draws  this  pleasing  portrait  of  her  : 

"Pier  personal  charms  constituted  her  smallest  pretension  to 
universal  admiration;  nor  did  her  beauty  consist,  like  that  of  the 
Gunnings,  in  regularity  of  features  and  faultless  formation  of  limbs 
and  shape — it  lay  in  the  amenity  and  graces  of  her  deportment,  in 
her  irresistible  manners,  and  the  seduction  of  her  society.     Her 


*  Moore,  "  Life  of  Sheridan,"  i.  403. 

t  It  has  been  stated  that  h«  attended  Cabinet  Councils,  but  this  is  doubtfuj, 


54  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

hair  was  not  without  a  tinge  of  red;  and  her  face,  though  pleasing, 
yet  had  it  not  been  illuminated  by  her  mind,  might  have  been  con- 
sidered as  an  ordinary  countenance.  Descended  in  the  fourth 
degree  lineally  from  Sarah  Jennings,  the  wife  of  John  Churchill, 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  she  resembled  the  portraits  of  that  celebrated 
woman.  In  addition  to  the  external  advantages  which  she  had 
received  from  nature  and  fortune,  she  possessed  an  ardent  temper, 
susceptible  of  deep  as  well  as  strong  impressions;  a  cultivated 
understanding,  illuminated  by  a  taste  for  poetry  and  the  fine  arts; 
much  sensibility,  not  exempt,  perhaps,  from  vanity  and  coquetry. 
To  her  mother,  the  Dowager  Countess  Spencer,  she  was  attached 
with  more  than  common  filial  affection,  of  which  she  exhibited 
pecuniary  proofs  rarely  given  by  a  daughter  to  her  parent.  Nor 
did  she  display  less  attachment  to  her  sister  Lady  Duncannon. 

"Lady  Duncannon,  however  inferior  to  the  duchess  in  elegance 
of  mind  and  in  personal  beauty,  equalled  her  in  sisterl}^  love. 
During  the  month  of  July,  1811,  a  very  short  time  before  the 
decease  of  the  late  Duke  of  Devonshire,  I  visited  the  vault  in  the 
principal  church  of  Derby,  where  repose  the  remains  of  the  Cav- 
endish family.  As  I  stood  contemplating  the  coffin  which  con- 
tained the  ashes  of  that  admired  female,  the  woman  who  accom- 
panied me  pointed  out  the  relics  of  a  bouquet  which  lay  upon  the 
lid,  nearly  collapsed  into  dust.  'That  nosegay,*  said  she,  'was 
brought  here  by  the  Countess  of  Besborough,  who  had  designed  to 
place  it  with  her  own  hands  on  her  sister's  coffin.  But,  overcoine 
by  her  emotions  on  approaching  the  spot,  she  found  lierself  unable 
to  descend  the  steps  conducting  to  the  vault.  In  an  agony  of  grief 
she  knelt  down  on  the  stones,  as  nearly  over  the  place  occupied  by 
the  corpse  as  I  could  direct,  and  there  deposited  the  flowers,  en- 
joining me  the  performance  of  an  office  to  which  she  was  unequal. 
I  fulfilled  her  wishes.'  " 

The  Prince's  thoughts  were  even  thus  early  turning  towards 
domestic  repose,  and  it  would  almost  seem  that  so  early  as  1783 
he  was  thinking  of  the  serious  step  he  was  presently  to  take.  At 
a  dinner-party  at  Lord  Lewisham's  the  Prince  drank  very  hard— a 
not  unusual  incident  with  him — and  then  fell  into  a  sort  of  dejected 
mood,  in  which  he  bewailed  his  condition,  said  he  envied  the 
Dukes  of  Devonshire  and  Rutland,  who  were  at  liberty  to  wed  two 
clever  women  whom  they  liked.  For  his  part,  lie  supposed  that 
"  he  should  be  forced  to  marry  some  ugly  German."  Turning  then 
to  Rigby,  then  Master  of  the  Rolls  and  a  humorist,  he  put  tlie  sig- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV.  55 

niflcant  question  to  him:  "What  would  he  advise  him  to  do?" 
"Faith,  sir,"  was  the  reply,  "I  am  not  yet  drunk  enough  to  give 
advice  to  a  Prince  of  Wales  about  marrying;"  an  answer  com- 
mended as  one  of  the  best,  even  to  a  question  of  this  kind.  For, 
as  Walpole  says,  there  were  lots  of  fools  who  thought  themselves 
sober  enough  to  advise  him  on  whatever  subject  he  consulted  them 
on.     It  showed,  however,  what  was  in  his  mind  at  this  time. 

When  the  election  was  over,  Fox  was  carried  in  a  chair  adorned 
with  laurels  through  the  chief  streets  of  the  West  End,  and  the 
gates  of  Carlton  House  being  thrown  wide  open,  the  whole  caval- 
cade defiled  through  in  compliment  to  the  new  member's  august 
patron.  It  was  an  odd  procession.  A  banner  was  carried  in  honor 
of  the  duchess,  with  the  inscription:  "Sacred  to  Female  Patriot- 
ism;" Mr.  North,  Mr.  Adam,  and  others,  being  observed  to  be 
mounted  on  the  braces  of  Fox's  carriage.  The  Prince,  attended  by 
a  crowd  of  friends,  appeared  on  the  steps,  while  Fox  made  a  brief 
harangue.  On  the  following  day.  May  18th,  he  determined  to 
celebrate  the  victory  by  a  noonday  f  ^te  in  the  gardens  of  his  house, 
to  which  all  the  rank,  beauty,  and  talent  of  the  Opposition  were 
invited.  The  grounds  were  separated  only  by  a  wall  from  the 
road  that  led  from  St.  James's  Palace  to  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 
and  it  was  noted  that  the  King  passed  by  in  procession  to  open  the 
session,  and  could  see  the  festival  going  on.  On  the  same  night 
the  triumphant  party  repaired  to  Lower  Grosvenor  Street,  to  an 
entertainment,  or  rather  revel,  given  by  the  fair  and  captivating 
Mrs.  Crewe,  where  the  ladies  all  appeared,  arrayed  like  the  gentle- 
men, in  buff  and  blue.  The  Prince  of  course  attended,  wearing 
the  same  colors,  and  after  supper  rose  to  give  the  well-known 
toast — "True  blue,  and  Mrs.  Crewe!"  It  was  received  with  rap- 
ture, the  lady,  with  the  same  spirit  but  less  point,  acknowledging 
the  compliment  in  the  phrase:  "  True  blue,  and  all  of  you!" 

Speeches  were  made  on  this  happy  occasion.  Fox  proposing  the 
Prince's  health  in  glowing  terms,  professing  his  "gratitude  for  the 
manner  in  which  his  Royal  Highness  has  been  pleased  to  give  his 
countenance  to  me  and  to  my  cause.  It  is  a  circumstance  of  pride 
and  honor,  particularly  dear  to  me,  that  in  pursuing  the  interests 
of  the  people  I  have  at  the  same  time  gained  the  approbation  of 
the  Prince.  I  assure  his  Royal  Highness  that  his  favor  and  kind- 
ness have  made  the  deepest  impression  on  my  mind ;  and  my  return 
to  him  shall  be,  to  make  it  the  study  of  my  life,  never  to  counsel 
his  Royal  Highness  without  having  equally  in  view  the  interests  of 


56  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV. 

the  Crown  and  the  people — interests  which  cannot  be  severed  with- 
out injury  to  both."  The  Prince  replied:  "I  will  not  at  present 
speak  of  my  private  regard  for  Mr.  Fox;  I  have  entered  into  his 
interests  from  a  conviction,  not  only  that  his  talents  are  the 
brightest  in  the  empire,  but  that  his  principles  are  the  best,  and  his 
motives  the  purest;  and  I  assure  him  that  the  prejudices  of  those 
who  do  not  know  him  shall  never  alter  my  personal  or  political 
attachment."* 

Nor  was  this  all,  the  Prince  himself  celebrated  the  victory  at 
Carlton  House  by  one  of  the  most  magnificent  fetes  within  recol- 
lection. Nothing  that  luxury  or  taste  could  devise  w^as  absent,' 
and,  with  an  affectation  of  refined  politeness  almost  inconsistent 
with  the  coarse  manners  of  the  time,  the  gentlemen,  including  the 
host  himself,  waited  on  the  ladies  at  table.  It  was  said  by  those 
who  had  often  seen  him  in  society,  "  that  not  even  Louis  XIV. 
himself  could  have  eclipsed  him  in  a  ball-room,"  or  while  doing 
the  honors  of  his  own  house ;  and  certainly,  even  if  sagacity  were 
wanting,  there  was  in  all  his  conduct  a  certain  gay  readiness,  a 
spirit  and  savoir  faire,  that  was  remarkable  in  one  so  5^oung,  the 
portraits  at  this  time  representing  him  as  an  interesting  young  man 
with  a  distinguished  air,  and  a  face  almost  juvenile  for  its  glow 
and  brilliancy. 

These  proceedings  made  the  breach  with  his  father  complete. 
No  notice  was  taken  of  his  birthday  at  Windsor.  He  was  con- 
sidered to  be  leagued  with  the  enemies  of  the  Court.  When  Mr. 
Pitt  was  being  drawn  home  in  triumph  from  the  City  dinner,  the 
shouting  mob  passed  by  Carlton  House  and  stopped  the  carriage 
to  hoot  and  groan,  the  minister  having  to  look  on.  But  when  they 
passed  by  Brookes's  Club  they  were  met  by  an  opposing  crowd, 
and  a  serious  conflict  took  place,  in  which  the  minister  liad  a  nar- 
row escape.  The  Prince  complained  to  his  father  and  required  an 
apology,  which  he  does  not  appear  to  have  obtained. f 

From  these  mortifications  he  turned  to  find  relief  in  renewed 
gayeties  and  entertainments.  The  alterations  at  Carlton  House- 
first  of  the  series — were  now  completed,  and  the  event  was  cele- 
brated on  March  10th  by  a  ball.  The  dining-room,  lit  up  by  three 
magnificently-gilt  chandeliers,  the  state-room,  the  ball-room  and  its 


*  Reported  in  a  private  letter  from  a  gentleman  who  was  present.— Lloyd, 
'  Life  and  Reign,"  i.  122. 
tlbid.,um, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  57 

orchestra,  all  excited  admiration,  abundant  compliments  being 
paid  to  tbe  Prince's  taste.  This  was  followed  on  April  18th  by  a 
public  breakfast  at  Carlton  House.  "About  six  hundred  of  the 
most  distinguished  persons  in  the  kingdom  assembled  in  his  beau- 
tiful gardens  about  two  o'clock.  The  preparations  on  the  occasion 
were  full  of  magnificence.  Covers  were  laid  under  nine  extensive 
marquees  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and  the  entertainment 
consisted  of  the  finest  fruits  of  the  season,  confectioneries,  ices, 
creams,  and  emblematical  designs.  Four  bands  of  instruments 
were  placed  at  different  parts  of  the  garden,  and  the  company  were 
entertained  with  various  novelties  of  a  comic  kind,  some  of  the 
performers  at  the  theatres  having  attended  for  that  purpose.  After 
they  had  taken  refreshments  they  rose  to  dance.  A  beautiful  level, 
in  the  umbrage  of  a  group  of  trees,  was  the  spot  which  his  royal 
highness  selected  for  their  ball,  and  he  led  down  the  country  dances, 
first  with  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  and  afterwards  with  one  of  the 
Lady  Waldegraves.  The  company  frequently  changed  their  part- 
ners, and  at  times  grouped  off  into  cotillons.  Among  the  ladies 
who  danced  was  Mrs.  Sheridan.*  The  breakfast  concluded  about 
six  in  the  evening,  when  the  company  retired  to  dress." 

"The  Prince  of  Wales,"  says  Mr.  Raikes,  "was  a  constant  fre- 
quenter of  the  coteries  and  parties  at  Devonshire  House,  which 
was  then  the  resort  not  only  of  the  Opposition,  but  of  all  the  wits 
and  beaux  esprits  of  the  day.  Sheridan,  Grey,  Whitbread,  Lord 
Robert  Spencer,  Fox,  Hare,  Fitzpatrick,  G.  Selwyn,  Prince 
Boothby,  Sir  H.  Featherstonhaugh,  and  a  host  of  names  which  I 
just  remember  in  all  the  celebrity  of  liaut  ton,  but  now  swept  away 
by  the  hand  of  time,  and,  with  only  some  few  exceptions,  leaving 
hardly  a  trace  of  recollection  behind  them.  The  Prince  of  "Wales 
gave  the  young  Count  de  Gramont  a  commission  in  his  own  regi- 
ment, the  10th  Light  Dragoons,  of  which  the  officers  were  generally 
his  favorites  and  friends,  among  whom  at  that  time  were  Poyntz, 
W.  C.  Churchill,  Braddyll,  Jack  Lee,  poor  little  Gal  way  (who  was 
T)urnt  in  his  bed),  Lords  R.  and  C.  Manners,  and,  though  last  not 
least,  our  friend  G.  Brummell,  who  was  beginning  to  establish  an 
intimacy  with  his  royal  colonel." 

Indeed,  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  an  idea  of  the  whirl  of 
folly  and  extravagance  in  which  the  pleasure-loving  young  prince 


*  The  lady  just  alluded  to  was  then  in  all  her  bloom,  and  so  "  fast,"  as  it  is 
called  now,  that  we  hear  of  her  being  brought  to  hear  a  debate  in  the  House 
of  Commons  dressed  in  man's  clothes ! 


58  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

now  lived.  A  strange  restlessness — never  absent  from  what  are 
called  the  "  votaries  of  pleasure" — had  taken  possession  of  him;  he 
was  flying  from  house  to  house,  dashing  down  to  Brighton  and  up 
again,  as  fast  as  four  horses  could  take  him;  now  at  Tunbridge 
Wells,  or  at  the  country  mansion  of  some  boon  companion. 
Attended  by  a  band  of  roysterers  and  his  "  three  colonels,"  as  they 
were  called — Lake,  Hulse,  and  St.  Leger — he  gamed  and  drank, 
frequented  races  and  boxing-matches  and  the  Gardens.  Indeed, 
from  this  time  to  the  end  of  his  life,  it  might  seem  that  clothes, 
carriages,  and  building  houses  were  to  form  his  favorite  minor 
pleasures.  Were  a  history  of  dress  during  the  present  and  last 
century  written,  the  changes  he  inspired  should  be  noted.  Car- 
riages he  also  influenced  with  infinite  variety.  Mr.  Thackeray 
indeed  professed  to  see  nothing  but  clothes  when  he  looked 
through  his  life,  and  his  judgment  may  be  worth  quoting  here,  as 
one  of  the  most  mistaken  and  superficial  of  estimates.  "I  tr}'  and 
take  him  to  pieces,"  he  says,  "and  find  silk  stockings,  padding, 
stays,  a  coat  with  frogs  and  a  fur  collar,  a  star  and  blue  ribbon,  a 
pocket-handkerchief  prodigiousl}''  scented,  one  of  Truefitt's  best 
nuttj^-brown  wigs  reeking  with  oil,  a  set  of  teeth  and  a  huge  black 
stock,  uuder-waistcoats,  more  under-waistcoats,  and  then  nothing. 
I  know  of  no  sentiment  that  he  ever  distinctly  uttered.  Documents 
are  published  under  his  name,  but  people  wrote  them;  private  letters, 
but  people  spelt  them.  He  put  a  great  George  P.  or  George  R.  at 
the  bottom  of  the  page  and  fancied  he  had  written  the  paper. 
Some  bookseller's  clerk,  some  poor  author,  some  man  did  the  work 
— saw  to  the  spelling,  cleaned  up  the  slovenly  sentences,  and  gave 
the  lax  maudlin  slipslop  a  sort  of  consistency.  He  must  have  had 
an  individuality:  the  dancing-master  whom  he  emulated,  nay, 
surpassed,  the  wig-maker  who  curled  his  toupee  for  him,  the  tailor 
who  cut  his  coats,  had  that.  But,  about  George,  one  can  get  at 
nothing  actual.  That  outside,  I  am  certain,  is  pad  and  tailor's 
work."  This  view  of  character,  founded  on  clothes,  will  be  found 
to  be  a  complete  mistake.  If  he  could  devise  these  trifling  things,  he 
could  turn  his  mind  with  effect  to  what  was  serious  and  important. 
The  phaeton,  a  favorite  vehicle  of  his,  is  familiar  to  us  from  the 
caricatures.  It  was  an  unsightly  thing,  high,  single-bodied,  "  all 
upon  the  fore  wheels,"  says  the  agreeable  author  of  "The  Road," 
"and  looking  as  if  the  hinder  ones  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  follow. 
This  was  commonly  driven,  by  such  as  could  afford  it,  with  four 
horses  in  hand.    Indeed,  it  may  almost  be  said  to  have  given  birth 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  59 

to  our  gentlcman-coaclimanship,  as  well  as  to  the  well-known  epi- 
gram : 

"  What  can  Tommy  Onslow  do? 

He  can  drive  a  phaeton  and  two. 

Can  Tommy  Onslow  do  no  more? 

Yes — he  can  drive  a  phaeton  and  four. 

**  The  phaeton  was  succeeded  by  the  no  less  classically  yclept 
curricle — a  carriage,  when  properly  appointed,  and  followed  by 
two  well-dressed  and  well-mounted  grooms,  of  singular  elegance 
certainly.  It  had  a  long  run  in  the  fashionable  world,  but  being, 
like  the  phaeton,  only  calculated  to  carry  two  persons,  and  requir- 
ing never  less  than  three  horses,  taxation  and  economy  put  an  end 
to  it.  Then  came  the  reign  of  the  gig,  and  the  stanhope,  so  named 
after  the  Honorable  Fitzroy  Stanhope,  who  planned  it,  succeeded 
the  tilbury,  so  called  from  the  well-known  coachmaker;  and  the 
cost,  without  harness,  of  either  may  be  about  seventy  pounds. 
Now,  'every  dog  has  his  day,'  and  so  have  our  prevailing 
fashions.  The  buggy,  stanhope,  dennet,  and  tilbury  have  all,  dur- 
ing some  seasons  past,  been  supplanted  by  the  cabriolet.  Fifty 
years  ago  the  idea  of  putting  a  thoroughbred  horse  into  harness 
would  have  been  considered  preposterous.  In  the  carriages  of  our 
noblemen  and  gentlemen  the  long-tailed  black  or  Cleveland  bay — 
each  one  remove  from  the  cart-horse — was  the  prevailing  sort,  and 
six  miles  an  hour  the  extent  of  his  pace. " 

Mr.  Cyrus  Redding  recollected  some  strange  varieties  of  vehicle 
— "  Tim- whiskeys  " — some  that  went  on  three  wheels.  The  ladies 
went  to  Court  in  Chairs.  "  There  was  a  vis-^-vis  for  two,  generally 
used  by  gentlemen  going  to  court,  superbly  ornamented,  and  the 
horse  richly  caparisoned,  with  two  or  three  footmen  behind  in  gay 
liveries.  There  was  the  lofty  phaeton  generally  used  with  four 
horses,  high  enough  to  look  into  a  first-floor  window.  Some  of 
these  carriages  had  silver  panellings.  The  Prince  of  Wales 
launched  the  most  extravagant  equipages,  crowned  with  coronets 
and  plumes,  the  panels  fitted  with  paintings  of  squabby  cupids  and 
rustic  nymphs." 

He  once  saw  the  Prince  arrayed  in  deep  brown  velvet,  silver 
embroidered,  cut-steel  buttons,  and  a  gold  net  thrown  over  all.  In 
our  own  day  fashion  takes  many  freaks,  but  does  not  amuse  itself 
by  costly  and  whimsical  changes  in  the  patterns  of  clothes.  Nor 
was  it  in  these  departments  alone  that  he  was  the  leader  of  the  town. 
Indeed,  at  this   period  London  was  one  of  the  gayest  cities  of 


60  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV. 

Europe,  and  all  the  ranks  of  nobles  and  gentry,  and  in  these  ranks 
the  old  as  well  as  the  young,  seemed  to  be  frantically  devoted  to  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure  under  its  most  showy  and  even  theatrical  forms; 
while  the  presence  and  encouragement  of  an  ardent  young  prince, 
handsome,  brilliant,  and  full  of  gayety,  set  the  ball  rolling,  as  the 
phrase  runs,  with  increased  avidity.  An  interesting  subject  of 
inquiry  would  be  to  discover  what  taste  has  regulated  the  different 
forms  of  social  amusement  at  particular  eras.  In  our  own  day,  nl 
fresco  amusements,  dancing  and  supping  at  gardens,  masquerades 
and  balls  at  public  rooms,  would  seem  not  to  be  in  keeping  with  the 
manners  or  tastes  of  the  day,  but  one  hundred  years  ago  we  find  the 
whole  of  London  society  rushing  heedlessly  after  such  pastimes. 
Private  theatres  were  highly  fashionable,  one  wing  of  many  a  noble 
mansion  being  built  specially  for  this  purpose;  as  well  as  the 
Almack's  balls,  the  gardens  at  Ranelagh  and  Vauxhall,  the  splendid 
rooms  at  the  first-named  of  these  places,  as  well  as  at  the  Pantheon 
and  Mrs.  Coruelys',  which  were  used  for  concerts,  suppers,  and 
masquerades — all  of  which  offers  the  most  curious  contrast  to  the 
habits  and  tastes  of  our  own  day.  It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  give 
a  review  here  of  the  pastimes  with  which  the  beau  monde  used  to 
recreate  itself. 

The  masquerade  was  then  in  the  highest  favor,  and  might  be 
fairly  considered  "the  note"  of  a  popular  taste;  that  is,  the  sort  of 
reckless  longing  for  adventure  which  such  scenes  offered.  We  find 
that  there  was  such  faith  in  this  peculiar  fashion  that  no  less  than 
three  magnificent  places  of  amusement  were  constnicted  to  gratify 
it.  The  foremost  was,  of  course,  Ranelagh,  the  rotunda  of  which, 
with  the  magnificent  suit  of  rooms  attached  and  its  handsome  gar- 
dens, was  one  of  the  sights  of  London.  Dr.  Johnson's  visit  and  his 
praise  are  well  known.  The  superb  circular  room,  its  cupola  sup- 
ported in  the  centre  bj'^  an  arcade,  while  some  fifty  or  sixt}"  boxes 
for  supping  in  ran  round  under  galleries,  offered  on  gala-nights  a 
superb  spectacle.  People  of  the  highest  rank  attended  promenades, 
supped,  listened  to  the  music,  sought  and  found  adventures.  The 
decorations  of  these  places  were  of  the  best  architecture.  At  old- 
fashioned  watering-places  abroad,  such  as  Spa,  we  see  some  of  these 
noble  buildings,  whose  faded  glories,  tarnished  gilding,  and  painted 
ceilings  recall  these  old  festive  times.* 


♦There  la  a  whole  series  of  prints  of  Ranelagh  and  the  Pantheon,  finely 
enjcrayed,  and  much  esteemed  by  connoisseurs. 


O-  Ti 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  61 

Mrs.  Cornelys,  a  German,  came  to  London  about  the  year  1763, 
and  opened  a  splendid  building  in  Soho  Square,  for  concerts  and 
masquerades.  Her  entertainments  became  the  rage,  and  we  find 
Mr.  Sterne,  not  long  before  his  death,  using  his  fashionable  interest 
to  secure  tickets  for  friends.  After  many  vicissitudes,  the  fine 
rooms  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  eminent  pickle-makers, 
Messrs.  Crosse  and  Blackwell,  but  the  beautiful  stucco  ceilings  still 
remain  to  show  what  its  other  glories  were.  At  one  of  her  enter- 
tainments the  pavilion  was  ceiled  with  looking-glasses,  while  the 
supper-room  was  laid  out  as  a  garden,  the  guests  advancing  in  a 
walk  between  hedges,  behind  which  were  ranged  the  tables.  The 
Soho  f^tes  continued  in  fashion  for  some  twenty  years  or  so.  The 
directress  at  last  became  bankrupt,  and  made  ineffectual  struggles  to 
revive  the  public  taste.  But  the  Pantheon  had  been  opened,  and 
swept  away  all  the  fine  company ;  and  the  unlucky  directress  was  at 
last  reduced  to  selling  asses'  milk  at  Hampstead.  One  of  her  last 
attempts  was  a  sort  of  rural  f 6te,  for  which  she  sought  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  patronage ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was  accorded,  and 
she  died  in  the  Fleet  Prison  in  1795.  Such  is  too  often  the  disas- 
trous finale  of  those  who  are  known  as  caterers  for  public  amuse- 
ments. One  of  her  daughters,  however,  became  a  sort  of  reader  to 
one  of  the  princesses,  changing  her  name. 

Here  is  the  description  of  an  entertainment  given  at  Lord  Ber- 
wick's house  in  Portman  Square,  thrown  open  for  the  reception  of 
masks.  "The  company  were  selected  by  tickets  limited  to  the 
number  of  five  hundred,  and  about  eleven  o'clock  the  rooms  were 
completely  filled  with  the  fashionable  world,  in  a  great  variety  of 
excellent  masquerade  figures;  the  dominoes  (contrary  to  the  gen- 
erality of  masquerades)  not  being  very  prevalent.  About  half-past 
eleven  his  Koyal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales's  party  arrived  from 
Carlton  House,  and  consisted  of  a  convent  of  gray  friars,  under  the 
direction  of  a  superior;  they  were  thirteen  in  number,  and  most 
completely  clad.  The  superior  of  these  friars  sung  an  extremely 
witty  new  character-song,  with  a  chorus  by  the  whole  fraternity  in 
a  circle ;  which,  at  the  request  of  the  company,  was  sung  a  second 
time  in  the  same  manner.  About  one  o'clock  the  whole  body  of 
monks  unmasked,  and  were  discovered  to  consist  of  the  following 
group: 


62  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Superior  of  the  Convent,  Captain  Morris,  by  whom  the  song  was  written. 
Monies. 

His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of       Hon. St.  John. 

Wales.  J.  Payne,  Esq. 

Hon.  H.  Conway.  P.  O" Byrne,  Esq. 

Hon.  G.  Conway.  M.  Braddyll,  Esq. 

Hon.  C.  Dillon.  Col.  Gardener. 

Hon.  S.  Finch.  Capt.  Boyle." 
Lord  Strathaven. 

The  Prince  gave  another  grand  fete  at  Carlton  House  on  the  10th 
of  June.  ' '  The  ball-room  was  fitted  up  in  a  light  and  pleasing  style. 
Twelve  superb  lustres  were  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  and  the  same 
number  of  girandoles  on  brackets  i>l;i(i  d  round  the  vooni.  Two 
orchestras  were  constructed,  hung  with  crimson  silk.  Upwards  of 
two  hundred  ladies  were  present,  some  of  whom  were  of  the  first 
accomplishments  and  fashion.  The  ball  was  suspended  at  half-past 
one,  and  the  company  repaired  to  supper.  Five  rooms  were  laid  out 
for  the  purpose.  The  Prince  and  a  party,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  supped  in  the  grand  escaglio  saloon.  The 
Duchess  of  Devonshire  was  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  his  royal 
highness,  and  Lady  Beauchamp  on  the  left.  All  the  first  families 
in  the  kingdom  supped  in  this  apartment.  The  company  amounted 
together  to  four  hundred  and  fifty.  The  supper  consisted  of  eight 
removes  of  the  choicest  dishes,  and  a  grand  display  of  confection- 
ery, with  the  most  curious  fruits. 

"  After  supper  the  dances  w^ere  resumed  with  great  hilarity.  The 
Prince  danced  with  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  Lady  Duncannon,  and 
several  other  ladies." 

A  ball  at  St.  James's  Palace  a  hundred  years  ago  offers  a  contrast, 
in  many  respects,  to  such  entertainments  in  our  time,  and,  since 
those  of  lower  degree  offered  nearly  the  same  elements,  the  descrip- 
tion of  a  royal  birth-night  ball  may  be  accepted  as  a  fair  specimen 
of  this  mode  of  entertainment.*  The  ball  began  before  nine  o'clock, 
when  the  King  and  Queen  had  taken  their  seats  on  chairs  singly 
placed  on  the  floor.  Round  them  rose  lines  of  seats  in  "pens," 
while  nothing  could  be  richer  or  more  magnificent  than  the  dresses; 
and,  on  great  occasions,  there  was  a  sort  of  competition  that  made 
the  display  quite  dazzling. 

It  was  the  ton  even  to  have  equipages  mounted  for  the  occasion; 

and  the  Court  newsman  would  take  care  to  describe  "Lady 's 

chair,  adorned  in  magnificent  scarlet  morocco  with  very  rich  silver 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  63 

ornaments,  her  'running  footmen'  in  silver  lace;"  or  he  would 
dwell  on  Mr.  St.  Leger— one  of  the  prince's  companions— and  his 
truly  elegant  equipage,  "  his  carriage,  servants,  and  horses  being  all 
as  a  young  man  of  fashion  should  be."  At  present  this  part  of  the 
display  is  quite  lost,  and  persons  of  condition  have  neither  oppor- 
tunity nor  inclination,  on  arriving  or  departure,  to  criticise  their 
neighbors'  vehicles.  "  Gala-suits  "  were  often  worn  by  the  princes 
and  young  nobles,  the  distinctive  mark  of  which  was  embroidery 
along  the  seams;  and,  in  1782,  a  dress  of  the  Prince,  of  this  descrip- 
tion, excited  much  admiration.  It  was  of  the  color  called  dauphin, 
a  sort  of  blush  tint,  embroidered  with  pearls  and  "foil  stones." 
The  Marquis  of  Graham  appeared  in  carmelite-colored  velvet,  deco- 
rated with  "stone  clusters."  The  other  dresses  were  nearly  all  of 
velvet  with  fur  linings.  On  state  occasions  the  King  wore  velvet 
embroidered  with  gold,  and  the  Queen  a  straw-colored  gown  and 
petticoat  trimmed  with  blond  and  silver  lace,  drawn  up  in  festoons 
with  strings  of  large  pearls  and  clusters  of  diamonds.  Tassels  of 
diamonds  also  hung  in  front  relieved  by  azure-blue  ribbons.  She 
wore,  besides,  flowers  of  diamonds.  There  were  green  gowns  richly 
embroidered  with  silver,  as  in  the  case  of  Lady  Spencer;  or  a  puce- 
colored  bodice,  as  worn  by  Lady  Salisbury ;  ' '  the  coat  of  crape-gauze 
ornamented  in  stripes  with  colored  foil  flowers,  between  which 
were  a  number  of  the  eyes  of  peacocks,  fancifully  disposed.  The 
headdress  fancied  was  in  the  style  of  an  emperor's  crown."  The 
whole  was,  however,  considered  to  have  "an  uncommonly  novel 
and  whimsical  effect."  The  effect  maybe  conceived  of  such  a  mass 
of  rich  materials  and  colors. 

The  King  and  Queen  having  given  the  signal,  the  dancing  com- 
menced. The  minutes  were  the  favorite  measure.  Persons  who 
proposed  to  dance  had  previously  sent  for  dancing-tickets  to  the  Lord 
Chamberlain,  and  received  numbers  in  regular  order.  These  seated 
themselves  on  benches  on  the  floor,  at  each  side  of  his  Majesty,  and 
danced  according  to  their  rank.  "  God  Save  the  King"  was  played, 
to  the  music  of  which  the  royal  family  walked  round  and  greeted 
the  company.  The  ball  would  be  opened  by  the  Prince  of  Wales 
with  the  person  of  highest  rank  present,  who  was  usually  the  Princess 
Royal.  This  rule  was  carried  out  rigidly  in  all  degrees  of  society, 
so  that  it  often  happened  that  a  gentleman  and  his  sister  became 
partners.  The  Lord  Chamberlain  stands  by  with  a  list.  The  gen- 
tleman walks  out  to  dance,  putting  on  his  hat  and  handing  his  sword 
to  the  Chamberlain  to  hold  during  the  performance;  at  the  conclu- 


64  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

sion  of  which  the  lady  returns  to  her  seat,  while  the  gentleman 
remains  and  dances  with  the  next  lady.  About  twelve  dances  were 
generally  thus  given.  Then  the  more  lively  country  dance  succeeded, 
to  the  favorite  tunes  of  "Good  Morrow  to  your  Nightcap,"  "La 
Belle  Catarina,"  or  the  "German  Spa."  The  list  of  couples  was 
sometimes  after  this  fashion:  The  Prince  of  Wales  standing  up  with 
the  Princess  Royal ;  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  with  Lady  A.  Camp- 
bell; the  Duke  of  Dorset  with  Lady  Salisbury;  Lord  Ilochford  with 
Lady  Stormont;  Lord  Graham  with  Lady  Francis  Smith;  Mr.  Gre- 
ville  with  Lady  Aylesford;  Mr.  North  with  Miss  Bradwith;  Colonel 
St.  Leger  with  Miss  Nottis ;  Mr.  West  with  Lady  Talbot ;  and  Mr. 
Lumley  with  Miss  Woodley. 

This  arrangement,  it  will  be  noticed,  was  highly  select,  and  only 
allowed  of  but  a  few  dancing  out  of  a  large  crowd.  Before  twelve 
o'clock  the  ball  broke  up  and  the  compan}^  departed. 

On  the  14th  of  May  we  lind  that  the  Prince  was  introduced  to  a 
new  source  of  enjojTnent  in  the  shape  of  the  "Beefsteak  Club,"  which 
represented  the  original  type  of  clul) — which,  of  late,  has  become 
a  sort  of  house  of  call — but  was  then  the  club  proper.  A  general 
dinner,  which  occurred  at  short  intervals,  with  a  carouse  to  follow, 
was  the  club  ideal  of  the  day.  The  rules  were  suspended  to  admit 
him,  as  the  number  was  complete,  "  The  Finish,"  "The  Owls,"  and 
a  host  of  such  convivial  societies,  met  at  taverns,  as  did  the  more 
respectable.  ' '  The  Club  "  of  Johnson  preceded  ' '  Watier's, "  ' '  Crock- 
ford's,"  and  other  more  refined  establishments.  "White's"  and 
"  Brookes's  "  answered  to  the  "Carlton  "and  "Reform"  Clubs  of 
later  times. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  65 


CHAPTER  yil. 

1784. 

DuKrNG  this  headlong  race  of  pleasure,  he  had  found  time  to 
surround  himself  with  a  class  of  friends  not  so  respectable  as  the 
coterie  witli  which  he  had  set  out,  and  these  were  of  a  peculiar,  if 
not  very  respectable,  kind.  As  we  have  been  considering  the  forms 
of  entertainment  which  the  town  affected,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
see  what  was  the  type  of  ''man  about  town,"  or  "blood,"  which 
then  obtained.  These  beings  combined  eccentricity  and  vice  to  a 
singular  degree.  Indeed,  the  best  mode  of  giving  an  idea  of  the 
"fast  life"  of  tlie  day  would  be  to  present  a  sketch  of  some  of  the 
more  conspicuous  of  the  Prince's  companions  about  this  season. 
It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  at  this  time  the  Prince's 
jovial  friends  belonged  to  a  preceding  era,  and  were  now  old-fash- 
ioned. They  may  be  said,  therefore,  to  have  been  his  masters; 
but,  by-and-by,  he  formed  a  school  of  his  own.  But  from  his  own 
contemporaries  no  better  specimens  could  be  selected  than  the 

Barrys,  Hangers,  **01d  Q ,"  Sir  John  Lade,  and  many  more 

The  roystering  nobleman  or  gentleman  was  fairly  exemplified  in 
the  careers  of  the  Barrymores,  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk,  and  Sir  John  Lade. 

Lord  Barrymore,  eldest  of  the  family  of  Barry,  ran  a  short  career, 
and  bore  the  nickname  of  "  Hellgate."  His  brother  the  Honorable 
Henry  Barry  was  lame,  or  club-footed,  and  dubbed  Cripplegate; 
while  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Augustus  Barry,  even  less  reputable  than 
the  other  two,  went  by  the  name  of  "Newgate,"  for  the  rather 
illogical  reason  that  he  had  been  a  tenant  of  every  jail  in  the  king- 
dom save  that.  There  was  a  sister,  of  whom  little  is  known  save 
that  she  became  Lady  Melfort,  and  that  from  her  ready  and  copious 
use  of  oaths  she  received  from  the  refined  lips  of  the  Prince  the 
sohiquet  of  " Billingsgate."  Lord  Barrymore  distinguished  himself 
by  bringing  a  thousand  pounds  for  pocket-money  to  school.  He 
came  into  a  fortune  of  ten  thousand  a  year,  which  in  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time  he  had  contrived  to  charge  with  debts  amount- 


66  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ing  to  a  couple  of  hundred  thousand  pounds,  leaving  but  a  couple 
of  thousand  a  3''ear  to  live  upon.  His  extravagance  took  the  most 
fantastic  shapes.  His  hunting  retinue  was  like  the  French  king's, 
and  he  went  out  with  four  Africans,  dressed  magnificently,  who 
played  on  the  French  horn  during  the  chase.  All  the  lowest  scum 
of  boxers  and  cockfighters  were  in  his  train.  He  delighted  in 
cricketing,  then  in  its  infancy,  and  even  held  a  commission  in  a 
militia  regiment.  He  could  turn  verses  and  had  a  decided  literary 
taste;  and  was  so  far  musical,  that  on  returning  home  from  a  new 
opera  he  could  give  an  idea  of  the  overture.  "  His  lordship,"  says 
a  pleasant  actor  who  knew  him  well,  "was  alternate  between  the 
gentleman  and  the  blackguard,  the  refined  wit  and  the  most  vulgar 
bully  was  equally  well  known  in  St.  Giles's  and  St.  James's.  He 
could  fence,  dance,  drive  or  drink,  box  or  bet,  with  any  man  in  the 
kingdom.  He  could  discourse  slang  as  trippingly  as  French,  relish 
porter  after  port,  and  compliment  her  ladyship  at  a  ball  with  as 
much  ease  and  brilliance  as  he  could  bespatter  in  blood  in  a  cider 
cellar."  He  w^as  highly  popular,  the  friend  and  companion  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who,  later,  treated  him  with  the  contemptuous 
freedom  with  which  he  favored  many  of  his  boon  companions.  He 
would  take  some  "spirited  companions,"  and,  going  by  night  to  a 
village  or  country  town,  shift  all  the  various  signs  of  the  public- 
houses,  transposing,  say,  The  King's  Head  and  The  Red  Lion,  to 
the  confusion  of  the  owners  and  their  customers.  Often  as  he 
and  his  brothers  were  driving  in  a  hackney-coach  they  would  imi- 
tate the  screams  of  a  woman  struggling — "Murder,  murder!  Let 
me  go!"  etc. — when  the  passers-by  would  be  attracted,  rush  after 
them  in  pursuit,  and  stop  the  coach  to  rescue  the  sufferer.  Then 
the  fast  lord  and  his  friends  would  descend,  fall  on  the  interposers, 
who  were  quite  bewildered  to  find  there  w^as  no  female  in  the  coach, 
and  administer  a  sound  thrashing  on  the  public  highway.  Or  he 
would  be  driving  with  a  guest  and  his  brother  "  Newgate"  in  his 
chaisc-and-four,  returning  to  liis  country  place,  when,  after  some 
halt,  the  guest  would  find  himself  whirled  along  at  a  terrific  pace, 
and  discover  that  the  postilions  were  in  the  rumble  behind,  and 
that  the  two  brothers  had  taken  their  jJace.  If  he  met  an  ill-condi- 
tioned wagoner  on  the  road,  who  would  not  give  way,  his  lordship 
would  descend  to  fight  it  out:  if  the  winner,  he  would  present  the 
man  with  a  guinea;  if  the  loser,  he  would  shake  hands  good- 
humoredly. 
At  Brighton,  he  fitted  a  cofila  to  the  back  of  his  servant,  taking 


•       THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  67 

the  bottom  off  so  as  to  leave  room  for  the  man's  feet.  This  was 
carried  with  great  solemnity  to  a  gentleman's  house  in  the  Steyne, 
and  left  against  the  hall  door.  When  the  maid  opened  the  door 
and  saw  this  apparition,  she  shrieked  and  fainted  away,  and  the 
family  rushing  down,  a  pistol  was  discharged  which  penetrated 
the  coffin  barely  an  inch  above  the  servant's  head.  Did  a  particu- 
lar kind  of  mild  beer  run  short,  three  chaises  were  sent  off  in  differ- 
ent directions,  charged  to  look  for  beer,  each  returning  after  some 
hours  with  a  cask  inside. 

But  it  w^as  at  his  own  house  at  Wargrave  that  he  had  full  scope 
for  his  humor.  This  w^as  a  sort  of  cottage  or  villa,  not  far  from 
Maidenhead,  small  and  inconvenient;  but  for  which,  from  early 
associations,  he  had  a  liking.  There  he  would  collect  the  band  of 
roysterers  and  "flappers"  and  butts  who  furnished  him  with  diver- 
sion, and  here  he  was  able  to  indulge  his  passion  for  the  stage, 
having  built  a  handsome  theatre.  He  brought  down  an  eminent 
Coven t  Garden  mechanist,  who  exhausted  his  skill  in  scenes,  traps, 
and  other  contrivances,  so  that  such  embarrassing  works  as  panto- 
mimes could  be  brought  out  successfully.  Here  a  series  of  sterling 
comedies,  such  as  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor"  and  "Every 
Man  in  his  Humor,"  was  brought  out,  supported  by  amateurs  of 
Teputation  like  Captain  Wathen  and  Mr.  Wade,  and  professionals 
Buch  as  Palmer,  Bannister,  Johnstone,  Incledon,  Munden,  and 
others.  Captain  Wathen  and  the  host  excelled  in  Archer  and 
Scrub,  and  they  were  painted  in  character.  Delpini,  a  well-known 
pantomimist,  directed  behind  the  scenes,  and  took  the  leading  part 
in  the  pantomime;  the  "favorite  Pas  Russe,  as  performed  at  the 
Italian  Opera,  being  danced  by  Lord  Barrymore  and  Mr.  Delpini." 
Notliing  could  exceed  the  reckless  extravagance  with  which  this 
hobby  was  carried  out.  The  professionals  were  asked  en  masse, 
and  allowed  to  gratify  every  whim. 

In  the  year  1788,  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  induced  to  come  down 
and  occupy  a  splendid  mansion  close  by;  Lord  Barrymore,  whose 
house  was  too  small,  providing  the  rest  of  the  entertainment.  The 
performance  did  not  begin  till  nine  o'clock;  all  the  rank  and  fashion 
of  the  county  were  present.  The  prologue  was  written  at  a  short 
notice  by  a  son  of  Judge  Blackstone,  who  roused  his  "fuddled" 
intellects  for  the  purpose  by  tying  a  wet  towel  round  his  head. 

There  was  generally  in  his  train  a  set  of  bruisers,  and  one  noted 
individual  known  as  "Hooper,  the  tinman,"  was  permanently  re- 
tained as  a  sort  of  body-guard.     This  man  was  the  hero  of  one  of 


68  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.      ' 

his  lordship's  vagaries  at  Vauxhall,  which  at  the  time  was  much 
resented. 

"  Lord  Barrymore,"  says  one  of  his  companions,  "  had,  unknown 
to  us,  contrived  to  dress  Tom  Hooper,  the  tinman  (one  of  the  first 
pugilists  at  that  time),  as  a  clergyman,  to  be  in  waiting  at  Vauxhall, 
in  case  \*^e  should  get  into  any  dispute.  His  black  clothes,  formal 
hat,  hair  powdered  and  curled  round  so  far  disguised  him,  that  he 
was  unknown  to  us  all  at  first,  though  Hooper's  queer  dialect  must 
soon  have  discovered  him  to  the  waiters.  This  was  a  ruse  deguei-re 
of  Lord  Barrymore's.  About  three  o'clock,  whilst  at  supper.  Lord 
Falkland,  Henry  Barry,  Sir  Francis  Molineux,  etc.,  were  of  our 
party;  there  was  at  this  time  a  continual  noise  and  rioting,  and  the 
arrack  punch  was  beginning  to  operate.  On  a  sudden  all  were 
seen  running  towards  the  orchestra,  the  whole  garden  seemed  to  be 
in  confusion,  and  our  party,  all  impatience,  sallied  out,  those  at  the 
further  end  of  the  box,  walking  over  the  table,  kicking  down  the 
dishes.  It  seems  that  Hooper  was  now  for  fighting  with  every- 
body. A  large  ring  was  made,  and,  advancing  in  a  boxing  attitude, 
he  threatened  to  fight  any  one,  but  all  retired  before  him." 

The  death  of  this  noble  roysterer  was  sudden,  and  of  a  very 
tragic  kind.  He  was  at  Rye  with  his  regiment — and,  curious  to 
say,  he  was  considered  a  very  painstaking  and  efficient  officer — 
whence  some  French  prisoners  were  to  be  sent  to  Deal  under 
escort.  He  applied  specially  for  the  duty  of  commanding  the 
party,  no  doubt  hoping  for  some  fun  or  excitement.  When  they 
got  outside  Folkestone,  the  commander,  always  good-natured, 
halted  at  a  convenient  public-house,  wherc^  he  treated  the  whole 
party.  Being  tired  of  marching,  he  got  into  his  carriage,  which 
was  following,  wishing  to  smoke.  He  had  his  gun  with  him, 
which  he  had  characteristically  used  as  he  marched  along,  to  shoot 
any  stray  rabbits  and  gulls  he  might  see  on  the  roadside.  Lighting 
his  pipe,  he  handed  his  gun  to  his  man,  who  held  it  awkwardly 
between  his  knees,  when,  as  the  good-natured  master  with  his  pipe 
was  pointing  out  to  him  the  coast  of  France,  bidding  him  note  how 
clear  it  was,  the  piece  suddenly  exploded,  lodging  the  contents  in 
his  head.  The  right  eye  was  blown  out  upon  liis  cheeks,  and  some 
of  the  brain  dropped  upon  the  wheels.  He  lived  but  half  an  hour, 
groaning  terribly  all  the  while,  and  expired  amid  lamentations  even 
of  the  French  prisoners.  A  cynic  might  find  an  appropriateness  in 
the  scene  of  his  last  moments — that  public-house  where  he  had 
been  so  cheerful  but  a  few  minutes  before.    He  was  no  more  than 


^HE  LIFk  OF  GEOitOE  IV.  g^ 

twenty-three.  Sucli  was  the  fate  of  "Hellgate,"  the  eldest  of  the 
brethren. 

He  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  the  Hon.  Henry,  known  as  the 
lame  lord,  or  "Cripplegate."  This  gentleman,  with  the  worthy 
parson,  were  said  to  be  accountable  for  all  the  excesses  of  the  elder 
brother,  encouraging  him  in  every  conceivable  way.  The  new 
lord  had  not  the  same  bonhomie  or  the  same  love  of  fun.  His 
excesses  and  oddities  also  became  the  public  talk.  He  was  consid- 
ered very  amusing,  but,  as  Mr.  Raikes  says,  from  his  want  of  prin- 
ciple as  well  as  his  want  of  good  taste,  was  avoided  by  persons  of 
his  own  station.  This  sort  of  character,  too,  finds  itself  more 
appreciated  by  persons  of  lower  degree,  whose  society  is  therefore 
preferred. 

Strange  to  say,  this  lord  generally  escaped  chastisement,  on 
account  of  the  buffoonery  that  was  mixed  up  with  these  insults. 
He  had  indeed  a  duel  with  a  fat  Mr.  Howarth,  at  Brighton.  A 
large  crowd  attended  to  see  the  sport,  and  was  convulsed  with 
laughter  when  he  proceeded  to  strip  himself  to  the  waist,  having 
an  idea  that  portions  of  cloth,  etc.,  were  often  driven  in  by  the 
bullet.  This  comic  spectacle  took  away  the  serious  element,  and 
after  a  random  shot  the  affair  terminated.  He  married  a  girl  in 
Ireland  of  no  family,  but  whose  sister  had  made  a  conquest  of  an 
old  French  emigre — the  Duke  of  Castries.  He  gradually  sank  into 
distress  and  difficulties;  his  house  was  assailed  by  bailiffs,  whom,  it 
is  said,  when  he  gave  a  dinner,  he  used  to  dress  up  in  the  family 
livery.  He  had  finally  to  retire  to  France,  where  he  died  in  great 
poverty,  his  brother-in-law,  the  Duke  of  Castries,  now  restored  to 
his  estates  and  honors,  giving  him  shelter.  "He  was,  with  all  his 
follies,  a  man,"  says  one  who  knew  him,  "  of  a  generous  nature. 
He  had  nothing  mean  in  his  nature,  and  preserved  his  independence 
of  spirit  amid  great  temptations  to  subserviency."  One  of  his  claims 
to  fashionable  reputation  was  his  having  invented  the  "Tiger," 
the  smart  juvenile  servant  who,  in  those  days,  was  seated  beside 
the  owner  of  the  cab,  and  not  standing  behind. 

Of  the  Hon,  and  Rev.  Augustus  Barry,  "I  believe,"  says  one  of 
his  friends  cautiously,  "neither  the  nobility  nor  the  Church  derived 
much  advantage  from  his  being  a  member  of  both  classes.  He  had 
the  curious  faculty  of  exhibiting  himself  as  a  perfect  gentleman  or 
a  perfect  blackguard.  It  would  be  invidious  to  say  in  which  of  the 
two  characters  he  most  commonly  appeared."  He,  too,  died  in 
poverty  and  obscurity.    Of  "Billingsgate,"  the  sister  of  the  three 


70  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

brothers,  little  is  known,  save  the  faculty  of  uttering  oaths  before 
described.     Altogether  a  very  remarkable  family. 

The  well-known  Duke  of  Queensberry  was  another  of  those  roues 
of  the  old  school.  Facing  the  Green  Park,  and  only  a  few  doors 
from  Park  Lane,  is  still  to  be  seen  a  remarkable  porch,  consisting 
of  two  tall  pillars,  without  the  usual  steps,  perched  upon  what 
looks  like  a  small  coach-house.  This  arrangement  was  made 
about  seventy  years  ago  to  suit  the  infirmities  of  a  disreputable 
old  nobleman,  who,  seated  in  his  chair,  was  let  down  by  ma- 
chinery from  the  high  level  of  his  parlor  to  the  street.  It  was,  in 
fact,  "Old  Q."  himself,  whom  some  London  old  gentlemen  may 
still  recoiled. 

"Old  Q."  was  the  last  Duke  of  Queensberry,  and,  it  may  be 
added,  the  last  of  the  frightful  old  roues  whose  aim  seemed  to  be 
to  scandalize  both  heaven  and  earth  by  their  excesses;  the  coterie 
that  enjoyed  "  Hellfire  Clubs"  and  Medmenham  Abbeys,  that  "  had 
to  go  to  Paris  "  to  get  a  waistcoat  fit  to  put  on,  and  who  brought 
back  a  couple  of  dozen  copies  of  Crebillon's  newest  romance  for 
sale  among  friends.  He  was  of  the  set  that  included  Wilkes,  Sand- 
wich, Hall  Stevenson,  Gilly  Williams,  Hanger,  Barrymore,  and  a 
host  of  others. 

It  is  recorded  that  even  when  a  schoolboy  (he  was  born  in  1725) 
he  was  "  distinguished  by  his  escapades  in  the  capital;"  such  was 
the  pleasant  newspaper  phrase.  Lord  March,  the  title  "  Old  Q." 
then  bore,  soon  became  conspicuous  in  the  town.  He  was  a  spir- 
ited, clever  young  man,  with  an  extraordinary  store  of  vivacity; 
and  certainly  it  must  be  said  that  in  writing  a  letter  the  roues  of  his 
time  excelled.  The  letters  of  the  fast  young  men  of  our  day  con- 
trast unfavorably  with  the  good  English,  straightforwardness,  live- 
liness, and  even  wit  of  the  epistles  of  Lord  March,  Williams, 
Storer,  and  Lord  Carlisle.  One  wager  made  him  quite  a  reputation 
on  account  of  the  energy  and  anxiety  he  brought  to  bear  on  the 
result.  He  made  a  bet  with  an  Irish  gentleman  that  he  would 
drive  a  carriage  nineteen  miles  in  an  hour.  Mr.  Wright,  "  an 
ingenious  coach-maker"  of  Long  Acre,  was  employed  to  construct 
a  vehicle  of  extraordinary  lightness  of  wood  and  whalebone.  The 
harness  was  foraied  of  silk,  instead  of  leather.  The  noble  bettor 
practised  for  long  before,  four  blood  horses  being  driven  at  this 
terrific  speed ;  and  during  the  process  no  fewer  than  seven  horses 
fell  victims  to  the  severity  of  the  training.  On  the  29th  of  August, 
1750,  this  curious  match  against  time  was  run  and  won.     The  car- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOEGE  IV.  TL 

riage  was  a  sort  of  "spider"  arrangement,  consisting  of  little  more 
than  a  pole  and  the  wheels. 

His  lordship  was  conspicuous  for  the  number  and  success  of  his 
attachments,  or,  as  the  newspaper  of  his  day  stated  it,  "was  not 
insensible,  if  we  are  to  credit  report,  to  female  charms."  The  ob- 
jects of  his  devotion  were  usually  selected  from  the  opera,  and  the 
"Zamperini"  and  the  "Rena"  contended  for  his  patronage.  As 
he  grew  old  and  older  he  grew  more  and  more  selfish,  economized 
his  pleasures  warily,  and  became  self-denying,  so  as  to  have  more 
enjoyment,  and  not  draw  too  extensively  on  his  store  of  health  and 
satisfaction;  and  thus  succeeded  in  reaching  a  fine  span  of  life. 
When  near  seventy,  "  Old  Q."  "  ratted"  on  the  first  regency  ques- 
tion, deserting  his  old  master,  as  though  he  wished  to  secure  the 
favor  of  the  young  prince.  An  old  Lord  Essex  used  to  tell  of  his 
coming  home  betimes  from  a  ball  with  the  duke — both  arrayed  in 
their  stars  and  decorations — and  of  some  rustics  bursting  into  a  sort 
of  horse-laugh  at  the  sight.  The  duke  said,  simply,  to  his  friend, 
at  the  same  time  tapping  his  stars,  "What!  have  they  found  out 
this  humbug  at  last?"  He  had  magnificent  seats  in  the  country, 
which  he  never  cared  to  visit,  and  a  pretty  villa  at  Richmond,  to 
which  the  pious  Mr.  Wilberforce  was  once  invited,  and  where  he 
heard  his  host  exclaim  with  an  admirable  candor:  "I  can't  see 
what  they  admire  in  this  river.  There  it  goes,  flow,  flow,  all  day 
long."  The  predominant  feature  of  his  character  was  "  to  do  what 
"be  liked,  without  caring  who  was  pleased  or  displeased  with  it;"  a 
simple  and  agreeable  rule  of  life.  As  years  passed  on,  and  he  grew 
more  and  more  decayed,  there  was  left  to  him  the  pastime  of  sitting 
in  a  cane  chair,  in  his  balcony,  a  parasol  held  over  his  head,  in  his 
"bow-window  at  Piccadilly — "an  emaciated  libel  on  manhood," 
says  one  who  had  seen  him  ogling  the  ladies  of  all  degrees  who 
passed  by — and  a  groom  ready  mounted.  Jack  Radford  by  name, 
waiting  below  to  ride  after  such  friend  or  acquaintance  as  the  duke 
recognized.  In  the  afternoon,  he  was  to  be  seen  tottering  down  the 
little  iron  staircase  to  his  vis-^-vis — a  dark  green  vehicle,  with  long- 
tailed  black  horses.  During  winter  he  carried  a  muff,  two  servants 
sat  in  the  rumble,  while  the  indispensable  Jack  Radford  rode  be- 
hind. A  buck  of  fifty  years  ago  recalled  him  as  "  a  little  sharp- 
looking  man,  very  irritable,  who  swore  like  ten  thousand  troopers." 
There  was  indeed  a  suggestion  of  Voltaire's  face.  Still,  we  are  told 
that,  "viewed  from  behind,"  he  appeared  surprisingly  youthful;  a 
rather  ambiguous  compliment.     A  physician  enjoyed  an  annuity 


7§  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  five  hundred  a  year  for  the  duke's  life,  with  the  understanding 
that  nothing  was  to  be  expected  after  death.  But  he  did  not  rest 
on  the  arts  of  legitimate  pharmacy.  A  French  quack,  named  P6re 
Elisee,  was  in  his  grace's  service,  whose  duty  it  was  to  compound 
strange  drugs,  supposed  to  have  an  elixir-like  virtue,  and  to  supply 
the  vital  power  that  was  departing.  At  one  time  a  rumor  was  rife 
in  London  that  the  aged  duke  was  in  the  habit  of  taking  milk 
baths!  Thus  the  old  man  struggled  on,  now  becoming  deaf  of  one 
ear,  now  blind  of  an  eye,  now  supplying  its  place  with  a  glass  one ; 
a  perfect  ruin,  but  still  preserving  what  were  called  his  "elegant 
manners."  At  last,  when  eighty-five  years  old,  and  in  the  year 
1810,  this  selfish  and  uninteresting  specimen  of  an  old  epicurean 
was  to  be  called  away  from  his  three  superb  "  places,"  his  hoarded 
wealth,  and  his  pleasures. 

His  testament  was  found  to  be  a  curious  document,  consisting  of 
a  will  formally  executed,  and  no  fewer  than  twenty-five  codicils, 
more  irregularly  drawn.  His  ready  money  was  found  to  amount 
to  nearly  a  million  sterling,  and  the  disposition  of  it  caused  a  uni- 
versal flutter.  Lord  Yarmouth  (later  one  of  the  Regent's  choicest 
and  most  favored  companions),  with  his  wife,  inherited  all  the  vast 
estates;  a  disposition  revoked  in  the  codicils,  and  reduced  to  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  in  cash.  This  jovial  boon 
companion  was  familiarly  styled  by  his  friends,  from  the  peculiar 
tint  of  his  whiskers,  "Red  Herrings;"  while  his  wife  was  the  well- 
known  heroine  of  George  Selwyn's  insane  devotion. 

A  vast  number  of  his  friends  were  left  either  ten  thousand  or  five 
hundred  a  year.  Three  French  ladies  received  a  thousand  pounds 
apiece,  with  which  they  were,  no  doubt,  but  Hi-contented.  Some 
of  the  other  legacies  were  marked  by  a  strange  oddity:  a  Mrs. 
Brown  was  allotted  an  annuity  of  only  five  guineas  a  year;  while 
Jack  Radford,  his  well-known  groom,  received  an  annuity  of  two 
hundred  pounds,  together  with  all  his  horses  and  carriages.  His 
steward,  confectioner,  and  other  important  attendants  had  each  the 
same;  the  female  servants  were  nearly  all  passed  over.  The  French 
compounder  of  mysterious  drugs  had  five  thousand  pounds.  The 
legacy  duty  on  the  whole  was  calculated  at  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  pounds.  But  the  old  epicurean  passed  over  the 
apothecary  who  attended  him  until  he  was  himself  brought  to  the 
verge  of  the  grave.  He  had  attended  him  for  seven  weary  years, 
had  paid  nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty  visits,  besides 
sitting  up  some  seventeen  hundred  nightsl    He  claimed  ten  thou- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOUGE  IV.  73 

sand  pounds.  The  heirs  were  just  enough  to  admit  his  claim,  and 
at  the  trial  came  forward  to  support  him;  and  though  the  judge 
declared  that  an  apothecary  had  no  right  to  recover  fees,  the  jury- 
found  for  him  to  the  amount  of  nearly  eight  thousand  pounds. 
Unfortunately,  all  these  splendid  legacies  belonged  to  the  twenty- 
five  codicils,  written  on  sheets  of  note-paper  and  improperly  pre- 
pared. This  was  to  the  advantage  of  the  Yarmouths,  who,  indeed, 
would  lose  a  legacy  in  specie,  but  in  its  place  receive  a  vast  estate. 
The  only  resource  was  Chancery,  and  for  six  years  the  Jack  Rad- 
fords  and  other  humble  annuitants  were  tortured  by  suspense,  until, 
at  last,  the  Yarmouths  consented,  on  some  certain  shape  of  indem- 
nity, that  the  legacies  should  be  paid. 

He  was  interred,  rather  inappropriately,  under  the  communion- 
table of  St.  James's  Church.  He  was  attended  to  the  grave  by  his 
male  servants  only;  the  unremembered  female  servants,  probably, 
not  caring  to  attend.  The  heiress,  who  had  been  George  Selwyn's 
pet  and  had  sat  on  his  knee,  now  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago, 
lived  until  the  year  1856,  dying  when  nearly  ninety  years  old. 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk,  then  Lord  Surrey,  and  the  friend  of  Fox, 
was  another  of  this  odious  school  of  rakes.  He  was  not  devoid  of 
political  talent,  and  took  a  leading  and  spirited  part  in  the  contests 
that  preceded  and  followed  Fox's  India  Bill.  Gross  in  his  tastes, 
addicted  to  low  pleasures,  heartless — a  characteristic  of  convivial 
intercourse — in  his  old  age  he  became  a  sort  of  bloated  voluptuary, 
delighting  in  the  company  low  places  offered.  It  is  difficult  indeed 
to  realize  the  state  of  society,  when  noblemen  of  the  highest  rank 
were  found  sitting  night  after  night  at  taverns  about  Covent  Gar- 
den, meeting  their  frequenters  on  terms  of  equality.  He  was 
described  as  "a  vulgar,  heavy,  dirty  mass  of  matter,  that  could  swill 
wine  like  a  Silenus  and  gorge  beefsteaks  like  a  buckhorse."  "  In  his 
youth,"  says  one  who  knew  him  (Sir  N.  Wraxall),  "  he  led  a  most 
licentious  life,  having  frequently  passed  the  whole  night  in  excesses 
of  every  kind,  and  even  lain  down  when  intoxicated,  occasionally, 
to  sleep  in  the  streets  or  on  a  block  of  wood.  At  the  Beefsteak 
Club,  where  I  have  dined  with  him,  he  seemed  to  be  in  his  proper 
element.  But  few  individuals  of  that  society  could  sustain  a  con- 
test with  such  an  antagonist  when  the  cloth  was  removed.  In 
cleanliness  he  was  negligent  to  so  great  a  degree  that  he  rarely  made 
use  of  water  for  purposes  of  bodily  refreshment  and  comfort.  He 
even  carried  the  neglect  of  his  person  so  far,  that  his  servants  were 
accustomed  to  avail  themselves  of  his  fits  of  intoxication  for  the 
4 


Y4  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV, 

purpose  of  washing  him.  On  those  occasions,  being  wholly  insen- 
sible of  all  that  passed  about  him,  they  stripped  him  as  they  would 
have  done  a  corpse,  and  performed  on  his  body  the  necessary  ablu- 
tions. Nor  did  he  change  his  linen  more  frequently  than  he  washed 
himself.  Complaining  one  day  to  Dudley  North  that  he  was  a  mar- 
tyr to  the  rheumatism,  and  had  ineffectually  tried  every  remedy  for 
its  relief,  'Pray,  my  lord,'  said  he,  'did  you  ever  try  a  clean 
shirt?' 

"Drunkenness  was  in  him  an  hereditary  vice,  transmitted  down, 
probably,  by  his  ancestors  from  the  Plantagenet  times,  and  inherent 
in  his  formation.  His  father  indulged  equally  in  it,  but  he  did  not 
manifest  the  same  capacities  as  his  son  in  resisting  the  ieffects 
of  wine.  It  is  a  fact,  that  after  laying  his  father  and  all  the  guests 
under  the  table  at  the  Thatched  House  Tavern  in  St.  James's  Street, 
he  has  repaired  to  another  festive  party  in  the  vicinity,  and  there 
recommenced  the  unfinished  convivial  rites."  At  these  taverns  and 
houses  of  call  were  met  an  abundance  of  low  revellers,  such  as 
Felix  Macarthy,  who  did  political  service  for  his  friends,  Billy 
Hewardine  and  Jemmy  Bibb,  the  original  of  "Jeremy  Diddler" — 
types  now  likely  to  be  found  at  the  music-halls.* 

His  companion  and  protege.  Captain  Morris,  who  used  to  delight 
him  and  the  Beefsteak  Club  with  his  convivial  and  amatory  songs, 
sank  into  old  age,  and  would  have  died  in  want  and  destitution 
unless  the  pressure  of  friends  had  shamed  the  duke  into  making  him 
a  small  allowance. 

Sir  John  Lade  was,  we  are  told,  the  Prince's  tutor  in  the  art  of 
driving,  and,  on  his  coming  of  age  in  1780,  was  honored  by  John- 
son with  some  prophetic  verses.  The  sage  repeated  them  on  his 
death-bed.    The  are  indeed  admirable : 

Long-expected  one-and-twenty, 

Ldng'ring  year,  at  length  is  flown; 
Pride  and  pleasure,  pomp  and  plenty, 

Great  Sir  John,  are  now  your  own. 

Loosen'd  from  the  minor's  tether, 

Free  to  mortgage  or  to  sell. 
Wild  as  wind  and  light  as  feather. 

Bid  the  sons  of  thrift  farewell. 

♦  For  an  account  of  these  worthies  and  others  of  their  class,  the  reader  may 
consult  Bernard's  "Retrospections,"  Adolphus's  "Memoirs," and  that  curious 
miscellany,  "Records  of  My  Life,"  by  John  Taylor,  editor  of  The  Sun. 
Another  strange  and  mixed  picture  of  manners  at  the  commencement  of  the 
century  is  given  In  Richardson's  "  Recollections." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  75 

Call  the  Betseys,  Kates,  and  Jennies, 

All  the  names  that  banish  care ; 
Lavish  of  your  grandsire's  guineas, 

Show  the  spirit  of  an  heir. 

All  that  prey  on  vice  and  folly 

Joy  to  see  their  quarry  fly; 
There  the  gamester,  light  and  jolly, 

There  the  lender  grave  and  sly. 

Wealth,  my  lad,  was  made  to  wander, 

Let  it  wander  as  it  will ; 
Call  the  jockey,  call  the  pander, 

Bid  them  come  and  take  their  fill. 

When  the  bonny  blade  carouses, 

Pockets  full,  and  spirits  high— 
What  are  acres?  what  are  houses? 

Only  dirt,  or  wet  or  dry. 

Should  the  guardian  friend  or  mother 

Tell  the  woes  of  wilful  waste: 
Scorn  their  counsels,  scorn  their  pother, 

You  can  hang  or  drown  at  last. 

He  married  a  lady  said  to  have  been  drawn  from  St.  Giles's, 
under  the  favoring  patronage  of  Rann,  or  Sixteen-string  Jack,  a 
notorious  criminal,  at  whose  execution  at  Tyburn  she  secured  the 
notice  of  persons  of  high  degree.  At  the  Windsor  hunt,  her  skill 
in  riding  attracted  the  Prince's  notice.  She  excelled  her  husband 
in  the  art  of  driving,  and  her  curricle  and  four  excited  the  admira- 
tion of  all.* 

These  persons — and  there  were  many  more  like  these — will  give 
a  sufficient  idea  of  what  "the  bloods"  of  the  day  were  like.  They 
were  to  be  succeeded  by  the  Yarmouths,  Brummells,  Jack  Paynes, 
and  many  more.  The  wonder  is  that  the  young  prince  did  not 
become  a  thorough-paced  reprobate. 

Another  of  these  friends  was  the  Hon.  George  Hanger,  after- 
wards Lord  Coleraine,  who  was  a  noble  author.  This  eccentric 
being  entered  the  Guards,  which  he  left  to  join  the  Hessians  abroad, 


*  Her  sMll  was  celebrated  in  the  well-known  lines: 

More  than  one  steed  Letitia's  empire  feels. 

Who  sits  triumphant  o'er  the  flying  wheels; 

And  as  she  guides  them  through  th'  admiring  throng, 

With  what  an  air  she  smacks  the  silken  thong  1 

Graceful  as  John,  she  moderates  the  reins. 

And  whistles  sweet  her  diuretic  strains. 


76  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

and  after  some  service  in  America,  returned  to  town,  where  he 
made  tlie  acquaintance  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  tlien  in  all  the  riot- 
ous flush  of  his  early  career.  Mr.  Hanger  became  his  boon  com- 
panion, and  for  sixteen  years  "enjoyed  his  protection,  having 
viewed  him  in  every  stage— health,  on  a  sick-bed,  etc."  It  was 
in  this  connection  that  he  acquired  celebrity  by  his  geese -and - 
turkey  wager  with  the  Prince.  This  singular  transaction  is  thus 
described : 

"During  one  of  the  convivial  parties  at  Carlton  House,  Mr. 
Hanger  designedly  introduced  the  subject  of  the  travelling  powers 
of  the  turkey  and  the  goose,  and  declared  that  the  turkey  would 
outstrip  the  goose.  The  Prince,  who  placed  great  reUance  on  his 
judgment  in  subjects  of  this  nature,  backed  his  opinibn.  A  match 
Avas  made  with  Mr.  Berkeley  of  twenty  turkeys  against  twenty 
geese,  for  a  distance  of  ten  miles;  the  race  to  be  for  five  hundred 
pounds.  And  as  Mr.  Hanger  and  the  turkey  party  hesitated  not  to 
lay  two  to  one  in  favor  of  their  bird,  the  Prince  did  the  same  to  a 
considerable  amount,  not  in  the  least  suspecting  that  the  whole  was 
a  deep-laid  plan  to  extract  a  sum  of  mone}'  from  his  pockets.  The 
Prince  deputed  Mr.  Hanger  to  select  twenty  of  the  most  wholesome 
and  high-feathered  birds  which  could  be  procured ;  and,  on  the  day 
appointed,  he  and  his  party  of  turkeys,  and  Mr.  Berkeley  and  his 
party  of  geese,  set  off  to  decide  the  match.  For  the  first  three 
hours,  everything  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  turkeys  would  be  the 
winners,  as  they  were  then  two  miles  in  advance  of  the  geese;  but, 
as  night  came  on,  the  turkeys  began  to  stretch  out  their  necks 
towards  the  branches  of  the  trees  which  lined  the  sides  of  the  road. 
In  vain  the  Prince  attempted  to  urge  them  on  with  his  pole, 
to  which  a  bit  of  red  cloth  was  attached;  in  vain  Mr.  Hanger  dis- 
lodged one  from  its  roosting-place,  only  to  see  three  or  four  others 
comfortably  perching  aihongst  the  branches;  in  vain  was  the  barle}' 
strewn  upon  the  road.  In  the  meantime,  the  geese  came  waddling 
on,  and  in  a  short  time  passed  the  turkeys,  whose  party  were  all 
busy  among  the  trees  attempting  to  dislodge  the  birds;  but  further 
progress  was  found  impossible,  and  the  geese  were  declared  the 
winners." 

This  nobleman,  a  few  years  afterwards  becoming  more  eccentric, 
declined  to  sign  himself  by  his  title,  and  made  it  a  matter  of  offence 
to  be  addressed  by  it.  He  later  wrote  some  strange  confessions, 
and  indeed  must  be  pronounced  to  have  been  altogether  mad. 

Such  was  the  curious  assemblage  of  friends  that  attended  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  77 

young  prince  on  his  entering  life,  and  in  such  hopeful  company  the 
only  surprise  is  that  he  was  not  more  hopelessly  corrupted  than  he 
proved  to  be. 

Yet  it  would  be  as  unreasonable  to  judge  of  his  taste  from  this 
type  of  associate,  as  it  was  in  Mr.  Thackeray  to  write  him  down  a 
tailor's  block  and  nothing  more.  Men  of  low  tastes,  as  they  are  called, 
may  show  lack  of  refinement,  but  not  of  intellectual  power,  and  the 
Prince  would  as  often  be  found  presiding  over  a  gathering  of  men 
like  Fox,  Sheridan,  Erskine,  Francis,  and  others.  Among  his 
friends,  too,  was  the  wonderful  and  brilliant  Hugh  Elliott,  a  name 
little  known  now,  yet  during  his  career  enjoying  a  European  repu- 
tation. The  story  of  his  marriage  with  Mdlle.  De  Krauth  and  his 
duel  with  Kniphausen  were  the  talk  of  diplomatists;  but  more 
remarkable  whs  his  bold  interference  in  Sweden  in  1788 — his  unau- 
thorized assurances  to  the  king  of  English  support  at  a  most  critical 
juncture.  Nothing  indeed  is  more  remarkable  than  the  mixed  char- 
acter of  the  Prince's  circle. 


78  I'SD  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV, 


CHAPTER   Vm. 

1785. 

One  result  of  such  monitors  and  their  wild  courses  may  be  con- 
ceived. He  was  found  to  be  prematurely  steeped  in  debt,  and, 
before  he  was  five-and- twenty,  was  as  fairly  crippled  and  " ruined" 
as  the  most  abandoned  spendthrift.  It  was  curious  to  find  to  what 
a  sum  his  debts  had  reached  in  so  short  a  time ;  and  the  result  of 
the  first  attempts  of  those  periodical  "liquidations,"  which  were  to 
recur  so  frequently,  now  comes  before  us. 

"This  morning,"  his  Majesty  wrote  to  Mr.  Pitt  on  March  24th, 
"I  received  the  enclosed  note  from  Lord  Southampton,  on  which 
I  appointed  him  to  be  at  St.  James's,  when  I  returned  from  the 
House  of  Peers.  He  then  delivered  to  me  the  letter  from  the  Prince 
of  Wales.  All  I  could  collect  from  him  was,  that  there  are  many 
sums,  but  it  cannot  be  honorable  to  explain ;  that  Lord  Southampton 
has  reason  to  believe  they  have  not  been  incun-ed  for  political 
purposes ;  that  he  thinks  the  going  abroad  is  now  finally  resolved 
on ;  and  that  perhaps  the  champion  of  the  Opposition  has  been  con- 
sulted on  the  letter  now  sent.  I  therefore  once  more  send  all  that 
has  passed  to  Mr.  Pitt,  and  hope  to  hear  in  the  course  of  to-morrow 
from  him  what  answer  ought  to  be  sent  to  this  extraordinary^  epistle, 
which,  though  respectful  in  terms,  is  in  direct  defiance  of  my  whole 
correspondence.  I  suppose  Mr.  Pitt  will  choose  to  consult  the  Chan- 
cellor. "  * 

The  phrases,  "incurred  for  political  purposes,"  "the  champion 
of  the  Opposition,"  showed  what  was  in  the  King's  mind.  It  has 
been  said  indeed,  that  "it  would  almost  seem  that,  instead  of  his 
having  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  son's  soUcitations,  he  was  ready  to 
place  the  settlement  of  the  business  in  the  hands  of  Pitt  and  the 
Chancellor."  But  the  later  proceedings  show  that  the  minister  was 
equally  disinclined  to  consent  to  arrangement.  Taking  this  let- 
ter, with  Sir  J.  Harris's  account  of  his  interviews,  the  inference  is 

•Earl  Stanhope,  "  Life  of  Pitt,"  I.  80,  Appendix. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  79 

that  the  Prince  was  right  in  his  view  that  the  other  side  was  not 
really  anxious  to  come  to  his  assistance,  save  on  the  terms  of  a  com- 
plete political  surrender  and  submission,  and  of  breaking  with  the 
Opposition;  and  that  the  objections  made  as  to  not  disclosing  the 
nature  of  the  debts  were  a  convenient  pretext  for  refusal.  The 
Prince  had  given  up  his  idea  of  going  abroad,  and  was  willing  to 
retrench,  to  set  aside  a  portion  of  his  income  for  payment  of  his 
debts;  so  that  his  outburst  to  Sir  J.  Harris — "I  cannot  abandon 
Charles  and  my  friends  " — showed  the  sacritice  that  was  required  of 
him.  But  he  himself  shall  now  tell  what  his  desperate  condition 
was  and  w^hat  his  grievances.  In  a  curious  conversation  with  his 
friend  Harris,  in  April,  1785,  he  unfolded  the  steps  that  had  been 
taken  to  set  him  free. 

' '  The  Prince  began  by  saying  that  as  he  was  convinced  of  my 
sincere  regard  for  him,  he  wished  to  make  me  acquainted  with  his 
situation ;  to  communicate  it  to  me  fully,  and  to  consult  me  upon  it. 
The  original  ideas  of  the  then  ministry  were,  to  give  him  £50,000  to 
pay  his  debts,  £50,000  to  fit  him  out,  and  £100,000  a  year,  exclusive 
of  the  DiTchy  of  Cornwall.  The  King,  after  having  apparently 
approved  of  this  arrangement,  refused  ultimately  to  agree  to  it. 
The  ministers  were  on  the  point  of  going  out  (Lord  Carlisle,  Mr. 
Fox,  and  Lord  Keppel),  but  the  Prince  of  Wales  being  told  that 
Lord  John  Cavendish  was  against  it,  and  that  the  King  had  referred 
to  Lords  North  and  Stormont  (as  his  old  friends)  to  decide  on  the 
propriety  of  his  conduct,  he  (the  Prince  of  Wales — this  affair  was 
negotiated  between  the  Prince  and  Charles  Fox  by  Colonel  Leake) 
insisted  that  they  should  stay  in,  and  that  he  would  not  be  the  cause 
of  a  revolution  in  ministry,  or  have  it  said  he  ran  counter  to  the 
King's  pleasure  in  his  first  outset.  In  consequence  of  this  he  received 
£30,000  to  pay  his  debts,  and  £30,000  to  equip  him,  with  £50,000  a 
year  out  of  the  Civil  List.  He  found  his  house  unfurnished ;  that, 
and  many  other  expenses — some  necessary  to  his  rank,  some,  as  he 
confessed,  incurred  by  the  natural  imprudences  of  a  young  man — 
soon  involved  him  in  debts  to  a  very  considerable  amount. 

"In  the  autumn  of  1784 *  he  wrote  to  the  King,  stating  his  embar- 
rassed situation,  and  signifying  his  wish  to  travel  in  order  to  retrench. 
The  idea  of  his  travelling  was  reprobated,  and,  after  several  letters 
had  passed,  the  King  desired  the  Pi'ince  of  Wales  to  send  in  an  exact 
statement  of  his  debts,  giving  him  to  understand  he  would  liquidate 

♦  "Diaries  of  Lord  Malmesbury,"  vii.  121. 


80  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

them.  This  the  Prince  did  en  gros.  It  was  kept  four  months,  and 
then  returned  on  the  King's  saying  it  was  not  exact.  The  articles 
were  not  specified.  The  Prince  sent  it  back  again  with  every  article 
minuted  by  his  treasurer,  except  one  of  £25,000,  which  was  lumped, 
and  which  he  could  not  account  for.  (He  told  me  it  was  borrowed 
money,  and  that  he  w^as  obliged,  in  honor,  not  to  tell  from  whom  he 
got  it.)  The  King  objected  to  tliis  reserve,  insisted  on  its  being 
explained.  The  Prince  persisted  in  his  refusal,  alleging  the  motive 
of  secrecy  to  be  one  of  honor.  The  King  replied  that  if  it  was  a  debt 
he  was  ashamed  to  explain,  it  was  one  he  ought  not  to  pay.  Here 
the  matter  ended.  The  Prince's  debts  increased,  and  with  them  his 
embarrassment  and  distress.  He  now  owes  £160,000.  He  ended 
his  discourse  by  telling  me  that,  circumstanced  as  he  was,  he  saw 
no  means  of  relief  left  but  by  going  abroad,  that  he  only  wanted  to 
■  ask  me  whether  he  should  distress  me  or  not  if  he  was  to  come  to  the 
Hague  in  a  private  character,  and  whether  I  could  present  him  as 
such.  He  added,  he  would  rather  not  come  at  all  (though  it  was 
his  resolution  to  travel)  than  distress  me,  or  oblige  me  to  act  im- 
properly. " 

Sir  James  Harris  remonstrated  against  this  step,  urging  that  "you 
may  rest  assured  in  that  case  I  shall  receive  orders  how  to  act 
towards  you  before  your  arrival ;  and  those  orders,  let  them  be  ever 
so  much  in  contradiction  to  my  feelings,  I  must  obey. 

"P. — Certainly.  I  should  be  the  last  pei*son  to  wish  you  to  do 
otherwise.  But  what  am  I  to  do?  Am  I  to  be  refused  the  right  of 
every  individual?  Cannot  I  travel  legally,  as  a  private  man,  with- 
out the  King's  consent? 

"  H. — I  think  it  very  immaterial  for  your  Royal  Highness  to  know 
whether  you  can,  or  cannot,  legally  travel  without  his  Majest3''s 
consent;  since  it  is  evident  that  you  cannot  with  any  propriety  to 
the  public,  or  satisfaction  to  yourself,  cross  the  seas  without  it. 

*'P. — Why  not?  I  wish  to  travel  on  a  plan  of  «(()ii(>iny;  to  l)o 
unknown ;  to  live  in  retirement. 

"H. — Without  entering  into  the  almost  impossibility  of  your 
Royal  Highness  making  so  rapid  a  transition  in  your  ways  of  life,  I 
confess  I  see  no  event  would  give  me  so  much  pain,  as  an  English- 
man, as  to  see  a  Prince  of  Wales  abroad  imder  such  a  description. 

"P.— I  feel  what  you  say;  but  what  can  I  do?  The  King  pro- 
posed to  me  to  lay  by  £10,000  a  year  to  pay  my  debts,  at  a  time 
when,  with  the  strictest  economy,  my  expenses  are  twice  my  income. 
I  am  ruined  if  I  stay  in  England.     I  disgrace  myself  as  a  man. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV.  81 

"H. — Your  Royal  Highness,  give  me  leave  to  say,  will  find  no 
relief  in  travelling  the  way  you  propose.  You  will  be  either  slighted, 
or,  what  is  worse,  become  the  object  of  political  intrigue  at  every 
Court  you  pass  through. 

"P. — But  if  I  avoid  all  great  Courts?  If  I  keep  to  the  smaller 
ones  of  Germany,  can  this  happen?  I  may  there  live  unnoticed  and 
unknown. 

"H. — Impossible,  sir.  The  title  of  the  Earl  of  Chester  will  be 
only  a  mask  which  covers  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and,  as  such,  your 
actions  will  ever  be  judged. 

"P. — You  think  I  mean  to  go  to  France.  I  shall  keep  to  the 
Empire,  and  perhaps  to  Italy. 

"H. — What  I  say  applies  to  all  countries,  sir.  As  for  France,  I 
hope  never  to  see  a  Prince  of  Wales  there  on  any  other  purpose  than 
that  which  carried  the  Black  Prince ;  or  ever  to  hear  of  his  being  at 
Calais,  but  to  fix  the  British  standard  on  its  walls. 

"P. — ^But  what  can  I  do,  my  dear  Harris?  The  King  hates  me. 
He  wants  to  set  me  at  variance  with  my  brother.  I  have  no  hopes 
from  him.     He  won't  let  even  Parliament  assist  me  till  I  marry. 

"H. — But  there  exists  so  cordial  an  aifection  between  your 
Royal  Highness  and  the  Duke  of  York,  that  I  should  think  he  might 
be  employed  most  usefully  to  reconcile  the  King  to  your  Royal 
Highness.  It  cannot  be  a  difficult  task  when  undertaken  by  a 
brother, 

"P. — If  he  thought  it  possible,  he  would  come  over  immediately. 
He  has  often  expressed  his  concern  at  our  disunion,  and  declares  he 
never  will  leave  the  Continent  till  he  can  see  a  prospect  of  bringing 
the  King  to  enter  into  my  situation. 

"H. — Surely,  sir,  the  King  could  not  object  to  any  increase  of 
income  Parliament  thought  proper  to  allow  your  Royal  Highness? 

"P. — I  believe  he  would.  He  hates  me;  he  always  did,  from 
seven  years  old. 

"H. — His  Majesty  may  be  displeased  and  dissatisfied  with  your 
Royal  Highness,  but  surely  he  cannot  hate  you? 

"P. — It  may  be  so,  but  it  cannot  be.  We  are  too  wide  asunder 
ever  to  meet.  The  King  has  deceived  me,  he  has  made  me  deceive 
others ;  I  cannot  trust  him,  and  he  will  never  believe  me. 

"  H. — I  am  soiTy  your  Royal  Highness  thinks  so.  The  confidence 
and  kindness  with  which  you  hear  me  perhaps  makes  me  speak 
more  freely  than  I  oughtj,  but  I  think  your  Royal  Highness  should 

4* 


g2  THE  LIFE  OE  GEOROE  IV. 

try  every  possible  means  before  you  carry  into  execution  your  plan 
of  travelling. 

"P. — I  will  think  it  over,  but  I  see  no  option.  We  will  meet 
again  soon.  I  have  great  reliance  on  your  opinion,  and  am  disposed 
to  attend  to  you,  because  I  am  convinced  you  have  no  interested 
motives  in  advising  me. 

' '  On  Saturday,  May  the  21st,  the  Prince  took  an  opportunity  of 
saying  many  obliging  things  to  me  at  an  assembly  at  Mrs.  Sturt's,  in 
St.  James's  Square.  I  was  induced,  in  consequence  of  this  civility, 
to  ask  permission  to  reclaim  his  promise  of  allowing  me  to  wait 
upon  him  again  at  Carlton  House.  He  appointed  the  Monday  fol 
lowing  at  2  p.m.  My  motive  for  requesting  this  interview  was,  that 
I  had  received  vague  assurances  from  Lord  Carmarthen  (Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Foreign  Department,  and  who  spoke  after  Mr.  Pitt, 
First  Lord  of  the  Treasury)  that  the  ministry  would  not  be  adverse 
to  increase  his  Royal  Highness's  income,  providing  he  would  consent 
to  appropriate  a  share  of  it  to  liquidate  his  debts,  renounce  going 
abroad,  and  be  reconciled  to  the  King. 

"  Before  I  opened  this  subject  to  him  I  consulted  both  the  Duke 
of  Portland  and  Mr.  Fox;  and  both  of  them  expressed  their  appro- 
bation of  the  measure,  and  their  wishes  for  me  to  mention  it  to  the 
Prince. 

' '  After  waiting  some  time  after  the  hour  appointed  on  Monday, 
he  sent  for  me  up  into  his  dressing-room.  Our  conversation  was 
nearly  what  follows : 

' '  P.  — If  you  are  come,  my  dear  Harris,  to  dissuade  me  again  from 
travelling,  let  me  anticipate  your  kind  intentions  by  telling  you  I 
have  dismissed  that  idea  from  my  mind.  I  see  all  my  other 
friends,  as  well  as  yourself,  are  against  it,  and  I  subscribe  to  their 
opinion. 

"  H. — After  what  you  have  told  me,  sir,  allow  me  to  express  my 
infinite  satisfaction  on  hearing  you  have  given  up  your  plan. 

"P.— I  am  glad  to  have  pleased  you,  at  least,  if  I  have  not 
pleased  myself.  Yet  I  am  sure  you  will  be  concerned  to  see  the 
distressed  and  unbecoming  light  in  which  I  must  appear  by  remain- 
ing in  England. 

"H.— This  had  better  appear  here  (admitting  it  to  be  the  case) 
than  to  strangers.  But,  sir,  the  purport  of  my  troubling  your  Royal 
Highness  was  to  obviate  this  unpleasant  circumstance. 

"P.— How  so? 

"H.— I  have  thought,  sir,  with  great  anxiety  on  all  you  said  to 


fHE  LIFE  OF  GEOJRGE  IV.  8S 

ine  when  I  was  last  admitted  to  your  presence,  and,  if  you  will  allow 
me,  I  will  lay  before  you  the  result  of  my  reflections. 

"P. — Most  willingly. 

"H. — If  your  Royal  Highness  will  give  me  leave,  I  will  propose 
to  Mr.  Pitt  to  increase  your  revenue  to  £100,000  a  year  on  two  con- 
ditions. The  one,  that  you  will  set  aside  £50,000  of  it  to  pay  your 
debts ;  the  other,  that  you  will  cease  to  be  a  man  of  party,  and  recon- 
cile yourself  to  the  King. 

"P. — Your  good-will  towards  me  deceives  you.  The  attempt 
would  be  useless.  Pitt  would  not  carry  such  a  proposal  to  Parlia 
ment :  the  King  would  not  hear  of  it. 

"H. — This,  sir,  is  exactly  what  I  mean  to  try.  You  certainly 
shall  not  be  committed;  and  the  refusal  shall  be  given  to  me  alone. 

"P. — I  thank  you;  but  it  will  not  do.  I  tell  jou  the  King  hates 
me.  He  would  turn  out  Pitt  for  entertaining  such  an  idea ;  besides, 
I  cannot  abandon  Charles  and  my  friends. 

"H. — Mr.  Fox  and  the  Duke  of  Portland  have  told  me  often,  sir, 
that  they  by  no  means  wish  your  Royal  Highness  to  condescend,  on 
their  account,  to  take  any  share  in  party  concerns.  They  have 
repeatedly  declared  that  a  Prince  of  Wales  ought  to  be  of  no  party. 

"P. — Well,  but  admitting  this,  and  supposing  that  I  can  get  rid 
of  a  partiality  in  politics  you  seem  to  condemn,  I  tell  you,  Harris, 
the  King  will  never  listen  to  it.  Pitt  dares  not  mention  it  to  him ; 
or,  if  he  did,  is  he  strong  enough  in  the  House  of  Lords  to  carry 
it  through? 

"H. — But,  sir,.  I  presuppose  a  reconciliation  between  you  and  his 
Majesty.  Surely  this  would  be  grateful  to  the  King  himself,  and 
most  particularly  so  to  the  Queen. 

"P. — Why,  my  dear  Harris,  will  you  force  me  to  repeat  to  you 
that  the  King  hates  me?    He  will  never  be  reconciled  to  me. 

"H. — It  cannot  be,  sir.  If  you  order  me,  I  will  ask  an  audience 
of  him,  and  fling  myself  at  his  feet. 

"  P. — I  love  you  too  well  to  encourage  you  to  undertake  so  useless 
a  commission.  If  you  will  not  credit  me,  you  will,  perhaps,  credit  the 
King  himself.  Take  and  read  all  our  correspondence  for  these  last 
six  months. 

"The  Prince  here  opened  an  escritoire,  and  took  out  a  large  bun- 
dle of  papers,  which  he  read  to  me.  It  consisted  of  various  letters 
which  had  passed  between  him  and  the  King,  beginning  with  that 
in  which  he  asked  his  leave  to  go  abroad  in  autumn,  1784,  as  men- 
tioned in  my  first  conversation. 


S4  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"It  is  needless  to  attempt  to  relate  precisely  the  contents  of  this 
correspondence;  it  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  the  Prince's  letters 
were  full  of  respect  and  deference,  wTitten  with  great  plainness  of 
style  and  simplicity.  Those  of  the  King  were  also  well  written,  but 
harsh  and  severe;  constantly  refusing  every  request  the  Prince 
made,  and  reprobating  in  each  of  them  his  extravagance  and  dissi- 
pated manner  of  living.  They  were  void  of  every  expression  of 
parental  kindness  or  affection ;  and,  after  both  hearing  them  read, 
and  perusing  them  myself,  I  was  compelled  to  subscribe  to  the 
Prince's  opinion,  and  to  confess  there  was  very  little  appearance  of 
making  any  impression  on  his  Majesty  in  favor  of  his  Royal  High- 
ness.    I  resumed,  however,  the  conversation  as  follows : 

"H. — I  am  hurt  to  a  degree,  sir,  at  what  I  have  read.  But  still, 
sir,  the  Queen  must  have  a  reconciliation  so  much  at  heart,  that 
through  her  and  your  sisters  it- surely  might  be  effected, 

"P. — Look  ye,  Harris;  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  say  I  am  in  the 
wrong  when  I  am  in  the  right.  The  King  has  used  me  ill ;  and  I 
wish  the  public  knew  what  you  now  know,  and  was  to  pronounce 
between  us. 

"H. — I  should  be  very  sorry,  indeed,  sir,  if  this  was  known 
beyond  these  walls ;  for  I  am  much  mistaken  if  the  public  would  not 
pronounce  a  judgment  widely  different  from  that  you  think.  It  is 
not  sufficient,  sir,  for  the  King  to  be  wrong  in  one  point:  sir,  unless 
you  are  in  the  right  in  all,  and  as  long  as  any  part  of  your  conduct 
is  open  to  censure,  the  voice  of  the  public  (considering  your  rclatixc 
situations)  will  always  go  with  the  King. 

"P. — That  is  a  cruel  truth,  if  it  be  true  what  you  say;  but  it 
is  of  no  use  to  investigate  it ;  my  case  never  will  go  to  that  tri- 
bunal. You  are,  however,  convinced  of  the  impracticability  of 
your  scheme,  as  much,  I  hope,  as  I  am  of  your  kind  regard  in  pro- 
posing it  to  me. 

"H. — I  would  not  willingly  renounce  an  idea,  which,  by  its 
accomplishment,  is  to  relieve  your  Royal  Highness  from  a  state  of 
distress,  and,  I  may  say,  discredit,  and  place  you  in  one  of  affluence 
and  comfort.  May  I  suggest,  sir,  the  idea  of  your  marrying?  It 
would,  I  should  think,  be  most  agreeable  to  the  King,  and,  I  am  cer- 
tain, most  grateful  to  the  nation. 

"P.  (with  vehemence). — I  never  will  marry!  My  resolution  is 
taken  on  that  subject.  I  have  settled  it  with  Frederick.  No,  I 
never  will  many  I 

"H. — Give  me  leave  to  say,  sir,  most  respectfully,  that  you  can- 


TBE  LIPE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  8S 

not  have  really  come  to  such  a  resolution;  and  you  must  marry,  sir: 
you  owe  it  to  the  country,  to  the  King,  to  yourself. 

"P. — I  owe  nothing  to  the  King.  Frederick  will  marry,  and  the 
crown  will  descend  to  his  children;  and  as  for  myself,  I  do  not  see 
how  it  affects  me. 

"H. — Till  you  are  married,  sir,  and  have  children,  you  have  no 
solid  hold  on  the  affections  of  the  people,  even  while  you  are  Prince 
of  Wales ;  but  if  you  come  to  the  throne  a  bachelor,  and  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Duke  of  York  is  married  and  has  sons  to  succeed  you, 
your  situation,  when  King,  will  be  more  painful  than  it  is  at  this 
moment.  Our  own  history  furnishes  strong  examples  of  the  truth 
of  what  I  say. 

"The  Prince  was  greatly  struck  with  this  observation.  He 
walked  about  the  room,  apparently  angry.  I  moved  towards  the 
door,  saying:  I  perceive,  sir,  I  have  said  too  much:  you  will 
allow  me  to  withdraw.  I  am  sure  I  shall  be  forgiven  an  hour 
hence. 

"P. — You  are  forgiven  now,  my  dear  Harris.  I  am  angry  with 
myself,  not  with  you.  Don't  question  me  any  more.  I  will  think 
of  what  you  have  said.     Adieu.     God  bless  you !" 

Such  was  this  singular  dialogue,  which  shows  that  not  only  the 
King  and  his  minister,  but  the  Prince's  own  friends,  were  eager 
that  he  should  withdraw  from  political  agitation,  and  cease  from 
presenting  to  the  nation  the  scandalous  spectacle  of  a  son  at  war 
with  his  father.  The  most  remarkable  passage  in  this  conversation 
was  his  vehement  declaration  that  he  would  never  marry:  most 
significant  when  we  shall  learn  the  strange  romantic  adventure  that 
he  was  then  engaged  in,  which,  by  an  awkward  coincidence,  was 
contemporaneous  with  a  general  earnest  desire  that  he  should  con- 
tract a  marriage.  This  he  was  presently  to  do ;  but  after  a  fashion 
that  was  to  bring  discredit  on  himself  and  cruel  wrong  to  a  highly- 
princinled  and  virtuous  woman. 


S6  TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  It. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1785. 

A  BEAUTIFUL  woman,  attracted  and  gifted  in  many  ways,  had 
excited  a  violent  passion  in  the  Prince.  This  was  tlie  well-known 
Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  then  living  on  Richmond  Hill.*  She  was  then 
twenty-eight  years  old,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  Smythe,  a 
country  squire,  in  Hampshire.  She  had  been  first  married,  in  1775, 
to  Mr.  Edward  Weld,  uncle  to  the  cardinal  of  that  name,  a  family 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  King,  who  paid  many  visits  to  his  castle 
at  Lulworth,  Mr.  Weld  died  in  the  very  year  of  their  marriage, 
and  she  espoused  later  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  of  Swinnerton,  in  Staf- 
fordshire, who  died  in  May,  1781,  leaving  her — then  a  most  attrac- 
tive person — with  a  fortune  of  two  thousand  pounds  a  year. 
Looking  at  her  portrait  by  Conway,  we  can  see  of  what  kind  were 
the  blooming  charms  that  so  fascinated  "an  august  personage:" 
the  exquisitely-cut  lips,  the  round  features  (full  yet  not  plump),  the 
store  of  refined  good  humor  and  good  nature  without  vulgarity. 
All  contemporaneous  accounts  agree  as  to  her  amiability  and  strict 
principle.  It  was  at  Richmond  Hill,  as  she  told  Lord  Stourton,  that 
she  in  the  first  instance  became  acquainted  with  the  Prince,  and 
"  the  object  of  his  most  ardent  attentions,"  and  thus  the  well-known 
song  was  said  by  a  number  of  writers,  usually  well-informed,  to 
have  been  composed  in  her  honor. 

The  late  Lord  Stourton,  to  whom  she  confided  her  story,  and  Mr. 
Charles  Langdale,  who  prepared  a  moderate  and  interesting  account 
from  the  materials,  explains  the  difficulties  and  embarrassments  to 


♦  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  associate  her  name  with  the  well-known 
ballad,  "The  Lass  of  Richmond  Hill;"  but  there  can  be  little  doubt  the  song 
has  no  connection  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  She  could  scarcelj'  be  termed  a 
"lass "at  the  time,  having  been  twice  a  widow:  and  the  allusion  in  "I'd 
crowns  resign  to  call  thee  mine  "  is  merely  a  conventional  phrase  in  amatory- 
chanting.  A  Miss  Cropp  and  a  Miss  Janson,  of  Richmond,  in  Yorkshire,  are 
the  other  claimants.    It  was  sung  at  Vauxhall  in  1789. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  87 

which  she  was  exposed  from  the  extravagance  of  her  admirer's 
passion.  The  lady  was  a  woman  of  the  first  fashion,  and  not  what 
is  called  a  devotee. 

"For  some  time,"  says  Lord  Stourton,  relating  her  story,  "her 
resistance  had  been  availing;  but  she  was  about  to  meet  with  a 
species  of  attack  so  unprecedented  and  alarming,  as  to  shake  her 
resolution,  and  to  force  her  to  take  that  first  step  which  afterwards 
led  by  slow  (but  on  the  part  of  the  Prince  successful)  advances  to 
that  union  which  he  so  ardently  desired,  and  to  obtain  which  he 
was  ready  to  risk  such  personal  sacrifices.  Kelt  (the  surgeon)  Lord 
Onslow,  Lord  Southampton,  and  Mr.  Edward  Bouverie  arrived  at 
her  house  in  the  utmost  consternation,  informing  her  that  the  life 
of  the  Prince  was  in  imminent  danger,  that  he  had  stabbed  himself, 
and  that  only  her  immediate  presence  would  save  him.  She 
resisted,  in  the  most  peremptory  manner,  all  their  importunities, 
saying  that  nothing  should  induce  her  to  enter  Carlton  House. 
She  was  afterwards  brought  to  share  in  the  alarm;  but  still  fearful 
of  some  stratagem  derogatory  to  her  reputation,  insisted  upon  some 
lady  of  high  character  accompanying  her,  as  an  indispensable  con- 
dition: the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  was  selected.  They  four  drove 
from  Park  Street  to  Devonshire  House,  and  took  her  along  with 
them.  She  found  the  Prince  pale  and  covered  with  blood.  The 
sight  so  overpowered  her  faculties,  that  she  was  deprived  almost  of 
all  consciousness.  The  Prince  told  her  that  nothing  would  induce 
him  to  live  unless  she  promised  to  become  his  wife,  and  permitted 
him  to  put  a  ring  round  her  finger.  I  believe  a  ring  from  the  hand 
of  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  was  used  upon  the  occasion,  and  not 
one  of  his  own.  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  being  asked  by  me,"  adds  Lord 
Stourton,  "whether  she  did  not  believe  that  some  trick  had  been 
practised,  and  that  it  was  not  really  the  blood  of  his  Royal  High- 
ness, answered  in  the  negative;  and  said  she  had  frequently  seen 
the  scar,  and  that  some  brandy-and-water  was  near  his  bedside 
when  she  was  called  to  him  on  the  day  he  wounded  himself.  They 
returned  to  Devonshire  House.  A  deposition  was  drawn  up  of 
what  had  occurred,  and  signed  and  sealed  by  each  one  of  the  party; 
and,  for  all  she  knew  to  the  contrary,  might  still  be  there.  On  the 
next  day  she  sent  a  letter  to  Lord  Southampton,  protesting  against 
what  had  taken  place,  as  not  being  then  a  free  agent." 

It  might  be  supposed  that  this  strange  scene  was  an  artifice  to 
impose  on  an  excitable  woman.  Jesse  says  "it  was  probably  a 
trick."    There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  whole  performance,  to  a 


88  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOEOE  IV. 

certain  degree,  "was  genuine ;  for  through  his  Hf e  we  find  traces  of 
this  extravagant  sensibility,  which  became  yet  more  exaggerated 
from  habits  of  drinking,  with  even  traces  of  that  excitement  under 
which  his  father  labored.  He  was  given  to  tears  and  violent  emo- 
tion. Mr.  Moore  set  the  story  down  in  his  diary  with  the  addition : 
"that  the  Prince  had  fired  at  the  head  of  the  bed,  and  had  then 
tried  the  other  weapon."  In  his  agitation  he  had  no  doubt  some 
confused  idea  of  doing  himself  injury  with  a  view  to  make  himself 
interesting  in  the  eyes  of  her  he  loved. 

As  soon,  however,  as  she  reflected  on  the  consequence  of  what 
had  taken  place,  she  saw  its  inconveniences.  On  the  next  day  she 
left  England  and  withdrew  to  Holland,  while  the  baffled  Prince 
retired  to  the  country.  From  that  moment  she  was  persecuted,  and 
his  couriers  passed  and  repassed  with  letters  imploring  her  to  return. 
He  displayed  the  utmost  infatuation  and  despair.  He  used  to  repair 
— Mrs,  Fox  assured  her  friends — for  comfort  to  her  house,  and 
behaved  in  the  most  extravagant  style.  Lord  Holland  says  that 
*  *  Mrs,  Fox,  then  Mrs.  Armistead,  had  repeatedly  assured  him,  that 
the  Prince  came  down  more  than  once  to  converse  with  her  and  Mr. 
Fox  on  the  subject;  that  he  cried  by  the  hour;  he  testified  the 
sincerity  and  violence  of  his  passion  and  despair  by  extravagant 
expressions  and  actions — rolling  on  the  floor,  striking  his  forehead, 
tearing  his  hair,  falling  into  hj'sterics,  and  swearing  that  he  would 
abandon  the  country,  forego  the  crown,  etc." 

Wearied  out  with  his  importunities,  she  at  last  agreed  to  return 
under  a  solemn  engagement  on  his  part  of  a  formal  marriage,  such 
as  would  satisfy  her  conscience.  This  may  have  been  an  indiscreet 
proceeding;  but  it  was  hard  to  expect  that  she  was  to  expatriate  her- 
self for  the  most  precious  years  of  her  life.  Lord  Stourton  was 
shown  a  letter  of  the  Prince's,  thirty-seven  pages  long,  in  which  was 
the  statement  that  "the  King  would  connive  at  the  union."  This  it 
would  be  going  too  far  to  call  a  falsehood,  and  may  have  been 
meant  as  inference  merely. 

It  was  in  the  first  week  of  December  that  she  arrived.  And  the 
sagacious  Fox,  who  had  not  seen  his  patron  for  some  weeks,  began 
to  suspect  what  was  on  foot.  The  Prince  had  no  doubt  avoided  the 
society  of  his  friend,  from  an  awkward  consciousness  of  his  secret 
and  of  the  step  he  now  intended.  But  when  the  arrival  of  the  lady 
l)ecame  known,  the  Prince  must  have  been  diwigreeably  surprised  to 
receive  a  remonstrance  and  warning  from  his  friend  Mr,  Fox,  enjoining 
him  to  take  care,  and  pointing  out  the  serious  dtingers  of  such  a  step. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK  89 

After  declaring  that  he  knew  he  was  running  the  risk  of  displeas- 
ing him,  Mr.  Fox  thus  appeals  to  him : 

"  I  was  told  just  before  I  left  town  yesterday  that  Mrs.  Fitzherbert 
was  arrived,  and  if  I  had  heard  only  this  I  should  have  felt  most 
unfeigned  joy  at  an  event  which  I  knew  would  contribute  so  much 
to  your  Royal  Highness's  satisfaction ;  but  I  was  told  at  the  same 
time  that  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  which  had  been  observed 
and  put  together,  there  was  reason  to  suppose  that  you  were 
going  to  take  the  very  desperate  step  (pardon  the  expression)  of 
manying  her  at  this  moment.  If  such  an  idea  be  really  in  your 
mind,  and  it  is  not  too  late,  for  God's  sake  let  me  call  your  attention 
to  some  considerations,  which  my  attachment  to  your  Royal  High- 
ness, and  the  real  concern  that  I  take  in  whatever  relates  to  your 
interest,  have  suggested  to  me,  and  which  may  possibly  have  the  more 
weight  with  you  when  you  perceive  that  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  is  equally 
interested  in  most  of  them  with  yourself.  In  the  first  place,  you  are 
aware  that  a  marriage  with  a  Catholic  throws  the  prince  contracting 
such  marriage  out  of  the  succession  of  the  crown.  If  there  be  a 
doubt  about  her  previous  conversion,  consider  the  circumstances  in 
which  you  stand :  the  King  not  feeling  for  you  as  a  father  ought ;  the 
Duke  of  York  professedly  his  favorite,  and  likely  to  be  married  to 
the  King's  wishes;  the  nation  full  of  its  old  prejudices  against 
Catholics,  and  justly  dreading  all  disputes  about  succession.  In  all 
these  circumstances  your  enemies  might  take  such  advantages  oti,any 
doubt  of  this  nature  as  I  shudder  to  think  of,  and  though  your 
generosity  might  think  no  sacrifice  too  great  to  be  made  to  a  person 
whom  you  love  so  entirely,  consider  what  her  reflections  must  be  in 
such  an  event,  and  how  impossible  it  would  be  for  her  ever  to  forgive 
herself.  I  have  stated  this  danger  upon  the  supposition  that  the  mar- 
riage could  be  a  real  one,  but  your  Royal  Highness  knows  as  well  as  I 
that  according  to  the  present  laws  of  the  countiy  it  cannot,  and  I 
need  not  point  out  to  your  good  sense  what  a  source  of  uneasiness  it 
must  be  to  you,  to  her,  and  above  all  to  the  nation,  to  have  it  a 
matter  of  dispute  and  discussion  whether  the  Prince  of  Wales  is  or 
is  not  married.  If  there  should  be  children  from  the  marriage,  I 
need  not  say  how  much  the  uneasiness  as  well  of  yourselves  as  of 
the  nation  must  be  aggravated.  If  anything  could  add  to  the 
weight  of  these  considerations,  it  is  the  impossibility  of  remedying 
the  mischiefs  I  have  alluded  to.  For,  if  your  Royal  Highness  should 
think  proper,  when  you  are  twenty-five  years  old,  to  notify  to  Par- 
liament your  intention  to  marry  (by  which  means  alone  a  legal 


90  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

marriage  can  be  contracted),  in  what  manner  can  it  be  notified?  If 
the  previous  marriage  is  mentioned  or  owned,  will  it  not  be  said 
that  you  have  set  at  defiance  the  laws  of  your  country,  and  that  you 
now  come  to  Parliament  for  a  sanction  to  what  you  have  already 
done  in  contempt  of  it?  If  there  are  children,  will  it  not  be  said 
that  we  must  look  for  future  applications  to  legitimate  them,  and 
consequently  be  liable  to  disputes  for  the  succession  between  the 
eldest  son — and  the  eldest  son  after  the  legal  mamage?  And  will 
not  the  entire  annulling  of  the  whole  marriage  be  suggested  as  the 
most  secure  way  of  preventing  all  such  disputes?  It  will  be  said 
that  a  woman  who  has  lived  with  you  as  your  wife  without  being  so 
is  not  fit  to  be  Queen  of  England ;  and  thus  the  very  thing  that  is 
done  for  the  sake  of  her  reputation  will  be  used  against  it ;  and  what 
would  make  this  worse  would  be  that  the  marriage  being  known 
(though  not  oflficially  communicated  to  Parliament),  it  would  be 
impossible  to  deny  the  assertion.  In  the  meantime  a  mock-marriage 
(for  it  can  be  no  other)  is  neither  honorable  for  any  of  the  parties, 
nor,  with  respect  to  your  Royal  Highness,  even  safe.  This  appears 
so  clear  to  me  that,  if  I  were  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  father  or  brother,  I 
would  advise  her  not  by  any  means  to  agree  to  it,  and  to  prefer  any 
other  species  of  connection  with  you  to  one  leading  to  so  much  m(s<  /■// 
and  mischief 

"It  is  high  time  I  should  finish  this  \erj  long  and,  perhaps  your 
Highness  will  think,  ill-timed  letter;  but,  such  as  it  is,  it  is  dictated 
by  pure  zeal  and  attachment  to  your  Royal  Highness.  With  respect 
to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  she  is  a  person  with  whom  I  have  scarcely  the 
honor  of  being  acquainted,  but  I  hear  from  everybod}^  that  her 
character  is  iiTcproachable,  and  her  manners  most  amiable.  Ycnir 
Ro3''al  Highness  knows,  too,  that  I  have  not  in  my  mind  tlic  same 
objection  to  intermarriages  with  princes  and  subjects  which  many 
have.  But,  under  the  present  circumstances,  a  marriage  at  present 
appears  to  me  to  be  the  most  desperate  measure  for  all  parties  con- 
cerned tlint  thoir  worst  enemies  could  have  suggested." 

Su(-li  was  this  wcll-reasoned  appeal.  The  sin^-ular  siii:-u('sti(Mis. 
given  in  italies — and  which  the  late  Earl  Russell,  with  some  want  of 
candor,  suppressed — were  not  meant  in  a  cynical  or  offensive  sense, 
but  as  the  sincere  advice  of  "a  man  of  pleasure,"  who  imd  himself 
married  a  courtesan.*    It  literally  recalls  the  suggestions  of  Sir 


*  Mrs.  Fox  lived  till  recently.    She  has  been  described  to  the  author,  by  one 
who  visited  her,  as  a  rather  vulgar  old  lady,  with  a  cockney  pronunciation. 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV.  91 

Pertinax  Macsycopliant  to  the  clergjTnan  in  the  play.  To  this  the 
Prince  did  not  reply  for  more  than  a  day,  and  then  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning. 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.   FOX. 

"Carlton  House,  December  11, 1785. 

"  Svinday  Morning,  2  o'clock. 
"Dear  Charles, 

"  Your  letter  of  last  night  afforded  me  more  true  satisfaction 
than  I  can  tind  words  to  express,  as  it  is  an  additional  proof  to  me,  w^ 
I  assure  you  I  did  not  want,  of  y  having  y*  true  regard  and  affection 
for  me,  w''  it  is  not  only  y«  wish  but  y«  ambition  of  my  life  to  merit. 
Make  yourself  easy,  my  dear  friend;  believe  me  the  world  will  now 
soon  be  convinced  y*  there  not  only  is,  but  never  was,  any  ground  for 
these  reports,  w'*  of  late  have  been  so  malevolently  circulated.  I 
have  not  seen  you  since  the  apostacy  of  Eden.  I  think  it  ought  to 
have  y^  same  effect  upon  all  our  friends  y*  it  has  upon  me ;  I  mean 
the  linking  us  closer  to  each  other ;  and  I  believe  you  will  easily 
believe  these  to  be  my  sentiments,  for  you  are  perfectly  well 
acquainted  with  my  ways  of  thinking  upon  these  sort  of  sub- 
jects. When  I  say  my  ways  of  thinking,  I  think  I  had  better  say 
my  old  maxim,  w*»  I  ever  intend  to  adhere  to ;  I  mean  y*  of  swim- 
ming or  sinking  with  my  friends.  I  have  not  time  to  add  much 
more,  except  just  to  say  y*  I  believe  I  shall  meet  you  at  dinner  at 
Bushey  on  Tuesday,  and  to  desire  you  to  believe  me  at  all  times,  my 
dear  Charles,  Most  affectionately  yours, 

"George  P." 

A  weak  nature  might  be  inclined  to  justify  itself  to  itself  by  the 
quibble  that  what  Fox  had  deprecated  had  not  yet  taken  place. 
Even  had  it  been  arranged  for,  he  might  think  that,  having  the 
power  of  changing  his  mind,  he  could  still  fairly  deny  it.  What 
might  be  the  truth  of  the  case  is  that,  like  many  such  fickle  and 
impulsive  characters,  he  was  for  the  moment  convinced  by  Fox,  and 
gave  in  his  adhesion  in  an  exaggerated  fashion,  though  that  evening 
he  may  have  veered  round  again.  No  doubt,  too,  he  believed  in  his 
statement  that  "there  not  only  is,  but  never  was,  any  ground  for 
these  reports."    It  is  amusing  to  read  his  aflBrmation  of  his  old 

Nothing  shows  Fox's  power,  and  the  fascination  he  exercised  over  his  friends, 
more  than  the  hearty  receptions  extended  to  this  lady. 


92  THE  LIFE  OF  GBOmE  TV. 

maxim,  "which  I  ever  intend  to  adhere  to;  I  mean  that  of  swim» 
ming  or  sinking  with  my  friends," 

Almost  on  that  day  week,  December  21st,  the  marriage  waa 
solemnized !  Nor  was  this,  unhappily,  to  be  the  last  of  these  equivo- 
cations. There  was  to  come  the  denial  to  Grey,  and,  worse  still,  the 
instruction  to  Fox  to  utter  a  more  public  denial,  based  on  his  own 
solemn  assurance. 

"A  certificate  of  this  marriage,"  says  Lord  Stourton,  "is  extant 
in  the  handwriting  of  the  Prince,  and  with  his  signature  and  that 
of  Mary  Fitzherbert.  The  witnesses'  names  were  added ;  but  at  the 
earnest  request  of  the  parties,  in  a  time  of  danger,  they  were  after- 
wards cut  out  by  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  herself,  with  her  own  scissors,  to 
save  them  from  the  peril  of  the  law.  This  she  afterwards  regretted; 
but  a  letter  of  the  Prince,  on  her  return  to  him,  has  been  preserved 
to  supply  any  deficiency,  in  which  he  thanks  God  that  the  witnesses 
to  their  union  were  still  living ;  and  moreover,  the  letter  of  the 
officiating  clergyman  is  still  preserved,  together  with  another  docu- 
ment with  the  signature  and  seal,  but  not  in  the  handwriting,  of  the 
Prince,  in  which  he  repeatedly  terms  her  his  wife. " 

These,  however,  could  not  have  been  the  sole  witnesses  of  the- 
ceremony ;  for  it  has  been  stated  that  Mr.  Orlando  Bridgman — later 
Lord  Bradford — was  present.*  Also  General  Keppel,  according  to 
Mr.  Raikes.f  This  was  to  be  expected,  the  general  being  a  constant 
favorite  of  the  Prince,  and  long  attached  to  his  household.  There 
were  also  present  her  brother  and  cousin. 

It  was  often  speculated  who  the  clergjonan  was  that  had  taken  on 
himself  so  perilous  a  duty,  and  it  may  be  conceived  that  here  was  a 
most  serious  difficulty.  Application  was  made  to  one  Rosenhagen, 
a  disreputable  military  chaplain,  a  singular  roystering  sort  of  clergy- 
man. Among  his  papers  was  found  the  correspondence  on  this 
subject. 

"Colonel  Gardner,  the  Prince's  private  secretary,  writes,  asking 
R.  to  perform  the  ceremony.  R.  replies  that  it  would  be  contrary 
to  law  for  him  to  do  so,  and,  if  done,  would  be  productive  of  impor- 
tant, probably  of  disastrous,  consequences  to  the  whole  nation. 
The  colonel  answers  that  the  Prince  is  aware  of  all  that,  but  pledges 
himself  to  keep  the  matter  a  profound  secret,  and  that  the  Prince 
will  feel  bound  to  reward  R.  for  such  a  proof  of  his  attachment,  as 


*  Lady  C.  Bury,  "  Diary  of  the  Times  of  George  IV." 
t  "  Raikes's  Diary,"  i.  189,  ed.  1858. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  93 

soon  as  the  means  are  in  liin  power.  Rosenhagen,  in  reply,  says 
lie  can  trust  implicitly  the  Prince's  promise  of  secrecy,  but  he  dare 
not  betray  the  duty  he  owes  to  the  Prince  by  assisting  in  an  affair 
that  might  bring  such  serious  consequences  to  him.  Lady  Francis 
says  she  'believes  Rosenhagen  declined  the  business  because  no 
specific  offer  was  made  to  him,  and  not  from  the  motives  stated  in 
the  letters,  as  he  was  daring  and  unscrupulous. '  " 

Another  clergyman  consented  to  undertake  the  dangerous  office, 
but,  at  the  last  moment,  drew  back,  alarmed  by  warnings  made  by 
one  who  suspected  what  was  the  fact.  Parson  Johnes  w^as  long  sup- 
posed to  have  been  the,  person.  A  clergyman  was,  however,  at  last 
found,  whose  name  was  kept  secret,  though  it  would  appear  to  have 
eventually  become  known;  for,  in  the  year  1796,  Mr.  Abbott,  the 
Speaker,  learned  from  Mr,  Barton  that  "the  Rev.  Mr.  Burt,  of 
Twickenham,  actually  married  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Lady  Fitz- 
herbert,  and  received  five  hundred  pounds  for  doing  it,  as  he  himself 
declared  to  his  family  on  his  death-bed."  *  Lord  Holland's  account, 
which  he  received  from  some  unnamed  friend  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  is 
admittedly  absurd  as  regards  the  religious  portion,  and,  in  the  eyes 
of  any  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  Roman  Catholic  religion, 
ridiculous : 

' '  It  was  at  the  Prince's  own  earnest  and  repeated  solicitations,  not 
at  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  request,  that  any  ceremony  was  resorted  to. 
She  knew  it  to  be  invalid  in  law;  she  thought  it  nonsense,  and  told 
the  Prince  so.  .  .  .  It  was  performed  by  an  English  clergyman.  A 
certificate  was  signed  by  him  and  attested  by  two  witnesses,  both,  I 
believe.  Catholic  gentlemen,  and  one  a  near  relation  of  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert, Mr.  Errington,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  from  mixed  feelings  of 
fear  and  generosity,  tore  off  the  names  of  the  witnesses  at  some  sub- 
sequent period,  lest  they  should  by  possibility  be  involved  in  any 
legal  penalties  for  being  present  at  an  illegal  transaction.  Before 
George  the  Fourth's  accession  to  the  throne,  or,  as  I  believe,  his 
appointment  to  the  Regency,  the  clergyman  was  dead  (for  it  was 
not,  as  often  surmised.  Parson  Johnes  who  married  them) ;  and  his 
name,  I  understand,  remains  annexed  to  the  instrument  purporting 
to  be  a  register  or  certificate  of  the  ceremony." 

It  was  owing  to  this  statement  and  others  of  a  similar  kind  by  this 
nobleman,  that  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  vindication  was  published  by  Mr. 
Charles  Langdale. 

*  "  Diary  of  Lord  Colchester,"  i.  68. 


94  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV, 

It  may  be  imagined  that  this  union  was  for  her  but  the  opening 
of  a  series  of  humiliations  and  trials.  So  volatile  and  unstable  a 
character  as  his — and  it  must  be  said,  so  little  regulated  by  principle 
— was  not  likely  to  insure  comfort.  "During  the  commencement 
of  her  union,"  we  are  told,  "the  attachment  of  that  fickle  prince 
still  existed ;  few  were  the  happy  hours  that  she  could  number  even 
at  that  period.  He  was  young,  impetuous,  and  boisterous  in  his 
character,  and  very  much  addicted  to  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  It 
was  the  fashion  in  those  days  to  drink  very  hard,  and  Mrs.  Fitzher- 
bert  never  retired  to  rest  till  her  royal  spouse  came  home.  But  I 
have  heard  the  late  Duke  of  York  say,  that  often  when  she  heard 
the  Prince  and  his  drunken  companions  on  the  staircase,  she  would 
seek  a  refuge  from  their  presence  even  under  the  sofa,  w^hen  the 
Prince,  finding  the  drawing-room  deserted,  w^ould  draw  his  sword  in 
joke,  and  searching  about  the  room,  would  at  last  draw  forth  the 
trembling  victim  from  her  place  of  concealment."*  She  was, 
unhappily,  to  furnish  one  more  instance  of  the  experience  that  those 
who  voluntarily  place  themselves  in  a  position  liable  to  be  falsely 
construed  must  be  content  to  accept  the  penalty  in  the  worst  con- 
struction that  can  be  put  upon  their  situation.  She  confessed  long 
after  that  they  were  very  happy  and  very  poor,  and  went  through 
many  difficulties  together  very  cheerfully,  f 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  the  Duke  of  Chartres,  now  Duke  of 
Orleans,  forced  him  into  a  sort  of  rivalry  of  extravagance.  They 
contended  in  sumptuous  entertainments  at  the  Jockey  Club,  where 
deep  play  was  carried  on.  The  Prince  was  said  to  have  lost  wagers 
to  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  Count  O'Kelly,  aiul  others.  His  present 
style  of  carriage  and  horses  was  now  a  "phaeton  and  six,"  a  postilion 
directing  the  two  leaders.  His  stud  was  costing  him  thirty  thousand 
pounds  a  year,  and  he  was  living  in  a  more  reckless  style  than  usual. 
His  situation  was  indeed  almost  desperate. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  unfortunately  he  had  now  added  to 
his  already  expensive  pursuits  that  most  costly  one — the  keeping  of 
a  racing  stable,  with  the  (on^fM^uent  taste  for  betting  on  tlic  turf. 
Newmarket  was  his  favorite  resort,  where  he  would  stay  at  Queens- 
berry  House  with  its  owner,  and  have  uproarious  nights  with  "Old 
Q.,"  Fox,  and  his  friends.     A  love  of  horseflesh  was  deeply  seated 


*  "  Raikes's  Diary,"  ii.  29. 

+  The  Duke  of  Wellington  repeated  to  Mr.  Greville  a  story  of  Mrs.  Fitzher- 
bert's  having  to  borrow  money  to  take  the  Prince  down  to  Newmarket, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  95 

in  his  nature,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  he  delighted  in  all  that 
concerned  racing,  hunting,  and  horses  generally.  There  was  in 
those  days,  when  racing  had  not  been  brought  to  a  system,  a  more 
passionate  ardor  for  the  sport,  and  a  more  healthy  enjoyment  in  it 
than  there  is  now.  Many  stories  were  current  as  to  the  Prince's 
winnings  and  losses ;  and  it  was  said  that  on  the  occasion  of  his  tak- 
ing his  guest  the  Duke  of  Orleans  to  Newmarket,  he  had  won  a  sum 
of  thirty  thousand  pounds.  The  probabilities  are  that  at  this  stage 
he  lost  and  lost  heavily.  As  he  grew  older,  however,  he  lost  his 
taste  for  this  perilous  vice. 

"We  now  hear  of  Carlton  House,  where  a  grand  entertainment  had 
been  given  to  the  persons  who  had  supported  the  host  during  the 
late  crisis.  Then  began  the  series  of  various  festivities.  A  curious 
spectacle  was  a  grand  assault  of  arms,  that  took  place  between 
various  famous  professors  of  fencing — St.  George  (the  foreign  artist), 
Angelo,  and  others.  This  was  followed  by  a  match  between  St. 
George  and  the  famous  Chevalier  (or  Chevali^re)  D'Eon,  who,  dressed 
in  woman's  clothes,  succeeded  in  vanquishing  the  victor.  The 
Prince  himself  then  took  the  foils,  and  fenced  with  the  Chevalier, 
and  was  complimented  on  his  gi-aceful  attitudes.* 

We  see  him  next  at  "  a  grand  match  at  tennis  between  two  French 
markers,  Barcelon  and  Bergeron — the  two  best,  I  believe,  now  in  the 
world."  It  is  Sir  G.  Elliot  who  tells  the  story.  "He  was  accom- 
panied by  a  Monsieur  St.  George,  a  famous  French  mulatto,  cele- 
brated for  his  skill  in  fencing,  music,  and  most  other  accomplish- 
ments, beyond  other  men,  and  almost  as  remarkable  in  this  sort  ot 
fame  as  the  Admirable  Crichton,  whom  you  may  have  read  of.  The 
Prince  was  also  attended  by  Mr.  Hesse,  now  commonly  called  the 
Prince  of  Hesse,  and  who  is  more  with  the  Prince  than  is  credit- 
able." 

We  find  him  also  following  the  new  craze  of  mesmerism — attend- 
ing the  seances  of  Maimaduc,  a  professor  of  the  delusion,  and 
submitting  to  be  operated  upon  before  a  company  of  fashionable 
persons.  The  operation  was  partially  successful,  and  the  Prince 
nearly  succumbed  to  his  influence.  Thus  was  society  rushing  from 
one  hobby  and  excitement  to  another,  as  in  our  own  day  it  passes 
capriciously  from  rinking  to  tableaux,  blue  china,  and  a  hundred 
such  whims. 

It  was  not  surprising,  after  this  round  of  dissipation,  that  at  the 


*  There  is  an  engraving  of  this  curious  scene. 


or -HE 
UNIVERSITY 


OF 


96  THE  LIFE  OF.  GEORGE  IV. 

end  of  the  year  he  should  have  been  attacked  by  illness,  "in  conse- 
quence," the  public  was  informed,  "of  having  drunk  some  cooling 
liquor  while  heated  with  dancing."  He  was  "in  perfect  health "  on 
the  Guildford  course,  came  up  to  the  Duchess  of  Gordon's  assembly, 
and  sent  on  to  Lady  Gideon's  that  he  should  be  with  her  to  supper. 
On  reaching  her  hall,  after  this  busy  day,  he  found  himself  unable 
to  go  upstairs,  and  was  transported  home  in  a  sedan-chair.  He 
could  not  leave  his  house  for  a  fortnight.  He  was,  indeed,  all 
through  his  course,  subject  to  attacks  of  the  kind.  Boxing,  too,  had 
engaged  his  attention,  and  he  was,  for  a  time,  an  earnest  patron  of 
the  "noble  science."  The  company  such  pursuits  introduced  him 
to  may  be  conceived* 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  97 


CHAPTER  X. 

1786—1787 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  when  the  Prince  contracted  his  engage- 
ment to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  he  was  engaged  in  appealing  to  his  father 
to  extricate  him  from  his  difficulties.  It  is  curious  to  find  that  the 
earliest  results  of  the  improvident  step  he  had  taken  were  to  be 
involved,  in  a  strange  way,  with  his  pecuniary  embarrassments,  and 
the  sagacious  predictions  of  Mr.  Fox  to  be  verified.  Here,  too,  was 
to  arise  the  first  of  those  unseemly  contests  between  the  father  and 
son  which  were  to  be  the  scandal  of  many  years. 

All  attempts  to  arrange  his  extrication  with  the  King  having  failed, 
it  was  determined  to  bring  the  matter  before  the  House ;  not  by  way 
of  formal  motion,  but  incidentally.  It  happened,  fortunately  for 
this  purpose,  that  an  application  had  to  be  made  to  the  House  for  an 
increase  to  the  King's  allowance  for  payment  of  a  large  debt,  and 
Fox,  with  some  point,  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  while  his 
Majesty  enjoyed  nine  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  a  year,  his 
son  had  but  fifty  thousand, 

Pitt  answered,  in  his  coldest  and  most  indifferent  fashion,  "that 
he  was  not  instructed  to  make  any  communication  to  the  House 
respecting  the  royal  family;"  adding  that  "he  should  avoid  the  pre- 
sumption of  expressing  any  private  opinion  on  the  subject. "  Alder- 
man Newnham  supported  the  demand.  Fox  then  threw  out  a 
menace  that  before  the  session  ended  he  would  bring  a  motion  for- 
mally before  the  House. 

This  injudicious  step  was  not  likely  to  further  an  arrangement. 
Mr.  Pitt,  however,  had  declared  that  if  he  received  the  King's  com- 
mands he  would,  as  a  matter  of  course,  take  up  the  business,  thus 
encouraging  a  fresh  attempt.  Mr.  Hugh  Elliott  undertook,  with  the 
assistance  of  Sheridan,  to  make  new  proposals.  He  repaired  to  Mr. 
Pitt,  with  a  modest  demand  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds ;  the  debts  amounting  to  some  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 
The  minister  affected  to  be  inclined  to  furnish  the  sum,  provided  a 
balance  was  set  aside  for  "some  specific  purposes,"  This,  however, 
5 


98  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

was  declined.  The  King  was  then  once  more  approached,  and  he  too 
affected  to  receive  the  proposals  graciously,  asking  for  a  detailed 
statement  of  liabilities.  This  was  furnished  to  him,  and  after  some 
further  delay  a  final  answer  was  sent,  his  Majesty  positively  declin- 
ing to  accept  the  terms,  and  declaring  that  neither  then  nor  at  any 
future  time  would  he  sanction  an  increase  to  his  son's  income.  This 
communication  was  made  in  harsh  terms,  and  ' '  not  very  civil. " 

"As  soon  as  the  Prince  received  the  King's  letter  from  Lord 
Southampton,  he  told  him  he  must  think  of  the  answer  for  some 
hours,  but  begged  of  his  lordship  not  to  lose  sight  of  him;  that  let 
that  answer  be  what  it  might,  his  lordship  should  be  able  to  assure 
the  King  from  his  own  knowledge,  that  he  had  not  seen  or  been 
advised  in  the  writing  of  the  answer  by  any  of  those  people,  friends 
of  his,  that  had  the  misfortune  of  being  under  his  Majesty's  dis- 
pleasure. He  accordingly,  after  six  hours'  thinking,  sat  down  and 
wrote  to  the  King,  telling  him  his  determination  of  giving  up  forty 
thousand  pounds  a  year  to  the  payment  of  his  debts."* 

No  doubt  the  King  was  alarmed  by  this  threat,  and  wrote  that  he 
had  not  said  absolutely  he  would  not  pay  his  debts;  but  if  the 
Prince  chose  to  take  a  rash  step,  he  must  likewise  take  the  conse- 
quences. 

THE  PRINCE  OF   WALES  TO   THE  KING. 

"Sm, 

"I  have  had  the  honor  of  receiving  your  Majesty's  written 
message  transmitted  to  me  by  Lord  Southampton,  and  am  greatly  con- 
cerned that  my  poor  sentiments  cannot  coincide  with  those  of  your 
Majesty,  in  thinking  that  the  former  message  which  I  had  the  honor 
of  receiving,  in  your  Majesty's  own  hand,  was  not  a  refusal.  After 
having  repeatedly  sent  in  various  applications  to  your  Majesty,  for 
two  years  successively,  representing  that  a  partial  reduction  out  of 
so  incompetent  an  income  as  mine  was  to  no  purpose  towards  the 
liquidation  of  a  debt  where  the  principal  and  interest  were  so  con. 
siderable,  I  this  year  humbly  requested  your  Majesty  that  you  woul(J 
be  graciously  pleased  (having  previously  laid  my  affairs  before  you, 
sir,  for  your  inspection,  and  painted  them  in  the  distressed  colors 
which  they  so  justly  merited),  whenever  it  suited  your  convcniency, 


♦  Letter  from  "  a  distinguished  person  connected  with  the  Court,"  quoted  by 
Mr<  Wallace  in  his  "  History  of  the  Life  and  Reign  of  George  IV.,"  i,  130. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  09 

to  favor  me  with  a  decisive  answer;  as  the  various  delays  which 
have  occurred,  through  the  course  of  this  business,  have  in  reality 
proved  more  pernicious  to  me  in  the  situation  in  which  I  have  been 
for  some  time  past  involved,  than  the  original  embarrassment  of  the 
debt.  To  not  only  these,  but  to  any  future  delays,  would  I  most 
willingly  have  submitted,  had  they  merely  rested  upon  my  own 
patience;  but  the  pressing  importunities  of  many  indigent  and 
deserving  creditors  (some  of  them  whose  very  existence  depends 
upon  a  speedy  discharge  of  their  accounts)  made  too  forcible  an 
appeal  to  the  justice  becoming  my  own  honor,  and  to  the  feelings 
of  my  heart,  to  be  any  longer  delayed.  Another  consideration  is, 
that  any  further  procrastination  might  have  exposed  me  to  legal 
insults,  as  humiliating  to  me  as  I  am  persuaded  that  they  v/ould  be 
offensive  to  your  Majesty.  I  therefore,  previously  to  my  having 
the  honor  of  receiving  that  message  to  which  your  Majesty  has 
referred  me,  had  determined,  that  should  I  not  be  so  fortunate  as 
to  meet  with  that  relief  from  you,  sir,  with  which  I  had  flattered 
myself,  and  which  I  thought  I  had  the  greatest  reason  to  expect,  I 
would  exert  every  nerve  to  render  that  just  redress  and  assistance 
to  my  creditors  which  I  cannot  help  thinking  is  denied  to  me. 
These  are  the  motives,  sir,  that  have  actuated  my  conduct  in  the 
step  I  have  taken,  of  reducing  every  expense  in  my  family,  even 
those  to  which  my  birth  and  rank  entitle  me  (and  which  I  trust 
will  ever  continue  to  be  the  principle  and  guide  of  my  conduct), 
till  I  have  totally  liberated  myself  from  the  present  embarrassments 
which  oppress  me;  and  the  more  so  as  I  am  persuaded  that  such  a 
line,  when  pursued  with  consistency,  will  meet  with  the  approba- 
tion of  every  candid  and  dispassionate  mind. 

"I  will  not  trespass  any  further  on  your  Majesty's  time,  but  have 
the  honor  to  subscribe  myself, 
''Sir, 
"Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  obedient 
"Son  and  Subject, 

"G.  P. 

"  July  9th,  1786." 

Of  this  document  the  Prince  made  copies,  and  gave  them  away 
to  all  his  friends.  Thus  all  negotiations  ended  for  the  present.  It 
may  be  conceived  what  evil  passions  were  raging  on  both  sides  : 
disappointment,  mortification,  jealousy,  and,  it  is  to  be  feared,  a 
longing  for  revenge  and  humiliation  of  the  adversary.     Prompted, 


loo  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBGE  IV. 

it  may  be  assumed,  by  pique  rather  than  by  a  desire  to  economize, 
the  Prince  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  undignified  scheme  of 
retrenchment  lie  liad  threatened,  and  held  himself  out  to  the  nation 
as  a  prince  reduced  to  poverty  and  straits  by  the  barbarity  of  his 
father  and  his  father's  advisers.  Without  a  day's  delay,  he  broke 
up  his  establishment,  announced  the  sale  of  his  stud,  shut  up  half 
the  rooms  at  Carlton  House,  stopped  all  the  works,  and  ostenta- 
tiously proclaimed  that  he  was  setting  aside  forty  thousand  pounds 
a  year  for  his  debts.  The  heir-apparent's  carriages  and  horses  were 
sold  by  public  auction  (the  whole  realizing  but  seven  thousand 
pounds),  to  the  annoyance,  no  doubt,  of  the  Court.  Coupled  with 
this  was  the  renewed  announcement  of  self -expatriation.  To  this 
course  he  was  stimulated  by  his  friend  Mr.  Fox,  who  gave  him 
great  commendation.  Lord  Grey  recollected  the  Prince  showing 
him  this  letter: 

THE   PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  MR.    FOX. 

"  Brighton,  July  19th,  1786. 
' '  My  dear  Charles, 

"  I  am  more  obliged  to  you  than  I  can  possibly  express  for 
the  contents  of  y*  letter  I  yesterday  received  from  you,  and  am 
more  and  more  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  pursuing  that  plan 
w'',  I  assure  you,  I  never  should  have  adopted  had  I  not  intended 
to  have  gone  W\y°  with  it.  With  regard  to  the  other  plan  you  men- 
tion I  approve  most  highly  of  it,  but  shall  not  touch  upon  it  at  all 
at  present,  as  I  mean  to  be  in  London  for  a  fe*v  hours  on  Monday 
next,  when  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  and  of  dis- 
cussing the  matter  fully  at  length.  At  twelve  o'clock  I  shall  be 
ready  to  receive  you  at  Carlton  House.  I  will  not  trespass  any 
further  upon  y'  patience  at  present,  but  conclude,  with  assuring 
you,  that  no  one  can  feel  more  sensibly  every  mark  of  y  friendship 
and  regard,  than 

"  Your  sincerely  affectionate, 

"George  P." 

"How  noble,  how  good/  was  the  cry  of  friends  and  foes, 
according  to  the  partial  view  of  his  friends.  His  own  immediate 
dependants  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  reductions  required.  The 
only  exception  was  Colonel  Hotham,  who,  having  one  thousand 
pounds  a  year  in  his  household,  with  "poundage"  in  other  salaries, 
begged  that  the  loss  would  be  made  up  to  him,  as  it  was  liard  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  101 

he  should  suffer.  The  Prince  condescended  even  to  make  use  of 
his  friends'  equipages,  as  he  had  none  of  bis  own.  And  the  lieir- 
apparent  was  seen  travelling  from  London  to  Brighton  in  a  common 
postchaise. 

It  may  be  conceived,  after  these  incidents,  what  animosity 
raged  between  the  partisans  of  the  Court  and  of  the  Prince.  The 
King  had  certainly  behaved  with  harshness,  and,  it  was  stated, 
used  to  make  merry  over  the  dilapidated  condition  of  the  works  at 
his  son's  palace,  exhibiting  derisively  to  his  courtiers,  by  way  of 
contrast,  a  model  of  the  projected  improvements  which  his  son  had 
sent  him.  The  Prince's  party  were  not  slow  to  retort  in  the  most 
disrespectful  fashion.  They  pointed  out,  as  evidence  of  the  King's 
lack  of  paternal  feeling  and  dislike  of  his  offspring,  that  at  that 
moment  his  five  sons  had  all  been  sent  away  out  of  the  country.* 

This,  indeed,  has  always  seemed  an  awkward  fact,  ignored  by 
historians  and  panegyrists  of  the  King,  that,  on  many  occasions, 
he  liad  to  come  with  heavy  debts  to  Parliament,  applying  for  relief; 
and,  while  he  upbraided  his  son  for  his  outlay,  the  latter  might 
have  retorted  that  the  Sovereign  had  received  enormous  sums.  "  A 
caricature  represented  the  King  and  Queen  coming  out  of  the 
Treasury  loaded  with  money-bags,  and  the  Prince  accompanying 
them  in  the  poor  habiliments  of  the  prodigal  son." 

These  savings  were  the  result  of  the  almost  penurious  economy 
that  reigned  in  the  royal  household.  From  the  time  of  the  King's 
marriage,  it  had  been  ordered  on  the  most  careful  and  saving  prin- 
ciples—as we  may  learn  from  the  royal  ledgers,  beautifully  and 
clearly  kept  for  many  years,  and  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum.  There  we  find  it  set  out  that,  in  1762,  all  the  bills  for 
milliners,  mercers,  shoemakers,  etc.,  for  the  Queen  and  family, 
amounted  to  about  four  thousand  pounds,  of  which  nine  hundred 
and  eighty  pounds  went  to  the  milliner,  Mrs.  MacEune.  This 
moderate  estimate  was  scarcely  exceeded,  even  as  the  family 
increased  and  grew  up.  In  1806,  the  establishment  consisted  of 
but  seven   coachmen,  six  postilions,   four  helpers,   eight  hobby- 

*  The  Duke  of  York  was  at  Hanover,  Prince  William  at  sea,  Prince  Edward 
at  Geneva,  the  Dukes  of  Cumberland  and  Gloucester  were  living  abroad  in  a 
state  of  poverty  and  disgrace,  and  the  remainder  were  at  Gottlngen  Univer' 
sity.  "  Only  the  oldest,"  says  Sir  Nathaniel  Wraxall,  "  remained  at  home,  in 
a  dismantled  palace,  all  the  state  apartments  of  which  were  shut  up,  his 
establishment  dismissed,  and  himself  reduced,  in  external,  to  the  condition  of 
a  private  gentleman. " 


103  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  GEORGE  IV. 

grooms,  eight  footmen,  three  chairmen,  one  bolleman,  and  the 
total  cost  of  salaries,  etc.,  was  about  eighteen  thousand  pounds 
a  year.  But  in  this  year,  as  there  were  the  six  princesses  to  main- 
tain and  clothe,  the  bills  for  the  wardrobe  linen  reached  to  some 
thirteen  thousand  pounds.     This  seems  moderation  itself. 

An  incident  that  occurred  about  this  time  shows  this  view  of  the 
vindictiveuess  of  the  Court.  When  the  King's  life  was  attempted 
by  Margaret  Nicholson,  his  son,  who  was  at  Brighton,  was  left  to 
learn  the  event  from  the  letter  of  a  friend.  With  good  feeling 
that  did  him  honor,  he  instantly  took  post,  and  hurried  to  Windsor. 
It  will  hardly  be  credited  that  the  King,  though  in  the  next  room 
to  tlie  one  in  which  the  Queen  received  her  son,  refused  to  see 
him.* 

The  Prince  was  at  this  time  in  a  state  of  almost  actual  penury. 
He  lived  at  houses  lent  to  him,  like  that  of  the  Earl  of  Gloucester's 
at  Bagshot.  He  was  indeed  reduced  to  such  a  plight  that  he  was 
driven  to  the  perilous  and  undignified  course  of  becoming  the 
debtor  of  a  foreign  prince.  The  Duke  of  Orleans  was  this  year  on 
a  trip  to  London,  and  with  him  had  come  the  Dukes  of  FitzJames, 
Coigny,  and  Polignac.  Indeed,  the  people  had  begun  to  satire  and 
ridicule  these  visits,  and  a  fellow  had  insulted  the  French  Prince 
at  Newmarket,  saying  he  knew  he  was  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and 
that  he  ought  to  be  in  his  own  country  defending  his  King.  Eager  to 
be  more  English  than  the  English,  he  had  presented  himself  at  a 
dinner-party,  dusty  and  dirty,  in  a  morning  suit,  his  buttons  enam- 
elled with  horses  and  dogs,  which  he  displayed  with  some  pride 
to  the  lady  beside  him. 

His  inflamed  scorbutic  face  was  seen  everywhere — at  Brookes's, 
at  the  theatre.  At  the  Prince's  desire  he  liad  sat  to  Sir  Joshua  for 
a  fine  full-length  portrait,  abounding  in  spirit  and  power.  Being 
rich,  and  seeing  the  distress  of  his  friend,  the  French  prince  pressed 
on  him  a  substantial  loan.  The  news  of  this  transaction  came 
from  Paris  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  who  wrote  in  much  alarm  to 
Sheridan  in  December,  1786:  "I  have  received  a  confirmation  of 
the  intelligence;  the  particulars  \aried  in  no  respect  from  those  I 
related  to  you,  except  in  the  addition  of  a  pension,  which  is  to 
take  place  immediately  on  the  event  which  entitles  the  creditors  to 


*  There  was  a  punctilio  raised:  the  Prince  assuming  that  his  visit  was  a  suf- 
ficient declaration  of  his  wishes;  the  Kin^  declaring  that  his  son  had  not 
a8kQ4  tQ  9ee  him. 


THE   LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  103 

payment,  and  it  is  to  be  granted  for  life  to  a  nominee  of  the  Duke 
of  Orleans.  The  loan  was  mentioned  in  a  mixed  company  by  two 
of  the  Frenchwomen  and  a  Frenchman,  in  Calonne's  presence 
(then  Minister  of  Finance),  who  begged  them,  for  God's  sake,  not 
to  talk  of  it.  I  am  going  to  Bulstrode,  but  will  return  at  a 
moment's  notice  if  I  can  be  of  the  least  use  in  getting  rid  of  this 
odious  engagement." 

Sheridan  seems  to  have  exerted  himself,  for  the  duke  writes  to 
thank  him  for  what  he  had  done,  and  seems  to  hope  that  the  mat- 
ter will  end  favorably.*  Fox's  aid  was  also  invoked,  and  he  recov- 
ered the  bonds  and  brought  them  to  the  Prince.  This  was  to  be 
but  the  beginning  of  a  number  of  similar  operations  in  the  foreign 
market.  It  is  stated  by  Mr.  Moore  that  when  Fox  came  to  remon- 
strate with  him  on  this  foolish  step,  the  Prince  persisted  in  deny- 
ing there  was  any  truth  in  the  matter,  until  Mr.  Fox  convicted  him 
by  drawing  one  of  the  bonds  out  of  his  pocket. 

In  all  these  transactions  public  sympathy,  not  unnaturally,  was 
on  the  Prince's  side.  J'or  several  months  he  pursued  his  plan  of 
economy,  his  debts  under  a  certain  amount  being  cleared  off,  and 
nine  per  cent  on  the  larger  sums  being  paid.  This  praiseworthy 
economy  being  known,  many  members  of  the  House  felt  that  his 
situation  was  unbecoming  the  nation,  and  were  eager  to  extricate 
him.  And  proceedings  now  followed,  which,  however,  were  only 
to  bring  fresh  scandal,  and  further  inflame  the  bitterness  between 
him  and  his  father. 

A  meeting  of  the  Prince's  friends,  or  supporters,  was  now  held 
at  Mr.  Pelham's  (afterwards  Lord  Chichester),  at  which  the  Prince 
was  present,  for  the  purpose  of  concerting  what  fresh  measures 
were  to  be  taken  when  the  debate  was  renewed.  It  was  deter- 
mined to  press  the  matter  on.  But  it  was  felt  that  the  ground 
was  tender,  and  the  Prince  must  have  been  disagreeably  sur- 
prised during  the  interval  at  having  a  very  serious  question  put 
to  him  by  his  friend  Mr.  Fox,  and  to  which  he  gave  only  too 
distinct  and  satisfactory  an  answer.  This  referred  to  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert. 

It  was  accordingly  settled,  early  in  1787,  that  the  matter  should 
be  brought  before  the  House,  not  by  the  Prince's  friends,  but  by 
some  independent  member. 

This  step  was  opposed  to  the  advice  of  the  Duke  of  Portland  and 

*  Moore,  "  Life  of  Sheridan." 


104  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  leading  Whigs,  except  Mr.  Fox,  who  all  held  that  the  interest 
of  their  party  must  be  considered,  and  that  the  advocac}'  of  the 
Prince's  very  weak  case  would  damage  them  with  the  country. 
This  led  to  a  serious  quarrel  between  the  Duke  and  the  Prince, 
which  was  only  made  up  two  years  later.  It  helps  to  prove  what 
was  before  pointed  out — that  the  Prince's  politics  chiefly  were 
regulated  by  his  own  interests.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  it 
somewhat  supports  his  vindication  of  his  change  of  politics — viz., 
that  he  was  not  so  much  bound  to  the  party  as  to  Mr.  Fox,  whose 
follower  he  was.  Accordingly,  on  April  20th,  Alderman  Nathaniel 
Newnham,  a  City  merchant,  put  a  question  to  Mr.  Pitt:  "Whether 
he  proposed  taking  any  steps  to  rescue  the  Prince  from  his  embar- 
rassed and  distressed  situation?"  He  was  answered  by  the  min- 
ister, in  his  usual  cold  strain,  that  he  had  no  commands  from  the 
King  in  reference  to  the  matter;  on  which  the  questioner  gave 
notice  that  on  May  4th  he  would  bring  forward  a  motion  on  the 
subject. 

This  was  the  signal  for  joining  battle.  Mr.  Pitt,  a  few  days 
later,  required  to  know  the  shape  and  purpose  of  the  motion, 
which  the  other  declined  to  furnish.  While  all  were  wondering  at 
this  strange  allusion,  Mr.  Rolle  followed,  alluding  to  something 
which  he  said  "involved  matters  of  Church  and  State,"  The 
Prime  Minister  indeed  threw  out  what  was  certainly  a  menace, 
alluding  darkly  to  what  he  called  "  the  delicacy  of  the  question," 
adding  that  "the  private  knowledge  he  possessed  on  the  subject 
made  him  particularly  desirous  of  avoiding  it;  but,  if  it  were  abso- 
lutely determined  to  bring  it  forward,  he  would,  however  distress- 
ing it  might  prove  to  him  as  an  individual,  discharge  his  duty  to 
the  public,  and  enter  fully  into  the  subject;  the  minister  seemed 
to  endorse  the  allusion  by  significant  nods  and  gestures.*  There 
could  scarcely  be  a  mistake  as  to  what  was  intended.  Yet,  possi- 
bly seeing  the  advantage  he  had  given  his  opponents,  he  sent  for 
Lord  Southampton,  who  waited  on  the  Prince  the  following  morn- 
ing with  his  excuses  or  explanations.  The  latter  was  adroit  enough 
to  see  his  advantages,  and  told  him  that  he  never  received  verbal 
messages  except  from  the  King."  From  that  time,  we  are  told, 
he  was  eager  to  declare  he  was  not  married. 

On  the  27th,  Mr.  Newnham  signified  to  the  House  that  the 
motion  he  intended  to  make  would  be  to  the  following  effect: 

♦  ••  Auckland's  Memoirs,"  pp.  1-47. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  105 

"  That  an  humble  address  be  presented  to  his  Majesty,  praying 
him  to  take  into  his  royal  consideration  the  present  embarrassed 
state  of  the  affairs  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  to  grant  him  such 
relief  as  his  royal  wisdom  should  think  fit,  and  that  the  House 
would  make  good  the  same. "  Several  members  on  both  sides  of 
the  House  having  risen  to  deprecate  the  further  discussion  of  this 
business,  and  to  express  their  earnest  wishes  that  it  might  be 
accommodated  in  some  other  manner,  Mr.  Sheridan  declared  that 
the  insinuations  and  menaces,  which  had  been  thrown  out  upon  a 
former  occasion,  made  it  impossible  for  the  Prince  to  recede  with 
honor.  He  said  he  had  the  highest  authority  to  declare  that  his 
Royal  Highness  had  no  other  wish  than  that  every  circumstance  in 
the  whole  series  of  his  conduct  should  be  most  minutely  and  accu- 
rately inquired  into,  and  that  he  was  ready,  as  a  peer  of  Great 
Britain,  to  give  in  another  place  the  most  direct  answers  to  any 
questions  that  might  be  put  to  him. 

Mr.  RoUe  observed  that  if  the  motion  proposed  was  persisted  in, 
he  should  state  without  reserve  his  sentiments  upon  the  subject  he 
Iiad  alluded  to,  according  as  the  matter  struck  him. 

Mr.  Pitt  declared  that  he  had  been  greatly  misunderstood  if  it 
was  conceived  that  he  meant  to  throw  out  any  insinuations  injuri- 
ous to  the  character  of  the  Prince.  He  added  that  he  had  only 
referred  to  his  pecuniary  affairs  and  to  the  correspondence  which 
had  passed. 

It  seems  amazing  that  Mr.  Pitt,  and  so  many  statesmen  of  the 
same  political  honor,  could  condescend  to  the  sort  of  equivocation 
that  is  implied  in  explanations  of  this  kind.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  what  was  in  his  mind  when  he  uttered  the  threat  was 
the  ceremony  that  had  been  gone  through  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert, 
for  there  was  nothing  in  the  revelation  of  the  pecuniary  details  that 
could  be  of  an  alarming  "  or  delicate  "  nature;  or,  if  there  were,  it 
was  clear  that  the  publication  of  such  matters  as  reprisal  would 
hardly  add  to  the  discredit  of  the  Prince. 

All  doubt  being  thus  removed,  when  the  House  met  again  on 
April  30th,  Alderman  Newnham  declared  that  in  all  these  insinua- 
tions he  saw  no  dangers,  the  Prince  saw  none,  and  it  was  by  his 
desire  that  he  was  now  proceeding.  Highly  as  he  was  honored  by 
the  Prince's  confidence,  he  was  not  to  be  intimidated. 

Then  Fox  rose,  his  interposition  giving  rise  to  a  most  exciting 
episode,  declaring  that  as  to  the  correspondence  there  was  no 
objection  to  let  it  be  seen,     After  dwelling  on  the  debts,  etc.,  he 

5* 


106  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

came  to  the  real  point  of  the  whole,  and,  in  carefully. weighed 
words,  prompted  by  the  Prince,  made  this  declaration  as  to  the 
marriage.  He  said:  "  If  allusion  were  made  to  a  certain  low  and 
malicious  rumor,  which  had  been  industriously  propagated  without 
doors,  he  was  authorized  to  declare  it  to  be  a  falsehood.  He  had 
thought  that  a  tale  fit  only  to  impose  upon  the  lowest  of  the  vulgar 
could  not  have  gained  credit  for  a  moment  in  that  House,  or 
with  any  one  who  possessed  the  most  ordinary  portion  of  common 
sense  and  reflection;  but  when  it  appeared  that  an  invention  so 
gross  and  malicious,  a  report  of  a  fact  which  was  actually  impossi- 
ble to  have  happened,  had  been  circulated  with  so  much  industry 
and  success  as  to  have  made  an  impression  upon  the  minds  of  the 
members  of  that  House,  it  both  proved  the  uncommon  pains  taken 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  depreciate  his  character 
and  injure  him  in  the  opinion  of  his  country.  He  concluded  with 
adding  that  he  was  further  authorized  by  his  royal  highness  to 
declare  that  he  was  ready,  as  a  peer  of  Parliament,  to  answer  in 
the  other  House  any  the  most  pointed  questions  that  could  be 
put  to  him  respecting  this  report,  or  to  afford  his  Majesty  or  his 
ministers  any  other  assurances  or  satisfaction  they  might  requhre." 
Knowing  that  the  papers  lying  at  the  present  moment  in  the  cel- 
lars of  jMessrs.  Coutts's  bank  were  then  in  existence,  we  listen  with 
astonishment  to  this  extraordinary  declaration. 

Mr.  Rolle  replied  that  "the  right  honorable  member  had  said 
that  the  fact  alluded  to  was  impossible  to  have  liai^pencd.  They 
all  knew,  indeed,  that  there  were  certain  laws  and  Acts  of  Parlia- 
ment which  forbade  it,  and  made  it  null  and  void;  but  still  it 
might  have  taken  place,  though  not  under  the  formal  sanction  of 
law;  and  upon  that  point  he  wished  to  be  satisfied." 

Mr.  Fox  observed,  that  "though  what  he  had  said  before  was, 
he  thought,  suflUcient  to  satisfy  every  candid  and  liberal  mind,  he 
was  willing,  if  possible,  to  satisfy  the  most  perverse.  When  he 
denied  the  calumny  in  question,  he  meant  to  deny  it,  not  merely 
with  regard  to  the  effect  of  certain  existing  laws,  but  to  deny  it  in 
toto,  in  point  of  fact  as  well  as  law.  The  fact  not  only  never  could 
have  happened  legally,  but  never  did  happen  in  any  way  whatso- 
ever, and  had  from  the  beginning  been  a  base  and  malicious  false- 
hood." Mr.  Rolle  rose  again,  and  desired  to  know  whether  what 
Mr.  Fox  had  last  said  was  to  be  understood  as  spoken  from  direct 
authority?    Mr.  Fox  replied  that  he  had  direct  authority. 

Still  the  sturdy  Rolle — having  a  suspicion  of  the  truth— declined 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  107 

to  say  that  he  was  satisfied,  though  assailed  by  Sheridan  and  the 
upright  Grey,  Avho  accepted  the  statement.  The  county  member 
^vas,  alas!  justified  in  his  incredulity.  It  was,  of  course,  a  com- 
plete victory  for  the  Prince.  No  one  would  have  calculated  on  his 
meeting  these  obscure  insinuations  by  so  complete,  triumphant, 
and  wholesale  a  denial!  There  can  be  no  defence  and  no  extenua- 
tion to  be  attempted  beyond  this,  that  the  voluptuary's  senses 
become  so  clouded  by  indulgence  that  he  comes  to  view  all  that 
brings  him  inconvenience  as  something  that  should  not  be,  and 
therefore — is  not. 

The  effect  on  the  friends  of  his  own  party — Sir  G.  Elliot  among 
others — was  complete.  Sir  Gilbert  had  been  much  "disturbed"  by 
the  delicate  subject  of  the  Prince's  connection  and  the  constituent 
dangers  and  doubts  belonging  to  this  "most  equivocal  position  of 
things."  He  thought  it  all  too  serious  to  be  excused  by  "the  levity 
of  youth."  He  was  delighted,  therefore,  to  hear  the  charge  denied 
so  explicitly.  "Fox,"  he  says,  "declared,  by  authority  from  the 
Prince,  in  the  fullest  and  most  unequivocal  manner,  that  there  was 
not  the  smallest  foundation  of  any  sort  for  the  story  of  the  marriage 
with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  Rolle  hinted  at  the  distinction  between  a 
legal  marriage  and  some  ceremony  that  might  satisfy  the  con- 
sciences of  some  persons,  but  Fox  rejected  any  such  distinction, 
and  asserted  again  that  there  never  had  been  the  slightest  ground 
for  this  slander,  either  legally  or  illegally,  and,  in  a  word,  denied 
positively  from  the  Prince  himself  the  whole  of  tliis  slander,  in 
words  so  strong  and  so  unqualified  that  we  must  believe  him." 
What  were  Mr.  Fox's  feelings,  when,  on  entering  Brookes's  after 
the  debate,  he  was  accosted  by  a  gentleman,*  who  said:  "  Mr.  Fox, 
I  see  by  the  public  papers  you  have  denied  the  Prince's  marriage 
to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  You  have  been  misinformed:  I  was  present 
at  the  marriage !"  No  arguments  or  explanations  could  have  been 
so  convincing.  It  was  a  coup  de  theatre.  Here  was  the  voice  of  a 
witness  who  had  seen  the  transaction.  Mr.  Fox  felt,  in  a  moment, 
in  what  a  humiliating  and  embarrassing  position  he  stood. 

But  the  unfortunate  lady's  position  was,  indeed,  pitiable.  Well 
might  Pitt,  or  Selwyn  whose  wit  age  had  not  withered,  quote  from 
Othello-.  "Villain!  be  sure  you  prove  my  love"  etc.  But  the 
Prince  was  not  without  resource.  On  the  very  next  morning  he 
entered  her  room  gayly,  and  said:  "  Only  conceive,  Maria,  what 

*  This  may  have  bepn  Mr.  Orlando  Bridgman,  afterwards  Lord  Bradford, 


108  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Fox  did  j'esterday!  He  went  down  to  the  House  and  denied  you 
and  I  were  man  and  wife.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing!" 
She  made  no  reply,  but  turned  pale.  The  duplicity  was  double- 
dyed.  Having  committed  his  friend,  and  gained  the  advantage  he 
sought,  he  proceeded  to  disavow  him. 

She  saw  that  her  fate  was  sealed.  On  her  indignation  and 
reproaches  he  was  ready  to  make  all  amends,  and  remove  the  mis- 
chief, now  that  his  case  had  been  made  with  the  House  of  Commons 
and  the  public.  He  sent  for  Mr.  Gvey,  and,  after  much  preamble, 
and  pacing  in  a  hurried  manner  about  the  room,  exclaimed: 
"  Charles  certainly  went  too  far  last  night.  You,  my  dear  Grey, 
shall  explain  it;"  and  then,  in  distinct  tones,  "as  Grey,"  adds 
Lord  Holland,  "has,  since  the  Prince's  death,  assured  me,  though 
with  prodigious  agitation,  owned  that  a  ceremony  had  taken  place." 
Mr.  Grey  observed  that  Mr.  Fox  must  unquestionably  suppose  that 
he  had  authority  for  all  he  said,  and  that  if  there  had  been  any 
mistake  it  could  easily  be  rectified  by  his  royal  highness  speaking 
to  Mr.  Fox  himself,  and  setting  him  right  on  such  matters  as  had 
been  misunderstood  between  them,  "No  other  person  can,"  he 
added,  "be  employed  without  questioning  Mr.  Fox's  veracity, 
which  nobody,  I  presume,  is  prepared  to  do."  A  reply  such  as 
this  might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  Mr.  Grey's  character.  "  It," 
he  said,  "chagrined,  disappointed,  and  agitated  the  Prince  exceed- 
ingly," and,  after  some  exclamations  of  annoyance,  he  threw  liim- 
self  on  the  sofa,  muttering:  "Well,  Sheridan  must  say  some- 
thing."* 

But,  unhappily,  we  have  to  go  farther,  and  follow  this  compli- 
cated intrigue  into  fresh  deceptions. 

The  Prince  succeeded  in  persuading  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  that  Fox 
had  "exceeded  his  instructions."  And  it  would  seem  that  for 
nearly  twenty  years — to  the  day  of  his  death — she  never  spoke  to 
Fox  again,  believing  that  this  gratuitous  insult  had  come  from  him. 
We  might  be  inclined  to  assume,  from  the  Prince's  letter  to  Fox  of 
May  10th,  and  its  affectionate  tone,  that  Fox  had  not  then  had  his 
eyes  opened,  or  felt  that  he  was  bound,  without  being  on  friendly 
terms,  to  carry  through  the  Prince's  business. 

It  will  be  seen,  indeed,  in  a  moment,  in  what  a  painful  and  deli- 
cate position  he  stood,  since,  to  vindicate  himself,  he  would  be 
obliged  to  publicly  indict  his  principal  of  falsehood,  and  ruin  his 


♦  X^ord  Holland,  "  Memoirs  of  tlje  Whig  Party.' 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  109 

interests,  and  expose  him  to  certain  peril.  How  lightly  that  prin- 
cipal took  the  matter  will  be  seen  from  the  letter  he  wrote  off  to 
him  at  midnight  after  the  debate : 

"April  30th,  1787. 

"  Monday  night,  12  o'clock. 
"My  dear  Charles, 

"I  beg  to  see  you  lor  five  minutes  to-morrow  after  I  have 
seen  Marsham  and  Powys,  whom  I  beg  you  will  desire  to  be  at 
Carlton  House  at  one  o'clock  to-morrow.  When  I  see  you  I  will 
relate  to  you  what  has  passed  between  my  friend  and  me  relative 
to  y®  seeing  you.  I  feel  more  comfortable  by  Sheridan's  and  Grey's 
account  of  what  has  passed  to-day.  1  have  had  a  distant  insinua- 
tion that  some  sort  of  message  or  terms  are  also  to  be  proposed  to 
me  to-morrow.  If  you  come  a  little  after  two  you  will  be  sure  to 
find  me.  ' '  Ever  affectionately  yours, 

"Geprge  p." 

It  is  stated  that  Mr.  Fox,  when  he  discovered  the  dishonorable 
use  that  he  had  been  put  to,  broke  off  his  friendship  with  the 
Prince,  and  did  not  speak  to  him  for  a  year.  And  this  view  is 
supported  by  a  story  told  by  "Coke  of  Norfolk"  to  Earl  Russell. 
Fox  had  been  paying  his  annual  visit  to  Holkham,  when,  on  the 
very  day  of  his  departure,  his  host  received  a  message  from  the 
Prince  announcing  that  he  intended  coming  down  next  day.  He 
thus  missed  meeting  Fox,  but  at  the  dinner  he  ostentatiously  twice 
gave  a  toast,  "To  the  best  man  in  England — Mr.  Fox."  Mr.  Coke 
believed  that  he  had  come  specially  to  meet  his  old  friend.* 

Fox,  however,  must  have  seen  that  it  was  idle  keeping  up  his 
resentment  with  so  irresponsible  a  character;  and,  indeed,  their 
common  political  interests  required  reconciliation.  Two  years 
later,  at  the  crisis  of  the  regency,  we  find  Sir  G.  Elliot  delighted 
at  Fox's  going  "to  meet  the  Prince,  which  he  thought  a  comfort- 
able circumstance."  f 


*  Years  after,  Lord  Holland  was  waiting  to  see  the  Prince,  when  Sheridan 
told  him  a  history  of  some  paper  or  letter  which  he  had  corrected  or  written 
for  the  Prince.  When  both  were  admitted  to  audience,  the  Prince  began  a 
story  on  the  same  subject,  but  of  a  totally  different  complexion,  appealing  for 
corroboration  to  Sheridan,  who  heartily  gave  it.  "I  could  not  tell  which  was 
the  greatest  liar!"  said  the  listener. 

t  "  Life  of  Sii-  G.  Eliot,"  i.  238. 


110  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Under  this  cruel  and  unmanly  imputation,  the  behavior  of  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert  was  admirable  for  its  dignity.  Her  friends,  she  told 
Lord  Stourton,  "assured  her  that,  in  this  discrepancy  as  to  the 
assertion  of  Mr.  Fox  and  the  Prince,  she  was  bound  to  accept  the 
word  of  her  husband.  She  informed  him  that  the  public  supported 
her  by  their  conduct  on  this  occasion;  for,  at  no  period  of  her  life 
were  their  visits  so  numerous  at  her  house  as  on  the  day  which 
followed  Mr.  Fox's  memorable  speech;  and,  to  use  her  own  expres- 
sion, the  knocker  of  her  door  was  never  still  during  the  whole 
day." 

She  was  visited  with  studious  publicity  by  the  Duchesses  of 
Portland,  Devonshire,  and  Cumberland,  and  her  position  in  society 
suffered  not  the  least  change.  Such  was  the  extraordinarj'  testi- 
mony to  her  private  character.  Some  of  the  meaner  parasites  of 
the  Prince,  we  are  told,  taking  their  master's  cue,  went  about 
repeating  the  same  insinuations  against  Mr.  Fox.*  That  statesman 
did  all  he  oould  to  repair  the  wrong,  and,  when  he  came  to  power, 
offered  to  create  her  a  duchess. 

Nor  was  the  poor  lady  yet  to  have  peace.  The  crazed  Lord 
George  Gordon,  who  was  about  being  put  on  his  trial  for  libelling 
the  Queen  of  France,  unfortunately  came  to  associate  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert with  the  case.  He  introduced  himself  into  her  house  with 
a  subpoena,  but  was  turned  out  by  the  servants;  tl\e  police  had  to 
interfere  to  protect  her. 

The  most  extraordinaiy  part  of  the  transaction  is,  that  more 
than  thirty  years  after  we  find  the  Prince,  then  King,  still  denying 
his  marriage,  Mr.  Croker,  his  friend  and  admirer,  discussing  this 
question,  says:  "We  are  bound  in  fairness  to  say  that,  on  the 
appearance  of  Moore's  'Life  of  Sheridan,'  George  IV.  deliberately 
and  distinctly  declared  that  there  was  not  a  word  of  truth  in  it. 
and  that  he  never  had  any  communication  with  Lord  Grey  upon 
the  subject;  and  he  further  went  on  to  deny  'that  absurd  story'  of 
his  supposed  marriage."  This  we  need  hardly  say  was  during 
Lord  Grey's  life,  and  was  intended  by  the  King  to  be  publicly  * 
repeated. 

Nor  would  we  consider  this,  in  the  King;  an  instance  of  unblush- 
ing falsehood;  for,  at  the  time  he  made  it,  he  had  grown  into  a 
habit  of  self-delusion  of  the  most  extraordimiry  kind,  partially 
favored  by  a  crowd  of  parasites  and  flatterers,  who  never  ventured 

*  "  Life  and  Reign,"  i.  160. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  HI 

to  contradict  him  or  set  him  right  on  any  subject.  With  this  aid  he 
had  come,  therefore,  to  think  that  his  view  of  an  incident,  where  he 
fancied  he  had  been  ill-treated,  was  the  truth,  and  that  what  ought 
to  have  been  had  been.  To  these  delusions  belonged  the  well-known 
one  of  having  been  at  Waterloo,  and  many  others.  Mr,  Croker 
was  but  half  convinced  by  his  assurances,  and  at  the  same  time 
doubts  Lord  Holland's  accuracy,  who,  in  his  memoirs,  reports  the 
share  of  Lord  Grey  in  the  transaction.  Fortunately,  however.  Lord 
Grey  can  speak  for  himself: 

"I  do  not  recollect  having  given  him  any  account  that  would 
satisfy  him.  On  the  contrary,  in  a  long  conversation  which  I  had 
with  him,  in  which  he  was  dreadfully  agitated,  the  object  was  to 
get  me  to  say  something  in  Parliament  for  the  satisfaction  of  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert,  which  might  take  off  the  effect  of  Fox's  declaration. 
I  expressly  told  him  how  prejudicial  a  continuance  of  the  discus- 
sion must  be  to  him,  and  positively  refused  to  do  what  he  desired. 
He  put  an  end  to  the  conversation  abruptly  by  sajang,  '  Well,  if 
nobody  else  will,  Sheridan  must.'  "  * 

Mr.  Grey,  who  took  part  in  all  these  transactions,  was  a  young 
man  of  twenty-two,  of  great  promise,  who  had  just  entered  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  made  an  extraordinary  impression.  Mr. 
Addington  was  thus  affected:  "A  new  speaker  presented  himself 
to  the  House,  and  went  through  his  first  performance  with  an  eclat 
which  has  not  been  equalled  within  my  recollection.  I  do  not  go 
too  far  in  declaring  that,  in  the  advantage  of  figure,  voice,  elocu- 
tion, and  manner,  he  is  not  surpassed  by  any  member  of  the  House." 

The  Prince  seems  to  have  taken  an  aversion  to  him  from  the 
rebuke  implied  in  the  rejection  of  his  unworthy  proposal,  and  it 
was  curious  that  for  more  than  forty  years  he  was  to  find  himself 
encountered  and  checked  by  the  same  cold,  if  not  contemptuous, 
appreciation  of  his  character,  and  the  same  air  of  reproof.  Before 
Grey  he  seemed  to  feel  abashed ;  he  had  the  mortification  of  being 
forced  to  ask  his  aid  at  a  crisis,  when  it  was  clearly  shown  to  him 
that  his  shifty  notions  were  understood  and  seen  through,  and  the 
assistance  was  haughtily  denied.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  cordially 
disliked  by  George  IV.  to  the  day  of  his  death.  General  Grey, 
indeed,  speaks  of  those  "idle  stories,"  and  quotes  a  letter  of  1806 
in  disproof  of  the  statement.  But  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  the 
fact. 

*  Note  by  Lord  Grey  in  the  "  Life  "  by  General  Grey. 


112  THE  LIFE  OF  GEO  ROE  IV. 

The  management  of  the  parliamentary  transactions,  of  which 
this  was  an  incident,  shows  tliat  the  Prince  w^as  not  unskilful  in 
a  certain  kind  of  manoeuvring.  His  own  party  w^ere  not  united,  as 
we  have  seen,  in  supporting  his  claims  to  the  liberality  of  the 
nation.  These  dissentients,  among  whom  were  counted  the  Duke 
of  Portland  and  other  "old  Whigs,"  he  contrived  to  neutralize  by 
gaining  the  favor  of  the  country  gentlemen.  The  bold  denial  of 
the  marriage  had  secured  this,  and  had,  at  the  same  time,  put  the 
Prime  Minister  in  an  awkward  position. 

He  felt  that  resistance  could  be  no  longer  offered.  He  sent  a 
gracious  message  to  the  Prince,  full  of  explanations,  to  which  the 
latter  replied  bluntly  that  "he  did  not  receive  verbal  messages; 
but  that  if  the  minister  had  any  business  Avith  him  he  might  come 
himself."  This,  however,  was  softened  by  a  letter  from  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  to  Mr.  Dundas,  written  by  the  Prince's  direction, 
prompted,  it  was  said,  by  the  Duchess  of  Gordon.  Dundas  came 
to  Carlton  House,  and,  over  much  wine,  assured  him  of  Mr.  Pitt's 
friendliness.  From  an  interview  betw-een  the  Prince  and  minister 
the  happiest  results  followed.  Mr.  Pitt  repaired  to  the  King,  a 
Cabinet  Council  succeeded,  and  it  was  intimated  that  his  wishes 
would  be  complied  with. 

"The  Prince,"  writes  Lord  Beauchamp,  "begins  a  most  active 
canvass  of  the  House;  applies  by  letter  or  personally  to  every  little 
knot  of  members,  and  indirectly  to  almost  every  individual,  offer- 
ing to  submit  his  plans  and  his  interests  to  the  country  gentlemen, 
producing  his  accounts,  showing  every  letter,  and,  by  the  specimen 
I  have  seen,  he  has  been  guarded  to  an  extreme  degree.  In  short, 
Marsham,  Powis,  Hussey,  Pulteuey,  Astley,  and  others  of  that 
calibre,  became  converts  to  his  cause,  in  spite  of  their  original 
dislike  to  it.  On  this  footing  the  business  rested,  when,  the  night 
before  the  motion  was  to  be  made,  Mr.  Pitt  acquaints  the  Prince, 
by  letter,  with  his  Majesty's  gracious  intention  to  conipl}-  with  his 
wishes,  and  only  hints  at  previous  explanations  being  made  by  the 
Prince,  by  which  it  was  understood  that  in  future  he  was  to  be  no 
party  man;  but,  whatever  interpretation  was  intended  to  be  i)ut 
upon  them,  the  Prince  instantly  communicated  his  readinei«s  to 
acquiesce,  and  personally  to  assure  the  King  of  his  resolution  to 
act  in  future  as  he  would  wish.  The  motion  is,  in  consequence, 
laid  aside,  bnt  to  this  letter,  though  four  days  liave  since  elapsed, 
QO  answer  was  given  till  this  morning,  when  the  King  signified  his 
disapprobation  to  the  increase  of  the  Prince's  allowance  at  all 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  113 

events,  and  also  to  tlie  payment  of  his  debts,  unless  the  accounts  to 
be  produced  to  him  of  the  amount  should  prove  satisfactory.  The 
Prince  has  accepted  this  qualified  offer,  and  promises  instantly  to 
send  a  precis  of  his  affairs."  * 

In  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the  motion  being  withdrawn, 
Sheridan  executed  the  delicate  commission  intrusted  to  him,  to  say 
something  for  the  calumniated  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  "But,  while  the 
Prince's  feelings  had,  no  doubt,  been  considered  on  the  occasion, 
he  must  take  the  liberty  of  saying,  however  some  might  think  it  a 
subordinate  consideration,  that  there  was  another  person  entitled, 
in  the  judgment  of  every  delicate  and  honorable  mind,  to  the  same 
attention;  one  whom  he  would  not  venture  otherwise  to  describe 
than  by  saying  it  was  a  name  which  malice  or  ignorance  alone 
could  attempt  to  injure,  and  whose  conduct  and  character  were 
entitled  to  the  truest  respect."  A  flowery  tribute  that  was  ridicu- 
lous, as  it  could  only  have  meaning  on  the  supposition  that  she  was 
married  to  the  Prince,  and  that  Fox's  statement  was  untrue.  As 
was  well  said:  "Mr.  Fox  had  declared  that  a  lady  living  with  the 
Prince,  to  all  exterior  appearance,  in  the  habits  of  matrimonial 
connection,  had  not  the  sanction  of  any  canonical  forms  to  support 
her;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Sheridan  reversed  the  picture, 
by  representing  her  as  a  paragon  of  chastity,  the  possessor  of  every 
virtue,  and  the  ornament  of  her  sex." 

To  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  it  naturally  seemed  all  "very 
odd,"  particularly  as  he  noted  "that  the  lad}'- was  more  received 
than  she  was,  I  think,  and  stands  more  forward."  A  singular  cir- 
cumstance in  this  debate  was  the  announcement  by  the  Prime 
Minister  that  nothing  had  occurred  on  the  side  of  the  Government 
to  cause  the  withdrawal  of  the  motion.  He  meant,  probably,  that 
no  arrangement  had  been  concluded  or  bargain  made.  The  Prince 
wrote  on  that  night  to  ask  an  explanation,  on  which  Mr.  Pitt  vol- 
unteered to  come  to  him  and  give  it  at  Carlton  House.  On  his 
arrival  with  Mr.  Dundas  he  found  Sheridan,  on  which  he  declined 
to  enter  on  the  business  in  presence  of  one  so  opposed  to  the  Gov- 
ernment. On  this  the  Prince  desired  both  the  inferior  agents  to 
withdraw.  A  long  conference  followed,  at  the  close  of  which  these 
written  proposals  were  submitted: 

"1st.  That  the  Prince's  debts  should  be  paid,  at  least  in  part. 

*  See  ''  Correspondence  of  Lord  Auckland,' '  p.  416;  Wraxall's  "  Hist.  Mem. ;" 
Lord  Cornwallis's  "Correspondence." 


114  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

2nd.  That  a  grant  should  be  made  to  him  for  the  completion  of 
Carlton  House.  3rd.  That  such  reasonable  increase  should  be  made 
to  his  annual  income  as  would  prevent  hencefortli  the  necessity  of 
his  contracting  debts."  Mr.  Pitt  took  his  leave  wiih  these  propo- 
sitions, and  immediately  despatched  them  to  the  King  at  Windsor. 
Much  negotiation  followed,  and  it  was  said  that  the  minister  him- 
self was  disgusted  by  the  shiftiness  displayed  by  the  King.* 

THE  PRINCE   OF  W^^LES  TO  MR.   FOX. 

"  Carlton  House,  May  10th,  1787. 
"My  bear  Charles, 

"No  answer  is  come  as  yet  from  Pitt,  excepting  y*  he  was  to 

see  y*  King  to-night,  and  w"*  endeavor  to  get  everything  settled  if 

he  c*^.     Some  sort  of  an  answer  1  shall  certainly  have  this  evening, 

when  he  quits  the  Queen's  House,  w'*  I  will  communicate  to  you 

as  soon  as  possible  after  I  have  received  it.     His  own  statement  y* 

he  has  made  out,  as  expenses  for  every  year  from  the  time  I  came 

of  age,  is  thirty  thousand  pounds  a  quarter;  consequently  annually 

an  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds;  y*  moment  I  get  a  copy 

of  y™  I  will  transmit  it  to  you  for  y*"  inspection.     In  y«  meantime 

I  beg  you  will  not  think  of  going  to  Newmarket  till  you  Irnve  heard 

again  from  me;  how  late  it  may  be  I  cannot  answer  for.     Adieu, 

my  dear  friend.     Pray  excuse  haste. 

"Ever  yours,  G.  P." 

The  King  presently  replied  with  his  own  hand,  in  a  letter  for- 
warded by  Mr.  Pitt  to  the  Prince,  to  the  following  effect:  1st.  That 
the  King  was  gratified  to  find  the  Prince  ready  to  submit  his  debts 
to  inspection.  2nd.  That  the  Prince  sliould  set  forth  not  only  the 
amount  of  liis  debts,  but  the  manner  in  which  each  particular  debt 
was  contracted.  3rd.  That  the  Prince  should  engage  not  to  contract 
debts  in  future.  4th.  That  upon  compliance  with  the  foregoing 
conditions  would  depend  the  King's  consent  to  the  payment  of 
the  Prince's  debts,  or  any  portion  of  them.  5th.  That  the  King 
would  not  think  any  increase  of  incomo  iif(( -^^ary,  so  long  as  the 
Prince  of  Wales  remained  unraarrried. 

This  counter-project  was  not  found  satisfactory,  and  Mr.  Courte- 
nay,  one  of  the  Prince's  legal  advisers,  having  quickened  the  nego 

♦  "  Life  ami  Reign,"  1. 166, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  115 

tiations  by  giving  out  that  he  would  bring  this  delicate  question 
before  the  House,  on  the  21st  of  May  the  minister  brought  down  a 
royal  message,  recommending  an  increase  to  his  son's  income. 
The  message  added  that  there  was  "a  well-grounded  expectation" 
that  his  son  would  avoid  contracting  new  debts.  He  demanded 
their  aid  to  pay  the  debts,  and  engaged  from  his  own  Civil  List  to 
add  ten  thousand  pounds  a  year  to  his  income.  The  Prince  had 
given  his  Majesty  the  fullest  assurances  of  his  firm  determination 
to  confine  his  future  expenses  within  liis  income,  and  had  settled  a 
new  scheme  of  checking  the  household  expenses.  An  account  was 
furnished  to  the  House: 


Debts  of  the  Prince  op  Wales. 

Bonds  and  debts £13,000 

Purchase  of  houses 4,000 

Expenses  of  Carlton  House SS^OOO 

Tradesmen's  bills 90,804 

£160,804 
Expenditure  prom  July,  1783,  to  July,  1786. 

Household,  etc £29,277 

Privy  purse 16,050 

Payments  made  by  Col.  Hotham,  particulars  delivered  in  to  his 

Majesty 37,203 

Other  extraordinaries 11,406 

£98,936 

Salaries £54,734 

Stables 37,919 

Mr.  Robins,  etc 7,059— £99,712 

£193,648 

V 

On  the  following  da}^  an  address  from  the  Commons  was  pre- 
sented to  the  King,  with  its  vote  for  a  hundred  and  sixty-one  thou- 
sand pounds,  for  payment  of  the  debt,  and  a  sum  of  sixty  thousand 
pounds  for  the  completion  of  Carlton  House.* 

This  schedule  was  said  not  to  correspond  with  the  one  first  pre- 
sented to  the  King,  and  it  was  understood  that  the  delpts  of  honor, 


*  From  a  letter  of  Mr.  Pitt's,  in  July,  1789,  it  would  appear  that  Coutts,  the 
banker,  was  employed  as  agent  in  the  transaction.  Forty  thousand  pounds 
were  to  be  paid  to  the  general  creditors  through  Mr.  Anstruther,  while  Cap- 
tain Payne  was  to  receive  so  large  a  sum  as  three  thousand  pounds  for  the 
Brighton  creditors,— Rose,  "Diaries,"  i.  105, 


116  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

etc.,  had  been  kept  back  because  the  King  declined  to  recognize 
them.  The  relief  indeed  was  of  the  most  temporary  kind;  there 
was  no  substantial  increase  to  his  income,  the  sum  for  Carlton 
House  was  but  a  third  of  what  was  necessary,  and  his  position  was 
really  that  of  a  man  in  hopeless  difficulties,  who  has  obtained  a 
small  supply  to  help  to  tide  him  on  for  a  little.  Exactly  Vika  such 
a  person,  the  Prince  was  overjoyed  at  the  relief,  which  might  be  an 
earnest  of  future  aid.  So  far  from  an  attempt  being  made  to  ob- 
serve this  solemn  engagement  to  the  King  and  nation,  whicl]  com- 
mon decency  might  have  suggested,  three  years  had  not  elapsed 
when  his  debts  reached  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds! 


TBii  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  H? 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1787. 

A  RECONCILIATION  immediately  took  place  between  the  Prince 
and  his  father.  The  drawing-room  on  May  24th,  it  was  remarked, 
was  as  line  and  crowded  as  a  Birthday.  The  Prince's  household, 
now  returned  to  their  places,  all  kissed  hands.  The  King  was 
quite  in  spirits,  and  the  Queen  and  her  daughters  beaming  with 
delight.  The  impulsive  Prince  told  every  one  that  he  was  resolved 
never  again  to  quarrel  with  his  father;  a  declaration  too  compre- 
hensive not  to  excite  a  serious  foreboding.* 

On  the  following  day  an  interview,  three  hours  long,  took  place 
at  the  palace,  at  the  end  of  which  the  penitent  was  introduced  to 
his  mother  and  sisters,  when  all  was  made  up.  By  the  much-in- 
jured Mrs.  Fitzherbert  he  was  also  forgiven;  and,  at  a  most  magni- 
ficent ball  and  supper  given  by  Sir  Sampson  Gideon,  the  Prince  sat 
at  the  head  of  the  table,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  beside  him,  with  all  her 
particular  friends  grouped  near  him.  Every  one  had  noticed  that 
his  attentions  to  her  in  public  had  of  late  been  of  the  most  marked 
kind. 

The  creditors,  however,  were  not  quite  satisfied  with  the  mode  of 
liquidation,  which  they  thought  too  slow.  They  were  paid  in  in- 
stalments, a  first  dividend  of  nine  per  cent,  being  presently  an- 
nounced. 

Reconciled  to  his  son,  the  King  was  to  be  further  gratified  by  the 
return  of  his  favorite,  the  Duke  of  York,  who  arrived  on  August 
2nd  after  an  absence  of  seven  years,  during  which  time  he  had  con- 
trived to  impress  even  Mirabeau  unfavorably  by  his  uproariousness 
and  excess  in  wine.  The  Prince  was  then  at  Brighton,  and  the 
news  found  him  at  a  supper  where  was  the  Princess  of  Lamballe, 
whence  he  rose  to  post  all  through  the  night  to  Windsor.  He  was 
fond  of  this  grotesque  and  spasmodic  mode  of  travel,  for  which 

*  Auckland,  "Correspondence,"  i.  426. 


118  fn^  LIFE  OF  &EOR&E  IV. 

there  was  no  necessity,  and  which  is,  in  truth,  characteristic  of  the 
spendthrift,  who  loves  telegraphing  and  expresses  where  mere 
trivialities  are  in  question.  Thus  an  air  of  real  business  is  given  to 
pleasure. 

The  meeting  of  the  brothers  is  described  as  most  affecting. 
After  a  moment's  pause,  during  which  they  surveyed  each  other, 
they  embraced  affectionately.  Then  followed  a  happy  family  din- 
ner; and  if  we  are  to  accept  the  reports  of  the  various  chroniclers 
belonging  to  the  Court,  the  simple  raptures  of  the  happy  father,  and 
his  queen  and  his  daughters,  were  more  like  what  would  occur  in 
the  circle  of  the  good  Vicar  of  Wakefield  than  among  those  recently 
engaged  in  a  bitter  and  venomous  family  quarrel.  The  Duke,  in 
truth,  had  returned  a  finished  debauchee,  arrayed  in  all  the  vices; 
he  was  delicate-looking  and  stooped,  and  in  the  splendid  picture  of 
him  by  Reynolds,  where  he  is  presented  in  all  the  splendor  of  robes 
and  orders,  he  appears  as  an  interesting,  almost  feminine-looking 
youth,  with  a  rather  weak  and  volatile  expression.  He  was  now  to 
form  a  strict  alliance  with  his  brother. 

For  the  Duke  of  York  an  establishment  was  formed  at  Oatlands 
Park,  Weybridge  (now  an  hotel),  a  place  hereafter  to  be  familiar  to 
London  men  of  fashion;  having  also  a  grotesque  celebrity  as  the 
reign  of  riot  and  the  grave  of  innumerable  dogs,  favorites  of  the 
Duchess.  Frolic  and  frivolity  now  set  in,  and  the  royal  brothers, 
in  this  new-found  camaraderie,  were  to  renew  the  old  scandals. 
Indeed,  those  of  the  royal  family  who  were  older  did  not  set  the 
young  men  a  good  example.  The  Cumberlands,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  openly  encouraged  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  his  hostility  to  his 
father. 

One  so  flattered  and  followed  often  showed  a  capricious  humor, 
which,  in  his  later  days,  when  he  studied  to  support  his  character 
of  first  gentleman,  he  would  not  have  exhibited.  Thus,  when 
dancing  with  the  beautiful  Lady  Salisbury  at  a  ball  given  by  the 
Duchess  of  Devonshire,  he  suddenly  quitted  her  and  finished  the 
measure  with  his  more  lovely  hostess.  The  gay  Captain  Morris 
thus  wrote  on  the  incident: 


Ungallant  youth !    Could  royal  Edward  see 
While  Salisbur>''8  garter  decks  thy  faithless  knee 
That  thou,  false  knight,  hadst  turned  thy  back  and  fled 
From  such  a  Salisbury  as  might  wake  the  dead. 
Qidck  from  thy  treacherous  breast  her  badge  he'd  tear. 
And  strip  the  star  that  beauty  planted  there. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  HO 

But,  as  the  Duchess  of  York  once  said  to  Mr.  Greville,  there  was 
a  rude,  coarse  style  of  gentility  then  obtaining,  which  gave  place  to 
the  good-natured  manners  of  the  later  dandies.  The  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  whose  attachment  to  his  wife  and  sacrifices  made  for 
her  are  told  in  so  sympathetic  a  fashion  in  Walpole's  journals,  had 
now  transferred  his  admiration  to  Lady  Tyrconnel,  Lord  Delaval's 
youngest  daughter,  "feminine  and  delicate  in  her  appearance,  with 
a  profusion  of  light  hair." 

"  How  the  men  of  business  and  the  great  orators  of  the  House  of 
Commons  contrive  to  reconcile  it  with  their  exertions  I  cannot  con- 
ceive," writes  that  most  charming  of  public  men.  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot, 
to  his  wife.  "Men  of  all  ages  drink  abominably.  Fox  drinks 
what  I  should  call  a  great  deal,  though  he  is  not  reckoned  to  do  so 
by  his  companions,  Sheridan  excessively,  and  Grey  more  than  any 
of  them ;  but  it  is  in  a  much  more  gentlemanly  way  than  our  Scotch 
drunkards,  and  is  always  accompanied  with  lively  clever  conversa- 
tion on  subjects  of  importance.  Pitt,  I  am  told,  drinks  as  much  as 
anybody." 

The  same  observer  describes  a  scene  at  Mrs.  Crewe's,  where  three 
young  men  of  fashion,  Mr.  Orlando  Bridgman,  Mr.  Charles 
Greville,  of  the  Picnic  Club  (a  gentleman  celebrated  for  his  elegance 
of  manners),  and  Mr.  Gifford,  were  so  drunk  "  as  to  puzzle  a  whole 
assembly.  The  last  was  a  young  gentleman  lately  come  out,  of 
good  estate  of  about  five  thousand  pounds  a  year,  the  whole  of 
which  he  is  in  the  act  of  spending  in  one  or  two  years  at  most,  and 
this  without  a  grain  of  sense,  without  any  fun  to  himself  or  enter 
tainment  to  others.  He  never  uttered  a  word,  though  as  drunk  as 
the  other  two,  who  were  both  riotous,  and  began  at  last  to  talk  so 
plain  that  Lady  Francis  and  Lady  Valentine  fled  from  the  side  table 
to  ours,  and  Mrs.  Sheridan  would  have  followed  them,  but  did  not 
make  her  escape  till  her  arms  were  black  and  blue,  and  her  apron 
torn  off. " 

Pitt,  the  model  young  minister,  broke  down  in  the  House  in  the 
following  year,  owing  to  a  debauch  the  night  before  at  Lord  Buck- 
ingham's, when  in  company  with  Dundas  and  the  Duke  of  Gordon 
he  took  too  much  wine.*  Indeed,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
times  might  be  called  "  a  precious  school  "  for  young  princes,  and 
there  was  no  public  opinion  to  check  these  vices.  The  lawlessness 
that  was  abroad  reached  even  to  the  young,  who  disdained  the  con- 

*  "  Court  and  Cabinets,"  i.  860. 


120  THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV. 

trol  of  their  parents.  When  their  consent  was  withheld,  the  result 
was  improvident  marriages  with  footmen  and  actors,  and  numerous 
elopements.  Thus  in  this  3^ear  the  town  was  entertained  with  no 
less  than  three  escapades,  which  occurred  at  the  same  time.  "  Lady 
Augusta  Campbell  is  married  to  Mr.  Clavering,  the  youngest  son  of 
General  Clavering.  His  being  only  two-and-twenty,  and  Lady 
Augusta  being  a  good  many  years  older,  makes  people  imagine  that 
she  rather  ran  away  with  him  than  he  with  her.  They  went  away 
from  the  Duchess  of  Ancaster's,  who  saw  masks  that  night.  The 
Duchess  of  Argyll  went  home,  and  thought  that  Lady  Augusta 
would  soon  follow  her,  but  after  silting  up  till  five  o'clock,  and  no 
Lady  Augusta  returning,  she  sent  in  search  of  her  to  the  Duchess 
of  Ancaster's.  No  tidings  were  to  be  learned  there  of  the  fair  fugi- 
tive. She,  it  seems,  as  soon  as  her  mother  went  home,  left  the 
duchess's  with  Mr.  Clavering,  and  went  with  him  toBicester,  in 
Oxfordshire,  where  they  were  married.  She,  it  is  said,  was  married 
in  her  domino.  Accoutred  as  she  was  she  plunged  in.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  she  dropped  the  mask.  The  lover  had  been  the  day  before 
to  Cranbourne  Alley,  and  had  procured  every  kind  of  female  dress 
necessary  for  Lady  Augusta. 

"Miss  Clinton  had,  the  day  before  she  eloped,  offered  to  take  her 
oath  on  the  Bible  that  she  would  not  marry  Mr.  Dawkins  without 
Sir  Henry's  consent.  He,  after  her  solemn  protestations,  did  not 
think  it  necessary  to  administer  the  oath;  and  she,  perhaps,  imag- 
ining that  at  some  other  time  he  might,  lost  no  time  in  escaping 
from  the  sin  of  perjury,  and  likewise  from  her  father's  house.  Mr. 
Dawkins  had  posted  half-a-dozen  hackney-coaches  at  the  different 
corners  which  lead  into  Portland  Place,  in  order  that  he  might 
elude  all  pursuit;  for  as  soon  as  the  hackney-coach  in  which  he  was 
set  off,  all  the  others  likewise  had  their  orders  to  set  off  too,  and  go 
where  they  liked. 

"Lady  Bowes  lived  in  Fludyer  Street,  which  you  know  is  very 
narrow,  and  well  it  was,  considering  the  bridge  she  passed  to  get  to 
her  lover,  Mr.  Jessop.  She  excused  herself  to  her  father  for  not 
coming  down  to  supper,  saying  that  it  was  inconsistent  with  female 
delicacy  to  be  in  company  with  so  many  men  as  were  to  sup  with 
her  father.  As  soon  as  everybody  was  gone  to  bed  she  passed  a 
ladder  which  had  a  plank  laid  upon  it,  and  which  reached  from  her 
window  to  that  of  her  lover.  She  must  pass  this  bridge.  She  had 
never  seen  this  man  but  at  his  window,  before  she  went  over  to 
him." 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEORGE  IV.  121 

Gambling  at  this  time  was  in  the  highest  vogue,  faro  and  macao 
tables  being  found  at  the  fashionable  houses.  This  vice  continued 
to  rage  until  the  dissolution  of  Crockford's,  within  living  memory, 
when  it  assumed  another  shape,  which  now  obtains — that  of  layino 
on  horses  instead  of  on  dice  or  cards.  The  French  ambassador  was 
a  particular  votary,  and,  being  struck  down  with  a  paralytic  stroke 
at  a  drawing-room,  did  not  on  that  account  suspend  his  Sunday 
evening  gaming  reunions — and  Sir  Nathaniel  Wraxall  attended 
one,  when,  "a  faro-table  being  set  out  in  one  of  the  apartments, 
the  company  gambled  at  it  while  the  ambassador  lay  in  an  adjoin- 
ing room  attended  by  physicians." 

The  King  and  his  family,  who  had  been  in  such  delight  at  the 
promised  reformation,  were  now  to  find  their  son  breaking  his 
promises,  even  the  one  which  had  been  the  sine  qua  non  of  the  agree- 
ment, that  he  would  m)  longer  join  in  political  attacks.  There  was 
something  most  unbecoming  in  this  violation  of  an  honorable  agree- 
ment, but  the  public  had  long  ceased  to  be  scandalized.  His  friend, 
Erskine,  after  making  a  wild  attack  on  the  Government  three  hours 
long,  had  been  forced  to  desist  from  illness;  he  was  comforted  by 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  with  whom  he  dined  in  the  coffee-room  at  the 
House  of  Commons,  and,  after  being  well  primed  with  brandy,  was 
instigated  to  renew  the  attack.  So  gross  was  his  language  that  a 
burst  of  hisses  greeted  him.* 

No  w^onder  the  visits  to  Windsor  grew  less  and  less  frequent,  and 
at  last  were  totally  given  up.  But  what  must  have  wrung  the  heart 
of  father  and  mother  most  was  to  find  the  youth  that  had  just  been 
restored  to  them  led  by  his  brother  into  every  vice,  and  competing  with 
him  in  the  race  of  a  degrading  notoriety;  and  there  can  be  no  reason 
able  doubt  but  that  the  agitation  and  anguish  of  these  days  contrib 
uted  to  the  derangement  of  mind  which  was  presently  to  declare 
itself. 

Two  of  the  Prince's  close  associates — Tarleton  and  Payne  (the 
well-known  Jack  Payne) — being  proposed  at  Brookes's,  met  with  the 
affront  of  being  blackballed,  though  the  Prince  himself  had  put  them 
up.  In  disgust  at  this  treatment,  he  and  his  brother  determined  to 
found  a  new  and  special  club,  where  they  could  be  free  from  the 
restraint  of  these  old  respectable  Whigs  who  reigned  at  Brookes's. 

Accordingly,  the  task  of  organizing  the  club  was  conferred  on  his 
German  cook,  and  after  the  custom  of  the  time  it  was  called  "  Welt- 

*  «  CJourt  and  Cabinets,"  i.  556. 


122  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

jie's."  Weltjie  himself,  with  liis  broken  English  and  familiarity, 
became  the  keeper  under  the  royal  patronage.  He  made  money, 
and  lived  in  one  of  the  picturesque  houses  in  Hammersmith  Mail, 
where  he  was  truly  hospitable.  He,  however,  lost  the  favor  of  his 
royal  patron  by  his  opposition  to  the  marriage  of  one  of  his  children 
which  the  Prince  favored,  and  who,  crossed  in  his  whim,  dismissed 
him.  "His  manners,"  says  Angelo,  "were  not  very  polished,  but 
at  the  same  time  good-natured,  and  his  humorous,  eccentric  anec- 
dotes (of  which  he  had  so  many),  with  his  excellent  dishes,  so  pleased 
his  guests  that  they  were  never  out  of  patience  in  listening  to  them." 
Mr.  Gronow  gives  another  account  of  the  convivial  fashion  in  which 
this  club  was  founded. 

In  this  new  locale  play  set  in  with  new  fury,  and  the  royal  pair 
became  the  victims.  "The  Prince  has  taught  the  Duke  to  drink  in 
the  most  liberal  way,  and  the  Duke  in  return  has  been  equally  suc- 
cessful in  teaching  his  brother  to  lose  money  at  all  sorts  of  play — 
quinze,  hazard,  etc. — to  the  amount,  we  are  told,  of  very  large  sums, 
won  by  General  Smith  and  Admiral  Pigot,  who  both  wanted  it  very 
much."  This  fatal  passion  the  Duke  had  brought  from  Germany, 
and  the  frantic  manner  in  which  he  now  pursued  it  filled  his  more 
sober  friends  with  apprehension.  Even  the  Prince  of  Wales  was 
heard  to  declare  gravely  that  his  brother  of  York  "was  too  bad."  * 

It  was  during  one  of  these  riotous  scenes  that  an  amusing  adven- 
ture occurred  to  the  royal  pair.  As  they  were  passing  Hay  Hill, 
hurrj'ing  to  another  scene  of  riot,  they  were  stopped  by  footpads  and 
robbed  of  their  w^atches  and  money.  Mr.  Rogers  heard  the  Duke  of 
York  relate  the  story,  but  seems  to  have  misapprehended  it.  He 
assumed  it  to  have  been  a  genuine  robber}'-,  whereas  it  was  a  pleas- 
ant trick  contrived  by  some  of  their  boon  companions.  There  was 
much  jesting  on  the  incident,  and  it  was  declared  that  the  sum  of 
money  obtained  from  the  pockets  of  both  was  of  but  trifling  amount. 

The  Prince's  gambling  was  pushed  to  an  extent  which,  considering 
his  recent  promises,  was  scandalous.  He  was  seen  to  lose  two  or 
three  thousand  pounds  of  a  night,  f  His  brother,  the  Duke  of  York, 
was  not  behindhand,  his  conduct  being  as  bad  as  possible;  "he  plays 
very  deep,  and  loses,  and  his  company  is  thought  mauvais  ton."X 

Like  other  gentlemen  of  the  town,  our  Prince  had  recourse  in  his 

•  The  Duke,  at  a  convivial  party,  rising  abruptly  from  the  table,  fell  upon 
the  floor;  on  which  his  brother  exclaimed,  solemnly:  "There  lie,  as  our  royal 
father  says,  the  hopes  of  the  fam.ly." 

t  "  Court  and  Cabinets,"  i.  303.  X  Ibid. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  123 

necessities  to  the  usurers.*  One  of  the  most  notorious  money-lenders 
who  came  to  his  aid  was  a  personage  known  as  "Jew  Travis,"  or 
"Treves,"  with  whom  the  Prince  had  transactions.  Later  came 
"Jew  Solomon"  and  "Jew  King."  Lord  Cornw^allis,  who  had  gone 
out  to  India,  was,  in  the  following  year,  applied  to  with  great  ear- 
nestness hy  the  Prince  to  do  something  for  a  young  protege  of  his,  also 
out  there.  The  warmth  of  his  intercession  may  have  surprised  Lord 
Cornwallis,  who  could  not,  however,  set  it  down  to  the  kindly  feel- 
ings of  his  heart.  The  fact  was,  "young  Treves"  was  son  of  "Jew 
Treves,"  which  at  once  explained  the  solicitude  exhibited  for  him. 

THE  PKENCE  OF  WALES  TO  LORD   CORNWALLIS. 

"Carlton  House,  March  12th,  1788. 
"My  dear  Cornwallis, 

"Tho'  I  am  sensible  how  much  your  time  is  taken  up,  I  can- 
not help  troubling  you  on  a  subject  I  have  already  mentioned  to  you. 
Having  understood  that  the  India  directors  have  sent  a  species  of 
order  to  have  young  Treves  removed  from  his  present  situation,  and 
feeling  myself  much  interested  in  this  young  man's  welfare,  I  cannot 
help,  1st,  recalling  to  your  mind  that  I  took  the  liberty  some  time 
ago  of  recommending  him  particularly  to  your  protection,  and  only 
hope  that,  if  his  conduct  has  not  been  improper  in  his  situation,  you 
would  not  admit  of  his  being  an  innocent  sufferer.  I  trust  to  your 
goodness  in  forgiving  the  trouble  I  am  now  giving  you,  and  that,  if 
any  application  is  necessary  to  the  subject  here  at  home,  you  will  be 
kind  enough  to  inform  me  how  I  am  to  make  it  myself;  or  else  I 
must  trouble  you  once  more  in  begging  you  to  make  it  yourself  for 
me  and  in  my  name.  I  am  ever  happy  in  any  opportunity  that  offers 
itself  of  recalling  myself  to  your  remembrance,  and  assuring  you 
how  sincerely  I  remain,  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"George  P." 


*  It  was  at  this  time  the  practice  of  the  Jews  to  frequent  the  gaming-houses 
in  the  moniing  for  the  express  purpose  of  purchasing  the  I  O  U's  of  the 
Prince.  If  the  I  O  U  was  for  five  hundred  pounds,  a  bond  or  some  other  solid 
security  was  given  for  six  hundred  pounds,  the  Jew  selling  to  the  Prince  some 
trifling  piece  of  plate,  or  an  article  of  jewelry,  for  the  extra  hundred  pounds. 
The  Prince,  in  some  instances,  expressed  his  high  sense  of  displeasure  at  this 
traflfic  in  his  negotiable  securities.  Bu^,  as  in  some  instances  he  could  not  dis- 
charge his  I  O  U  from  his  immediate  funds,  it  was  a  system  of  great  conve- 
nience to  have  a  resource  always  at  hand  by  which  his  honor  could  be  saved. 
— Huish,  "  Memoirs,'"  i.  191. 


124  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV 

The  amiable  feelings  that  had  been  awakened  by  the  return  of  the 
second  son  had  by  this  time  given  place  to  the  old  bitterness,  and 
the  relations  between  the  King  and  his  son  had  now  come  to  be  once 
more  on  the  usual  disastrous  footing-  The  blame  may  be  fairly 
divided  between  both  parties,  as  will  be  evident  from  the  harsh  treat- 
ment extended  to  another  son,  Prince  William,  who  had  been  at  sea, 
and  ventured  to  return  without  permission.  He  arrived  at  Plymouth, 
as  will  be  shown  later,  and  was  detained  there  by  his  father.  His 
royal  brother  hurried  down  to  see  him,  and  the  party  enjoyed  them- 
selves for  some  time  together,  in  their  own  riotous  fashion,  when  the 
gay  sailor  got  into  a  flirtation  with  a  lady  of  the  place.  He  was  at 
once  ordered  off  to  sea,  with  sealed  orders,  which,  on  being  opened, 
banished  him  to  the  West  Indies.  Yet  with  all  this  extravagance 
there  were  evidences  of  a  good  heart,  or  at  least  of  good  nature. 

For  what  was  called  "  bruising,"  the  Prince  of  Wales  early  showed 
taste;  but  it  was  "recorded  to  his  honor"  that,  having  witnessed  a 
dreadful  prize-fight  at  Brighton,  in  the  August  of  the  following  year, 
in  which  one  of  the  "  bruisers  "  was  killed  on  the  spot,  he  gave  utter- 
ance to  a  sort  of  solemn  vow  that  he  would  never  witness  another 
battle  or  again  patronize  the  sport.  This  was  no  doubt  prompted 
by  a  becoming  feeling;  but  without  the  catastrophe  the  spectacle  was 
brutal,  and  sufficiently  inhuman.* 

A  little  sketch  of  him,  about  this  time,  at  an  evening  party,  shows 
very  effectively  the  favorable  side  of  his  character.  Among  his 
friends  was  Lady  Clermont,  a  lady  of  the  old  school,  who  had 
brought  to  a  party  the  well-known  Count  Fersen.f 

"His  Royal  Highness  took  no  notice  of  me  on  his  first  arrival ;  but, 
in  a  few  minutes  afterwards,  coming  up  to  me,  '  Pray,  Lady  Cler- 
mont,' said  he,  'is  that  man  whom  I  see  here  Count  Fersen,  the 
Queen's  favorite?'  'The  gentleman,'  answered  I,  'to  whom  your 
Royal  Highness  alludes  is  Count  Fersen;  but  so  far  from  being  a 
favorite  of  the  Queen,  he  has  not  yet  been  presented  at  Court.' 
'God  d— n  me!'  exclaimed  he,  'you  don't  imagine  I  mean  my 
mother?'  'Sir,'  I  replied,  'whenever  you  are  pleased  to  use  the 
word  "queen"  without  any  addition  I  shall  always  understand  it 
to  mean  my  Queen.  If  you  speak  of  any  other  queen  I  must  entreat 
that  you  will  be  good  enough  to  say  the  Queen  of  France  or  of 


♦  Mr.  Windham  was  employed  to  get  a  palliative  accoimt  inserted  in  his 
pap  rs,  being  a  great  patron  of  the  sport. 
t  Wraxall,  "  Posth.  Memoirs." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  126 

Spain. '  The  Prince  made  no  reply ;  but,  after  having  walked  once 
or  twice  round  Count  Fersen,  returning  to  me,  '  He's  certainly  a 
very  handsome  fellow,'  observed  he.  '  Shall  I  have  the  honor,  sir,' 
said  I,  *to  present  him  to  you?'  He  instantly  turned  on  his  heel, 
without  giving  me  any  answer;  and  I  soon  afterwards  quitted  Lady 
William  Gordon's  house,  carrying  Count  Fersen  with  me.  We 
drove  to  Mrs.  St.  John's,  only  a  few  doors  distant,  who  had  likewise 
a  large  party  on  that  evening.  When  I  had  introduced  him  to  vari- 
ous persons  there  I  said  to  him :  '  Count  Fersen,  I  am  an  old  woman, 
and  infirm,  who  always  go  home  to  bed  at  eleven.  You  will,  I  hope, 
amuse  yourself.  Good-night.'  Having  thus  done  the  honors,  as 
well  as  I  could,  to  a  stranger  who  had  been  so  highly  recommended 
to  me,  I  withdrew  into  the  ante-chamber,  and  sat  down  alone  in  a 
corner,  waiting  for  my  carriage.  While  there  the  Prince  came  in ; 
and  I  naturally  expected,  after  his  recent  behavior,  that  he  would 
rather  avoid  than  accost  me.  On  the  contrary,  adviincing  up  to  me, 
'What  are  you  doing  here,  Lady  Clermont?'  asked  he.  'I  am 
waiting  for  my  coach,  sir,'  said  I,  '  in  order  to  go  home.'  'Then,' 
replied  he,  '  I  will  put  you  into  it,  and  give  you  my  arm  down  the 
stairs.'  'For  heaven's  sake,  sir,'  I  exclaimed,  'don't  attempt  it;  I 
am  old,  very  lame,  and  my  sight  is  imperfect.  The  consequence  of 
your  offering  me  your  arm  will  be  that,  in  my  anxiety  not  to  detain 
your  Royal  Highness,  I  shall  hurry  down  and  probably  tumble  from 
the  top  of  the  staircase  to  the  foot.'  'Very  likely,'  answered  he; 
*  but,  if  you  tumble,  I  shall  tumble  with  you.  Be  assured,  however, 
that  I  will  have  the  pleasure  of  assisting  you,  and  placing  you  safely 
in  your  carriage. '  I  saw  that  he  was  determined  to  repair  the  rude- 
ness with  which  he  had  treated  me  at  Lady  William  Gordon's,  and 
I  therefore  acquiesced.  He  remained  with  me  till  the  coach  was 
announced,  conversed  most  agreeably  on  various  topics,  and  as  he 
took  care  of  me  down  the  stairs,  enjoined  me  at  every  step  not  to 
hurry  myself.  Nor  did  he  quit  me  when  seated  in  the  carriage, 
remaining  uncovered  on  the  steps  of  the  house  till  it  drove  off  from 
the  door." 

"The  Prince,"  we  are  also  told,  "was  one  day  so  exceedingly 
urgent  to  have  eight  hundred  pounds,  at  an  hour  on  such  a  day,  and 
in  so  unusual  a  manner,  that  the  gentleman  who  furnished  the  sup- 
ply had  some  curiosity  to  know  for  what  purpose  it  was  obtained. 
On  inquiry  he  was  informed  that  the  moment  the  money  arrived  the 
Prince  drew  on  a  pair  of  boots,  pulled  off  his  coat  and  waistcoat, 
slipped  on  a  plain  morning  frock,  without  a  star,  and,  turning  his 


126  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

• 
hair  to  the  crown  of  his  head,  put  on  a  slouched  hat,  and  thus 

walked  out.     This  intelligence  raised  still  greater  curiosity,  and  with 

some  trouble  the  gentleman  discovered  the  object  of  the  mysterious 

visit.     An  oflEicer  of  the  army  had  just  arrived  from  America,  with 

a  wife  and  six  children,  in  such  low  circumstances,  that,  to  satisfy 

a  clamorous  creditor,  he  was  on  the  point  of  selling  his  commission, 

to  the  utter  ruin  of  his  family.     The  Prince  brought  him  the  money 

himself  to  an  obscure  lodging-house,"  * 

Yet,  as  moralists  well  know,  such  impulses,  unless  directed  by 
principle,  have  little  value,  and  become  no  more  than  new  shapes  of 
self -gratification.  Presently  we  find  him  at  Tunbridge  Wells,  where 
he  much  contributed  to  the  gayety  of  that  place.  Here,  among 
other  visitors,  was  Fitzgibbon,  afterwards  the  well-known  Lord 
Clare,  whose  wife,  "a  smart  lady,"  and  one  of  " Buck "  Whaley's 
family,  attracted  the  notice  of  the  impressionable  Prince. 

There  was  another  watering-place  which  attracted  him  and 
engrossed  much  of  his  time,  thought,  and  extravagance.  The  luxu- 
rious city  of  pleasure,  the  modern  "London-on-the-Sea,"  unrivalled 
for  its  gayety  and  enjoyment,  is  indebted  to  the  young  Prince  of 
Wales  for  its  earliest  appreciation.  Almost  before  he  was  of  age  he 
delighted  in  hurrying  away  from  town  for  a  brief  snatch  of  seaside 
enjoyment.  We  are  told  a  new  and  fantastic  equipage,  consisting 
of  a  phaeton  drawn  only  by  three  horses,  one  before  the  other,  on 
the  first  of  which  rode  a  postilion,  was  designed  to  enable  him  to 
reach  his  favorite  haunt  with  more  expedition.  With  all  his  fickle- 
ness he  was  through  his  life  constant  to  this  fancy,  and,  like  the 
Grand  Monarque,  paid  it  the  homage  of  adorning  it  with  the  quaint 
and  costly  palace  which  still  rears  its  outlandish  pinnacles,  f 

♦  Huish,  "Memoirs,"  1. 157. 

+  In  an  old  posting-book  now  before  me,  once  belonging  to  a  friend  of  Mr. 
Sterne*8,  in  which  are  set  down  several  not:^8  us  ^ful  on  travel,  furnished  by 
that  gentleman,  as  "  Mr.  Sterne  recommended  Mr.  Ray  of  Montpellier  as  a 
most  worthy  English  banker,"— there  Is  a  MS.  sketch  of  the  place  so  early  as 
1767.  "  Until  within  a  few  years  it  was  no  better  than  a  mere  fishing  town 
inhabited  by  fishermen  and  sailors,  but  through  the  recommendation  of  Dr. 
Russel,  and  by  the  means  of  his  writing  in  favor  of  sea- water,  it  is  become  one 
of  the  principal  places  in  the  kingdom  for  the  resort  of  the  idle  and  dlssl' 
pated  as  well  as  of  the  diseased  and  infirm.  Thera  are  two  assembly-rooms 
which  are  opened  on  different  nights,  on;  kept  by  Mr.  Shergold,  who  keeps 
the  sign  of  King  Charles's  Head,  and  lives  in  the  very  house  wherein  he  was 
concealed;  and  the  other  assembly-room  is  kept  by  Mr.  Hicks,  who  keeps  the 
coffee-house.  The  place  on  which  the  company  usually  walk  in  the  evening 
is  a  large  field  near  the  sea,  called  the  Stean,  which  is  kept  in  proper  order 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  127 

This  fancy  had  taken  root  after  the  time  when  he  first  visited  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  in  1782,  who  then  occupied  a  small,  old-fash- 
ioned house  on  the  very  edge  of  the  sea,  known  as  Grove  House, 
belonging  to  a  Mr.  Wyndham.  This  stood  almost  solitary,  some 
sandy  downs  spreading  away  near  it,  a  curious  contrast  to  the  vast 
crowds  of  houses  which  now  line  the  shore.*  In  the  following  year 
he  paid  a  second  visit,  on  this  occasion  occupying  Mr.  Kemp's 
house,  or  rather  cottage,  which  was  close  by.  This,  or  some  addi- 
tion, was  built  by  Weltjie,  his  cook,  and  was  separated  from  the 
high  road  by  some  shrubs  and  rose  trees.  Owing  to  the  bad  state  of 
his  health,  and  the  agitation  produced  by  the  events  of  1783,  he  was 
ordered  sea-bathing  by  the  physicians.  And  the  excuse  of  seeking 
health  being  thus  added  to  the  other  attractions  of  the  place,  he  pur- 
sued his  hobby  with  the  ardor  so  often  found  in  persons  of  his  dis- 
position. Thus,iWe  learn,  he  would  set  off  from  London,  and  return 
the  same  day,  making  the  drive  there  and  back  in  ten  hours.  The 
next  step  was  to  build,  and  from  thenceforth  for  many  years  he  was 
engrossed  with  the  costly  folly  of  constructing  a  country  as  well  as 
a  town  palace  at  the  same  time — a  mania  that  brought  him  down  to 
the  level  of  an  impoverished  spendthrift,  and  involved  him  in  the 
most  humiliating  shifts.  Holland,  the  architect  of  Carlton  House, 
furnished  plans,  and  in  1787,  the  first  rough  sketch,  as  it  may  be 
called,  of  the  Brighton  Folly  was  completed ;  for,  like  Carlton  House, 
it  was  to  be  altered  and  reshaped  several  times,  a  characteristic  of 
the  self-indulgent,  who  build  not  to  have  a  house,  but  for  the 
pleasure  of  building.  It  then  was  a  plain  substantial  structure,  low, 
flanked  by  two  wings,  with  a  large  rotunda  in  the  middle,  the  favor- 
ite form  in  those  days  of  the  nobleman's  house.  One  wing,  how- 
ever, was  the  shell  of  the  old  house.  For  the  decorations  an  emis- 
sary was  despatched  to  Italy,  to  study  and  bring  back  suitable 
designs.!  But  he  was  not  content  with  so  homely  an  edifice,  and 
Nash,  the  fashionable  architect,  was  called  in  to  reconstruct  the 
whole  in  the  fantastic  form  which  it  now  exhibits.    Additional  land 


for  that  purpose,  and  whereon  are  several  shops,  with  piazzas  and  benches 
therein  erected,  and  a  building  for  music  to  perform  in  when  the  weather  will 
permit." 

*  A  view  of  this  old  mansion,  as  it  appeared  at  this  date,  is  given  in  "The 
European  Magazine." 

+  This  agent  was  said  to  have  been  a  common  bricklayer,  and  his  expenses 
were  charged  at  two  thousand  pounds.         ^ 


128  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

was  bought,  and  for  more  than  twenty  years  the  chopping  and 
changing,  and  rebuilding  went  on. 

Just  as  there  was  then  a  sort  of  spurious  Gothic,  which  seemed  to 
be  evolved  from  the  brain  of  the  scene-painter;  so  the  pavilion 
allected  a  sort  of  Eastern  architecture,  which  might  be  Chinese  or 
Turkish,  or  Hindoo,  the  vague  and  cloudy  term  "Eastern,"  being 
used  to  cover  the  assemblage  of  contradictory  and  inharmonious  ele- 
ments. The  fashionable  architect,  we  are  told,  worked  under  "the 
direct  surveillance"  of  the  royal  virtuoso,  whose  "facility  of  inven- 
tion and  taste "  was  the  soul  of  the  whole.  How  this  taste  was 
inspired  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  fact:  He  received  a 
present  of  some  beautiful  Chinese  papers,  which  he  was  embarrassed 
how  to  dispose  of.  The  idea  of  a  Chinese  gallery  to  exhibit  the 
paper  suggested  itself,  and  was  carried  out.  This  again  suggested 
a  sort  of  transparent  chamber  in  the  middle,  formed  of  glass  painted 
with  Chinese  patterns,  and  illuminated  from  behind,  so  that  the 
guest  was  delighted,  and  perhaps  provoked,  at  finding  himself  in  a 
sort  of  lantern.  These  sort  of  surprises  were  then  considered  in  the 
best  taste.  The  apartments  were  certainly  laid  out  on  a  splendid 
and  spacious  scale;  and  the  noble  music-room,  banqueting-room, 
blue  and  yellow  drawing-rooms,  offered  fine  proportions,  though  cer- 
tainly disfigured  by  the  Chinese  monsters  and  ' '  gilt  trellis  work  in 
imitation  of  Bamboo  "  which  was  all  in  execrable  taste.  Yet  there 
were  admirable  models,  and  architects  of  the  Adam  school,  who 
could  have  designed  a  building  that  would  have  been  effective  and 
in  good  taste;  but  it  was  characteristic  that  our  Prince  should  have 
assumed  that  he  could  not  effectively  display  his  gifts  out  in  the 
style  that  was  accepted  by  the  nation,  but  only  in  some  extravagant 
and  unfamiliar  fashion.  There,  however,  it  stands  to  this  day — the 
Brighton  Pavilion— decayed  and  cumbering  valuable  earth,  an  eccen- 
tric gathering  of  pinnacles,  without  the  quaintness  of  antiquity,  and 
having  something  of  the  effect  of  the  tawdry  decorations  of  a  ball, 
seen  on  the  morning  after.  Unhappily,  it  was  now  to  be  associated 
with  scenes  of  revel  and  riot,  and  the  Pavilion  must  always  rise 
to  the  memory  when  we  think  of  the  merry  days  of  the  Regency,  or 
the  hot  youth  of  George,  Prince  of  Wales. 

Arriving  at  Brighton  from  Tunbridge  he  brought  with  him  the 
usual  carnival.  Wonderful  was  the  change  that  had  taken  place 
within  the  two  or  three  years  since  he  had  "taken  up"  the  place. 
The  effect  of  patronage  on  such  places  as  Homburg  and  Brighton  is 
like  magic.     Already  it  was  overflowing  with  company.     Doctors 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  1^9 

had  established  themselves;  and  Pepys,  the  eminent  physician,  also 
found  it  desirable  to  follow  his  fashionable  patients  thither  during 
the  season.  There  was  even  a  playhouse.  Unfortunately,  the 
example  of  the  august  patron  had  also  the  effect  of  drawing  there 
the  most  indiscriminate  collection  of  persons,  for  we  are  told  '  *  that, 
authorized  by  the  royal  example,  everybody  thought  himself  at 
liberty  to  do  as  the  Prince  himself  did,"  and  the  spectacle  of  a 
crowded  night  at  the  theatre  was  not  an  edifying  one.  Lord  Brude- 
nell,  keeper  of  the  King's  privy  purse,  flung  himself  into  the  riot 
with  more  zeal  than  discretion,  acquiring  the  nickname  of  "Cockie" 
to  the  great  amusement,  it  was  said,  of  his  Majesty.* 

But  in  all  this  frivolity  and  gayety  he  did  not  suspect  that  a  crisis 
of  the  most  important  and  momentous  kind  was  at  hand.  Here  it 
was  that  an  express  reached  him  with  alarming  news  of  his  father's 
illness.  He  posted  at  once  to  "Windsor,  and  the  fashionable  water- 
ing-place, as  though  every  one  was  seized  with  a  panic,  became 
deserted  almost  on  the  instant. 


*  Auckland,  ii.  S35. 

6* 


130  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 
1788. 

In  the  last  weeks  of  October  some  strange  rumors  as  to  the  state 
of  the  King's  health  were  current  at  the  two  great  clubs,  though  the 
conmaon  crowd  knew  no  more  than  that  the  King  was  indisposed. 
His  physician,  Sir  George  Baker,  who  had  seen  him  on  the  evening 
of  October  22nd,  had  suspected  that  his  mind  was  disordered,  while 
his  strange  behavior  at  the  leveeh^i^  excited  the  worst  forebodings  of 
the  ministers.  Not,  however,  until  November  4th  could  the  malady 
be  said  to  have  revealed  itself,  and  for  nearly  a  fortnight  the  suffer- 
ing King  had  been  allowed  to  encounter  exciting  duties  of  all  kinds, 
to  ride  hard,  four  hours  at  a  time  in  the  rain,  to  go  to  town  and 
hold  his  levee,  all  the  time  suffering  from  agitation  and  fever. 

Miss  Burney  describes  minutely  the  painful  scenes  at  the  palace 
during  this  early  stage :  the  queen  and  her  daughters  sitting  up  all 
night  "in  an  agony  of  weeping:"  the  unhappy  King  promenading 
restlessly  hither  and  thither,  not  so  disordered  as  to  warrant  restraint 
or  interference:  pouring  out  a  stream  of  ceaseless  talk,  until  he 
became  almost  inaudible  from  hoarseness.  The  spectacle  of  his 
friends  and  attendants,  whom  he  encountered  in  every  passage  and 
anteroom,  whispering  together,  following  him,  while  affecting  to 
hide  from  him,  must  have  had  the  worst  effect;  to  say  nothing  of 
the  Queen's  "  ghastly  face  "  and  perpetual  floods  of  tears,  and  the 
scared  manner  of  her  ladies. 

The  Prince  announced  that  he  intended  returning  to  Brighton  the 
next  day;  but  the  events  of  that  night  were  to  change  all  his  j)lans, 
for  when  that  dismal  family  party  were  seated  at  dinner,  the  King 
flew  at  his  son — who  had  caused  him  such  sorrows — in  a  paroxysm, 
seizing  him  by  the  Collar  and  pushing  him  with  violence  against  the 
wall.  He  woukl  know  did  he  dare  to  prevent  the  King  of  England 
speaking  out.  The  Queen  iell  oil  into  hysterics;  and  the  Prince, 
dreadfully  agitated,  began  to  cry.  In  a  situatioj  of  the  kind  his 
nerves  seemed  always  to  fail  him.     He  was,  indeed,  so  upset,  as  it  is 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  131 

called,  that  he  had  to  be  bled  next  day.*  This  want  of  firmness  was 
only  what  was  to  be  expected  in  one  whose  life  was  so  devoted  to 
pleasure,  f 

The  forms  of  these  early  paroxysms  show  what  was  preying  on 
the  King's  heart,  and  reveal  the  causes  of  his  madness — the  loss  of 
his  American  colonies,  and  his  son's  imfilial  behavior  and  irregu- 
larities. 

During  this  agitating  night  no  one  in  the  castle  went  to  bed.  Miss 
Burney,  wandering  about  the  galleries,  accidentally  opened  a  door 
and  found  herself  in  a  room  filled  with  gentlemen,  sitting  round  in 
awful  silence,  among  whom  were  the  two  Princes.  This  was  the 
ante-room,  while  the  poor  King,  now  quite  mad,  was  babbling  away 
within,  unconscious  that  such  a  crowd  was  near  him.  Later  on  he 
suddenly  opened  the  door  and  stood  bewildered  at  seeing  so  many 
faces,  but  was  scarcely  more  bewildered  than  were  the  others.  Even 
then  he  showed  his  instinctive  dislike  of  his  eldest  son,  for  he 
exclaimed  piteously,  on  recognizing  the  Duke  of  York,  "Yes, 
Frederick  is  my  friend."  No  one  had  courage  or  presence  of  mind 
to  take  any  steps.  The  Prince  of  Wales  shrank  back;  the  physician, 
Baker,  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  controlled  him,  lost  courage;  until 
Colonel  Digby  went  up  to  him  boldly,  and  awing  him  with  some 
judicious  words,  got  him  back  to  bed. 

The  Prince,  instead  of  returning  to  his  pleasures  at  Brighton  the 
morning  after  his  visit,  now  found  himself  the  central  figure  to  whom 
all  eyes  were  turned.  The  King  was  not  expected  to  live;  the 
Queen,  utterly  crushed  by  the  blow,  was  falling  from  one  fit  of  hys- 
terics into  another.  The  future  ruler  took  the  whole  direction  of 
the  castle  into  his  own  hands.  In  every  difficulty  the  people  came 
to  him  for  direction.  As  numbers  of  idle  persons  found  their  way 
to  the  castle  to  gossip  with  the  various  officials,  he  prudently  issued 
strict  orders  that,  save  four  persons,  whom  he  named,  no  one  should 
be  admitted.    He  himself  presided  at  the  equerries'  table.:): 


*  Buck,  Pap.  i.  437. 

+  The  King  did  not  call  his  son  an  old  woman,  as  Lord  Stanhope  says  ("  Life 
of  Pitt ");  that  speech  was  really  addressed  to  his  physician. 

t  One  of  thes3  trcvblesome  persons  was  his  old  tutor  Smelt,  who,  much 
affected  at  the  condi Jon  of  the  King,  was  insisting  with  much  importunity 
that  he  should  be  allowed  to  attend  on  him  as  his  page.  The  Prince  received 
him  good-naturedly,  and  told  him  that  he  had  better  stay  and  see  the  Queen; 
on  which  the  tutor  was  hurriedly  setting  off  to  fetch  Mrs.  Smelt  and  secure 
apartments  for  her  at  the  inn.    The  Prince,  who  purposely  changed  hi?  mind, 


132  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV 

In  London  it  was  believed  that  the  King's  illness  was  of  a  fatal 
kind;  and  even  before  November  5th  (the  day  of  the  first  outbreak 
of  the  insanity)  there  was  "a  general  alarm"  abroad.  An  anxious 
placeman  at  Whitehall,  Mr.  W.  Grenville,  was  quick  to  discern  tlie 
exultation  of  his  opponents,  who,  he  said,  did  not  disguise  their 
anticipations  that  the  blow  would  happen  in  a  few  days.  This 
was  to  be  the  tone  of  the  Tories  in  the  bitter  struggle  that  fol- 
lowed; Fox  and  his  friends  being  usually  described  as  a  band  of 
unscrupulous  men  who  wished,  not  to  oust  a  ministry,  but  to 
"seize  on  the  Government "  and  " overthrow  the  Constitution."  On 
the  evening  of  the  6th,  an  express  had  reached  Pitt  with  news  of  the 
scene  at  the  dinner-table.  All  seemed  to  herald  his  own  fall,  and 
even  ruin.  He  waited  in  hourly  expectation  of  a  messenger  from 
Windsor  with  news  of  the  King's  death.  The  Chancellor  was 
already  on  the  spot,  and  came  up  the  following  morning  with 
directions  for  Pitt  to  go  down  and  see  the  Prince.  Mr.  Grenville 
fondly  imagined  that  this  message  looked  like  negotiation. 

Things  began  to  look  yet  more  gloomy  when  it  was  found  that 
Thurlow  would  not  be  disinclined  to  serve  a  new  king  in  the  same 
capacity.  Nor  was  there  anything  extraordinary  or  unnatural  in 
such  an  idea;  for  it  was  known  that  he  cordially  disliked  Pitt,  and 
that  his  devotion  was  more  for  the  Sovereign  than  for  the  party. 
He  belonged  to  "the  King's  friends." 

An  accurate  and  well-informed  observer  seems  to  have  kept  a  sort 
of  diary  of  these  melancholy  proceedings,  and  from  their  record  I 
quote  what  follows:*  "In  the  violent  paroxysms  of  his  Majesty's 
disorder,  he  continually  raved  about  the  Queen ;  sometimes  loading 
her  with  reproaches,  and  uttering  threats  against  her;  at  others 
desiring  her  presence,  with  expressions  of  passionate  regard.  One 
day,  tired  of  vainly  soliciting  to  see  the  Queen,  his  Majesty  desired 
to  have  her  picture.  He  addressed  it  with  great  calmness  and  recol- 
lection in  these  words:  'We  have  been  married  twenty-eight  years, 


had  so  much  to  think  of  that  he  forgot  his  instructions  to  the  gate-keepers, 
and  Mr.  Smelt  was  denied  admittance  at  the  gate,  and  went  away  shocked 
and  overwhelmed.  A  few  weeks  later,  at  Kew,  the  Prince  apologized  to  him 
in  his  own  gracious  manner;  having,  as  Miss  Burney  says,  '*  the  faculty  of 
making  his  peace  with  captivating  grace." 

*  These  "particulars"  are  singularly  interesting,  and  are  given  in  an 
obscure  Life  of  George  the  Third.  They  seemed  to  have  escaped  the  notice 
of  Mr.  Jesse  and  other  writers:  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  trace  the  author. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IT.  133 

and  never  have  we  been  separated  a  day  till  now;  and  now  you 
abandon  me  in  my  misfortunes.'  Another  day,  his  Majesty  desired 
to  have  four  hundred  pounds  from  his  privy  purse.  He  divided  it 
into  different  sums,  wrapping  them  up  in  separate  papers,  upon 
which  he  wrote  the  names  of  persons  to  whom  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  make  monthly  payments,  with  perfect  accuracy  and  pre- 
cision. His  Majesty  then  wrote  down  the  different  sums,  with  the 
names  annexed,  cast  up  the  whole,  as  he  formerly  used  to  do,  and 
ordered  the  money  to  be  paid  immediately,  it  being  then  due.  After 
this  instance  of  perfect  recollection,  his  Majesty  began  to  deplore  the 
unhappy  situation  of  London ;  which,  he  said,  had  been  under  water 
a  fortnight.  He  then  proceeded  to  explain,  with  the  same  composure, 
that  the  water  was  making  gradual  advances;  and  that,  in  one 
week  more,  it  would  reach  the  Queen's  House.  His  Majesty 
expressed  great  unwillingness  that  a  valuable  manuscript,  the  pre- 
cise situation  of  which  he  described,  should  suffer ;  and  declared  an 
intention  of  going,  on  the  ensuing  Monday,  to  rescue  it  from  the 
approaching  evil.  This  mixture  of  distraction  and  reason  giving 
way  to  absolute  alienation,  his  Majesty  expressed  his  sorrow  that 
Lord  T was  not  present,  he  having  prepared  everything  for  cre- 
ating him  a  Duke." 

The  behavior  of  the  Chancellor,  from  the  very  beginning,  excited 
the  suspicion  of  his  companions  in  the  ministry.  It  must  be  said, 
however,  that  he  seemed  careless  what  they  thought,  and  pursued 
his  course.  The  "memoranda"  of  the  Duke  of  Leeds  give  the 
fullest  account  of  this  episode.  On  the  visit  of  ministers  to  Windsor 
the  Prince  did  not  see  them,  but  he  was  closeted  with  the  Chancellor 
both  in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening;  and  Mr.  Pitt  learned  that 
on  the  same  evening  Fox  had  been  with  the  Chancellor.  They  were 
not  slow  to  let  him  feel  that  they  suspected  him ;  for  a  week  or  two 
later  when  the  whole  Cabinet  were  dining  with  Lord  Stafford,  this 
incident  took  place.  The  host,  "with  much  emotion,"  told  them 
that  the  King  had  been  struck  by  one  of  his  pages,  adding  that  the 
King  had  not  only  been  shamefully  treated  but  had  been  betrayed. 
The  Chancellor,  thus  glanced  at,  said  that  if  anything  of  the  kind 
had  occurred,  the  person  in  question  ought  not  to  be  "  suffered  about 
his  person ;  but  he  knew  that,  in  a  paroxysm,  the  King  had  hurt  one 
•of  the  pages  extremely."  Lord  Stafford  replied  significantly  that 
"it  was  not  the  page  he  alluded  to  when  he  said  the  King  had  been 
betrayed."  The  Chancellor,  however,  could  actually  bring  himself 
to  assure  his  colleagues  that,  "  in  the  several  conversations  with  the 


134  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Prince  there  never  had  been  anything  of  a  political  or  ministerial 
nature  introduced."    A  statement  difficult  to  accept.* 

In  the  first  agitation  the  Prince  was,  as  it  were,  bewildered,  and 
knew  not  whom  to  turn  to.  Fox,  his  adviser  and  counsellor,  in 
despair  at  any  change  in  his  political  fortunes,  had  left  England  for 
a  tour,  hopeless  as  to  the  condition  of  his  party.  The  situation  was 
of  extraordinary  difficulty  and  delicacy,  and  there  was  but  one  per- 
son of  sufficient  sagacity  and  resolution  to  whom  he  could  turn  for 
advice.  This  was  Lord  Loughborough,  the  Chief  Justice,  who  had 
come  an  adventurer  from  Scotland,  and  yet  who,  though  enjoying  a 
splendid  office,  was  eager  to  adventure  yet  more.  On  the  6th  Novem- 
ber the  Duke  of  York  was  despatched  to  him,  with  an  assurance 
that  everything  should  be  told  to  him,  and  that  to  him  alone  should 
the  Prince  look  for  advice.  But,  with  characteristic  oddity,  the 
Prince  determined  that  this  communication  should  be  secret  and 
mysterious. 

There  was  now  at  Windsor,  with  the  Prince,  one  of  his  favorite 
familiars,  a  navy  officer,  known  to  Sheridan  and  others  as  "Jack 
Payne."  This  not  very  brilliant  adviser,  with  wits  confused  by  two 
nights'  vigils,  was  the  last  person  that  should  have  been  cast  for  the 
delicate  part  of  a  negotiator,  yet  fancied  he  was  of  sufficient  calibre 
to  direct  the  negotiation.  Accordingly,  on  the  7th,  Lord  Loughbor- 
ough received  from  him  a  letter  that  began  thus  solemnly :  "In  situ- 
ations of  difficulty  and  moment  one  generally  looks  to  their  friends, 
who,  from  presuming  most  willing,  we  know  also  are  most  able  to 
give  advice.  Knowing  the  friendship  and  good  opinion  the  best  of 
friends  entertain  for  you  coincides  so  nmch  with  my  own,  I  venture 
to  say  to  you  that,  at  a  time  when  he  sees  nobody,  that  if  anything 
that  can  suggest  itself  that  can  be  of  use,  I  shall  be  happy  to  be 
made  a  vehicle  of  it  to  his  advantage."  The  letter  goes  on  myste- 
riously: "The  Prince  talked  to  me  of  rejecting  a  rule  where  some- 
body was  not  united  to  him.  I  told  him  he  would  be  advised  to  the 
contrary  by  his  best  friends,  on  the  truest  principles  of  public  good. 
If  any  important  accident  should  happen,  I  need  not  say  to  you," 
concludes  Jack  Payne,  "I  beg  I  may  not  be  understood  to  have  had 
BJiy  communication  with  you,  as  I  have  no  authority  for  doing  so, 


♦  Mr.  Jesse  Is  Inclined  to  discredit  the  truth  of  this  singularly  painful  story; 
but  it  was  repeated  afterwards  by  the  King  himself,  when  restored  to  reason, 
not  only  to  Lady  Harcourt,  but  to  Lord  Eldon.  To  the  lady's  husband  the 
King  also  complained  of  much  cruel  treatment. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  135 

and  therefore  you  need  not  acknowledge  any  such.  Seeing  the 
Prince  so  much  as  I  do,  I  am  anxious  to  have  the  best  opinions." 

What  this  "rejecting  a  rule"  pointed  to,  is  not  very  clear,  but  it 
most  likely  refers  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  or  to  Thurlow,  who  was 
in  attendance,  and  whom  the  Prince  received  with  the  marks  of  the 
highest  consideration,  saying :  "  I  have  desired  your  lordship's  attend- 
ance, not  only  as  my  father's  friend,  but  as  my  own  friend ;  and  I 
beseech  you,  my  lord,  to  give  me  your  counsel  on  this  unhappy 
occasion.  I  have  the  utmost  confidence  in  your  judgment,  and  shall 
have  the  utmost  satisfaction  in  acting  by  it." 

The  King's  death  was  supposed  to  be  only  a  question  of  a  few 
hours.  As  Mr.  Payne  wrote  in  the  same  letter,  with  ill-dissembled 
elation,  ' '  his  state  is  so  bad,  that  I  fear  dissolution  is  almost  the  best 
that  can  be  hoped.  The  hist  stroke,  as  I  hear  from  the  best "  (under- 
lined) "  authority,  cannot  be  far  off.  It  is  what  everybody,  in  a  situ- 
ation to  see,  is  obliged  to  wish,  as  the  happiest  possible  termination  to 
the  melancholy  scene.  The  event  we  looked  for  last  night  is  postponed, 
perhaps  for  a  short  time." 

Thus,  it  is  clear  that  the  Prince  was  revelling  in  the  tracasseries 
which  he  considered  to  be  diplomacy.  The  Chief  Justice  continued 
to  receive  much  encouragement:  "Tell  Lord  Loughborough"  (Mr. 
Payne  wrote  in  the  name  of  the  Prince)  "  I  am  persuaded  no  less  of 
his  attachment  than  I  desire  him  to  be  of  mine,  and  shall  always 
receive  his  advice  with  the  same  great  degree  of  pleasure  as  I  do 
upon  this  occasion,  and  without  which  I  shall  not  act  for  any  mate- 
rial decision  of  my  present  delicate  situation."  And  again:  "  Certain 
people,  not  quite  convinced  a  reform  takes  place,  and  all  active  com- 
munication where  you  are  may  be  well  accounted  for,  without  a  cer- 
tain person,  who  sees  nobody,  be  supposed  to  be  informed.  The 
person  I  allude  to  said  to  me  last  night:  *  I  hope  Lords  L.  and  S.  are 
in  close  communication  together  on  this  occasion.' "  In  explanation 
of  this  mystery  and  confused  English,  it  seems  that  the  Prince  did 
not  wish  to  commit  himself  to  any  party,  save  the  one  w^hich  would 
give  him  most  power.  It  is  wonderful  that  Loughborough,  an  old 
ruse  practitioner,  could  have  allowed  himself  to  be  played  with,  or 
"  bamboozled  "  by  such  stuff  as  the  following:  "  Before  any  decided 
measure  is  decided  on,  it  is  necessary,  I  think,  you  should  see  the 

Prince,  and,  he  says,  as  soon  as  he  has  seen  S he  will  contrive 

it ;  but  he  is  extremely  jealous  of  seeing  more  than  one  person  at  a 
time,  and  that  not  by  way  of  consultation,  but  in  private  friendship. 
He  said  to-night  he  thought  it  had  better  be  done  by  your  coming  to 


186  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBQE  IV. 

your  farm  and  then  to  Bagshot;  but  more  of  this  hereafter."*  In 
reply,  the  Chief  Justice  developed  his  plans  in  a  long  despatch:  '•  I 
have  not  the  least  apprehension,"  he  wrote,  "of  any  mischief  that 
can  arise  to  H.R.H.  but  from  his  own  virtues."  He  advised  "not 
dissimulation,  but  a  certain  reserve  and  guard  upon  the  frankness 
of  that  amiable  disposition  which  is  the  ornament  and  delight  of 
society." 

But,  actually  as  he  was  writing,  the  airy  house  of  cards  was  top- 
pling. The  King,  who  at  midnight  "was  in  a  situation  he  could 
not  long  have  survived,"  was  suddenly  relieved  by  some  strong  reme- 
dies, fell  into  a  profound  sleep,  and  awoke  to  be  pronounced  out  of 
danger.  This  was  indeed  provoking,  and  it  rendered  necessary  a 
total  revision  of  their  plans. 

There  remained  one  satisfaction.  The  mental  affliction  promised 
to  be  permanent.  He  had  "  all  the  gestures  and  ravings  of  the  most 
confirmed  lunatic,"  and  the  doctors  agreed  "  that  to  the  disease  they 
at  present  see  no  end  in  their  contemplation."  "  These  are  their  own 
words,"  writes  Captain  Payne  eagerly,  "which  is  all  there  can  be 
implied  in  an  absolute  declaration,  for  infallibility  cannot  be  ascribed 
to  them." 

The  idea  of  the  King's  dying  was  therefore  dismissed.  The  little 
plotters  at  the  castle  had  to  deal  with  a  new  state  of  things.  The 
next  letter  of  the  sanguine  Payne  is  vmtten  to  Sheridan,  and  is 
almost  entirely  taken  up  with  consolatory  assurances  of  the  hopeless 
state  of  the  King's  wits.  "  Dr.  Warren,"  he  said,  "  was  the  living 
principle  of  this  business  (for  poor  Baker  is  half -crazed  himself),  and 
who  I  see  every  half -hour."  He  was  the  doctor  in  the  Prince's  inter- 
est. With  a  view  of  checking  the  malignancy  of  their  political  foes, 
who  would  do  their  best  to  excite  public  suspicion,  "The  various 
fluctuations  of  his  (the  King's)  ravings "  were  accurately  written 
down  throughout  the  night,  "and  this  we  have  got  signed  by  the 
physicians  every  day."  Thus  was  intrigue  made  to  override  all  con- 
siderations of  feeling;  and  it  was  scarcely  surprising  if  Lord  Bulke- 
ley  heard  that  "the  two  sons  of  the  Queen,  I  am  afraid,  do  not 
announce  the  state  of  his  health  to  her  with  caution  and  delicacy." 

The  prospect  was  now  not  nearly  so  brilliant.  A  regency,  instead 
of  sovereignty,  was  to  follow  as  a  matter  of  course;  and  though  there 
had  been  some  whispers  that  "certain  persons"  might  attempt  to 
impose  restraints  on  that  power  nothing  certain  had  transpired,  for 

♦  Campbell,  "  Lives  of  the  Chancellors,"  vl.  92. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  137 

at  this  time  Mr.  Pitt  had  not  made  up  his  mind  what  course  to 
take. 

The  Prince  had  another  agent  at  work — his  henchman,  the  shifty 
and  vivacious  Sheridan,  who  was  now  in  London.  With  his  affected 
monopoly  of  the  Prince's  confidences,  and  "his  eagerness  to  display 
his  own  importance,"  he  had,  as  Mr.  Grenville  heard,  quite  disgusted 
the  Duke  of  Portland  and  the  more  sober  and  dignified  members  of 
the  party.  Indeed,  those  concerned  in  the  regency  struggle  of 
twenty  years  later,  might  have  found  a  clue  to  the  perplexing  ques- 
tions then  raised  in  the  fact  that  the  control  of  the  situation  fell 
naturally  to  the  Prince's  henchmen  and  personal  friends ;  and  the 
Greys  and  other  respectable  Whigs  might  have  learned  from  the  pro- 
ceedings of  1789  that  their  influence  would  be  but  of  small  account. 

It  would  seem  that  the  various  plotters  were  carrying  on  distinct 
intrigues,  each  opposed  to  the  other.  Payne  and  his  Prince,  while 
affecting  to  communicate  with  the  Chief  Justice,  and  enjoining  se- 
crecy on  him,  were  themselves  secretly  negotiating  with  Thurlow ; 
while  with  the  Duke  of  Portland  and  the  official  leaders  there  seems 
to  have  been  little  or  no  communication. 

Sheridan,  finding  the  threads  of  the  intrigue  becoming  entangled, 
complained  almost  despairingly  to  his  coadjutor,  the  Chief  Justice : 
"It  is  really  intolerable,"  he  wrote,  "and  I  mean  to  speak  plainly 
to  him."  The  Prince  was  sending  up  Payne  to  town  on  that  day, 
and  Sheridan  was  to  try  and  set  the  meddling  equerry's  "head  to 
rights,  if  possible,  for  he  was  growing  worse  and  worse."  He  was 
inclined  to  think,  however,  that  a  few  words  from  Loughborough 
would  have  more  weight.  It  was  reported  that  a  strange  sort  of 
council  had  been  held  at  Bagshot,  to  which  came  secretly  the  Prince, 
Sheridan,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  and  the  indispensable  Jack  Payne;  and 
that  Master  Barry,  Lord  Barrymore's  hopeful  brother,  with  some 
Eton  lads,  had  been  called  into  council  at  Carlton  House.  The 
Duke  of  Portland  and  the  more  respectable  Whigs  might  have 
learned  the  significant  lesson  that  there  was  nothing  in  common  be- 
tween them  and  the  other  wing;  and  that.  Fox  absent  or  Fox  dead, 
there  was  to  be  no  sympathy  for  them  in  the  Prince's  mind  and  no 
place  in  his  councils.  This  also  should  be  borne  in  mind  when  the 
question  of  "the  treatment  of  the  Whigs  "  comes  to  be  considered. 

We  must  now  turn  our  eyes  to  the  opposite  camp,  where  there  was 
hardly  less  anxiety.  The  leader  himself  di(J  not  at  once  take  up  this 
later  attitude  of  adherence  to  his  afflicted  king,  but  seems  to  have 
been  willino;  to  take  service  with  the  new  administration.     For 


1S8  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

nearly  a  fortnight  he  attempted,  in  his  numerous  visits  to  Windsor, 
to  discover  what  the  Prince's  intentions  were,  and  it  was  only  when 
he  found,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  "we  were  all  to  be  turned  out,"  that 
he  took  up  a  bolder  attitude. 

When  the  crisis  of  the  King's  disorder  was  past,  the  unpleas- 
ant truth  began  to  dawn  on  the  party  that  they  would  be  all 
dismissed.  We  find  Mr.  Grenville  ruefully  observing  that  there 
was  "no  knowledge  of  the  Prince's  intentions,  as  no  overture, 
either  direct  or  indirect,  had  been  made  to  Pitt."  This,  with  the 
eagerness  with  which  Sheridan  was  consulted  on  all  occasions, 
was  "  an  index  of  what  was  to  be  expected."  Under  this  view,  it 
is  amusing  to  find  how  the  whole  plan  of  hostile  restrictions  is 
developed.  They  would  enforce  that  there  should,  be  a  ruler,  or 
"guardian,"  but  he  was  to  exercise  authority  "in  the  King's 
name."  It  was  determined  that  there  should  be  a  Regent,  but  he 
was  to  be  invested  with  only  a  portion  of  the  royal  prerogatives, 
to  be  checked  by  a  Council,  and  not  to  have  the  power  of  dissolv- 
ing Parliament.  They  were  surely  bound,  thought  Mr.  Grenville, 
by  every  tie  of  gratitude  and  honor,  and,  indeed,  as  public  men,  to 
preserve  all  his  rights  for  the  afflicted  King.  This  system  of  offence 
was  only  resolved  upon  when  it  was  found  that  after  nearly  ten 
days  the  Prince  persisted  in  his  reserve.  The  Prime  Minister  had 
now  therefore  decided  on  his  course  of  action.  There  were  many 
encouraging  circumstances.  On  a  visit  which  he  himself  had  paid 
to  Windsor  on  the  14th,  he  found  that  even  Reynolds  and  Baker 
had  begun  to  talk  with  some  hope  of  the  King's  recovery.  There 
was  a  general  impression,  indeed,  that  the  royal  patient  was  get- 
ting better,  and  the  friends  of  the  administration  were  giving  tliis 
out  industriously.  The  opinion  of  Hunter,  the  great  surgeon,  that 
"recovery  was  certain,"  was  also  circulated.  The  tlattering  offer 
from  the  City  merchants  of  a  large  present  of  money,  with 
addresses  that  the  present  Government  might  be  continued,  were 
satisfactory  proofs  of  the  feeling  of  the  country,  though  Lord 
Sheffleld  heard  that  this  clement  of  support  was  to  be  "artfully 
worked  up  by  the  Government  into  a  sort  of  agitation."  Arrived 
at  this  conclusion,  Pitt  now  developed  his  plan,  which  was  con- 
ceived in  a  spirit  of  just  but  stern  hostility.  The  Prince  was  not 
to  look  for  the  slightest  indulgence,  but  was  to  be  dealt  with  as 
the  chief  of  a  faction.  .There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  idea  of  a 
controlling  council  was  intended,  which  would  hnve  made  the 
Prince's  position  much  about  what  a  Lord-Lieuieuant  of  Ireland  is 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  139 

now.  This  could  not  have  been  a  secret,  as  Mr.  Jesse  thinks,  for 
it  was  known  to  his  party,  as  well  as  to  the  Opposition.  Mr,  Slorer 
heard  that  it  was  intended  to  saddle  the  Prince  with  a  council, 
wiiile  the  Duke  of  Richmond  was  quoted  for  a  plan  of  the  same 
kind.  Even  a  jest  was  in  circulation,  that  it  was  resolved  to  put 
the  strait- waistcoat  on  the  Prince  of  Wales  instead  of  on  the  King. 

"When  this  became  known,  and  it  was  felt  it  would  be  carried 
out,  the  plotters  and  intriguers  about  the  Prince  had  the  incredible 
folly  to  enter  upon  a  new  course,  as  stupid  as  it  was  unconstitu- 
tional. They  deluded  themselves  that  a  sort  of  coup  d'etat  might 
be  attempted  without  difficulty.  They  had  but  to  declare  the 
"divine  right"  of  the  Prince  to  take  on  him  the  government, 
unconscious  that  there  was  a  great  question  involved:  though 
Payne  allowed  that  some  "  form"  might  be  tolerated  on  the  side 
of  Parliament,  in  asking  the  Prince  to  take  on  him  the  govern- 
ment. From  this  dream  they  were  destined  to  be  rudely  awakened. 
This  original  blunder  vitiated  all  their  plans  and  destroyed  the  game. 

More  surprising  was  it  that  the  vigorous  Loughborough  should 
have  been  daring  enough  to  suggest  that  the  Prince  should  declare 
his  right  to  rule  the  kingdom,  and  put  aside,  as  an  affront  to  his 
dignity,  the  interference  of  Parliament.  On  the  first  symptoms 
of  the  King's  recovery  he  had  prepared  the  plan.  A  pencilled 
note,  found  among  his  papers,  sets  out  the  details  of  the  scheme. 
The  Privy  Council  was  to  be  summoned,  to  whom  the  Prince  was 
to  announce  it  formally,  notice  was  previously  to  be  sent  to 
trusted  friends  or  conspirators,  and  a  proclamation  was  to  be  then 
issued  summoning  Parliament.  That  Lord  Loughborough  had 
written  a  letter  containing  such  advice  later  became  known  to 
Pitt.  There  have  been,  of  course,  many  supporters  of  this  divine- 
right  theory,  which,  to  the  majority  of  minds,  would  have  been 
expected  to  have  been  a  high  Tory  doctrine;  but  this  shows  how 
pliant  is  political  conscience,  according  to  times  and  persons. 
This  gives  an  idea  of  the  strange,  agitated,  and  desperate  tone  of 
the  politics  of  the  times,  which  was  verging  near  to  the  modern 
French  system.  Lord  Campbell  learned,  he  does  not  say  from 
whom,  that  this  programme  was  read  by  the  Chief  Justice  himself 
to  the  Prince  at  Windsor,  or,  more  probably,  in  his  secret  council 
atBagshot: 

"  Upon  the  supposition  of  a  state  of  disorder  without  prospect 
of  recovery  or  of  a  speedy  extinction,  the  principle  of  the  P.'s 
conduct  is  perfectly  clear.     The  administration  of   government 


140  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

devolves  to  him  of  right.  He  is  bound  by  every  duty  to  assume 
it,  and  his  character  would  be  lessened  in  the  public  estimation  if 
he  took  it  on  any  other  ground  but  right,  or  on  any  sort  of  com- 
promise. The  authority  of  Parliament  as  the  great  council  of  the 
nation,  would  be  interposed,  not  to  confer  but  to  declare  the  right. 
The  mode  of  proceeding  which  occurs  to  my  mind  is,  that  in  a 
very  short  time  H.RH.  should  signify  his  intention  to  act  by 
directing  a  meeting  of  the  Privy  Council,  where  he  should  declare 
his  intention  to  take  upon  himself  the  care  of  the  State,  and  should 
at  the  same  time  signify  his  desire  to  have  the  advice  of  Parlia- 
ment, and  order  it  by  a  proclamation  to  meet  early  for  despatch  of 
business.  That  done,  he  should  direct  the  several  ministers  to 
attend  him  with  the  public  business  of  their  offices. 

"It  is  of  vast  importance  in  the  outset  that  he  should  appear  to 
act  entirely  of  himself,  and  in  the  conferences  he  must  necessarily 
have,  not  to  consult,  but  to  listen  and  direct. 

"  Though  the  measure  of  assembling  the  Council  should  not  be 
consulted  upon,  but  decided  in  his  own  breast,  it  ought  to  be  com- 
municated to  a  few  persons  who  may  be  tiusted,  a  short  time 
before  it  takes  place;  and  it  will  deserve  consideration  whether  it 
might  or  not  be  expedient  very  speedily  after  this  measure,  in 
order  to  mark  distinctly  the  assumption  of  government,  to  direct 
such  persons — at  least  in  one  or  two  instances — to  be  added  to  what 
is  called  the  Cabinet,  as  he  thinks  proper.  By  marking  a  deter- 
mination to  act  of  himself,  and  by  cautiously  avoiding  to  raise 
strong  fear  or  strong  hope,  but  keeping  men's  minds  in  expecta- 
tion of  what  may  arise  out  of  his  reserve,  and  in  a  persuasion  of 
his  general  candor,  he  will  find  all  men  equally  observant  of  him." 

This  memorandum  is  unsigned,  but  in  the  Chief  Justice's  hand- 
writing; and,  taking  what  occurred  as  evidence  for  committing 
the  Chief  Justice  to  the  Tower,  might  have  been  sufficient.  It  was 
characteristic  of  the  bold  Scot,  who  flung  off  his  gown  in  open  court, 
in  presence  of  the  astonished  judges,  and  took  his  way  to  London 
penniless. 

The  self-sufficient  Payne  airily  dismissed  the  notion  of  there 
being  any  difficulty  in  the  way.  He  now  wrote  to  Sheridan  quite 
elated:  "I  can  only  add,"  he  says,  in  conclusion,  "  I  have  none  of 
the  apprehensions  contained  in  Lord  L.'s  letter.  I  liave  liad  cor- 
respondence enough  myself  on  this  subject  to  convince  me  of  the 
impossibility  of  the  ministry  managing  the  present  Parliament  by 
any  contrivance  hostile  to  the  Prince.    Dinner  is  on  the  table. "    A 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  141 

few  days  before  he  had  written  sagaciously  that  if  "Pitt  stirs  much. 
I  think  any  attempt  to  grasp  at  power  miglitbe  fatal  to  his  interests 
— at  least,  will  turn  against  it."  This  was  indeed  a  shallow  forecast. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  party  spirit  began  openly  to  divide  the 
battalion  of  doctors  who  were  in  charge  of  the  King,  and  which 
was  already  ranged  as  the  King's  or  Prince's  men.  Already  War- 
ren was  considered  by  Jack  Payne  and  his  friends  as  "  the  living 
principle  in  this  business,"  while  "poor  Baker,"  because  he  was 
more  sanguine  as  to  the  King's  recovery,  was  held  to  be  "half- 
crazed  himself."  On  the  other  hand,  the  Tory  view  was  that  "  noth 
ing  could  exceed  Warren's  indiscretion  in  giving  out  that  the 
disorder  was  incurable."  No  less  tha'^  seven  or  eight  physicians 
were  called  in  to  take  charge  of  the  unfortunate  monarch.  They 
were  Dr.  Warren,  Sir  Lucas  Pepys,  Sir  George  Baker,  Addington, 
Heberden,  and  finally  the  two  Willises.  Warren  was  a  fashion- 
able doctor,  remarkable  for  "  the  amenity  of  his  manners,  and  the 
cheerful  tone  of  his  conversation."  He  had  cured  Lord  North  of 
a  dangerous  illness,  and  the  minister,  full  of  gratitude,  had  offered 
to  make  him  a  baronet.  This,  however,  he  had  declined,  but 
requested  instead  a  bishopric  for  his  brother,  which  was  given. 
The  Prince  was  very  partial  to  his  society,  and  it  was  not  unnatural 
that  his  protege  should  have  little  hopes  of  the  King's  recovery. 

Baker  seems  to  have  been  a  person  of  feeble  cast,  and  was  pres- 
ently dismissed  with  some  disgrace.  Addington  had,  oddly  enough, 
a  clergyman's  experience  in  the  treatment  of  lunacy,  and  was 
more  remarkable  as  having  supplied  the  nickname  of  "  The  Doc- 
tor" for  his  son,  the  future  Prime  Minister.*  Pepys  was  another 
of  the  fashionable  physicians;  while  Heberden  will  ever  be  remem- 
bered as  the  affectionate  friend  and  adviser  of  the  revered  Johnson. 
The  discord  and  partiality  of  this  ^sculapian  band  became  a  scan- 
dal. Their  ignorance  of  mental  disease  was  profound,  and  parti- 
sanship supplied  the  deficiency.  The  struggle,  however,  was  soon 
confined  to  the  two  who  had  most  ability — Warren  and  Willis. 
B3"-and-by  the  daily  bulletin  came  to  be  considered  as  a  mere  form, 
the  public  having  found  out  that  the  opposing  doctors  could  not  or 
would  not  agree,  except  in  some  colorless  report;  and  the  only  offi- 
cial news  that  was  relied  on  came  by  the  back-stairs,  or  private 
letters  from  the  Court. 


*  The  more  immediate  occasion  of  this  sobriquet  was  the  minister's  having 
suggested  "  a  pillow  of  hops  "  to  the  King  as  a  remedy  for  sleeplessness. 


14^  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 


CHAPTER  XTTT. 

1788. 

The  meeting  of  Parliament  was  fixed  for  November  20th,  and 
both  ministers  and  Opposition  had  issued  the  most  pressing  letters, 
desiring  the  attendance  of  their  friends.  The  roads  were  crowded 
with  members,  hurrying  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  desirous  of 
witnessing  what  Sir  N.  Wraxall  calls  "so  new  and  so  interesting  a 
situation  of  affairs."  The  same  diligent  observer  had  posted  from 
Bath,  scenting  intrigue  from  afar,  and  found  London  exhibiting  a 
scene  of  fermentation  difficult  to  conceive  or  describe.  But  when 
the  Houses  met  every  one  felt  that  the  proceedings  must  be  purely 
formal.  Neither  party  were  ready  for  battle,  and  the  Opposition 
were  without  a  leader.  Pitt,  after  alluding  in  terms  of  becoming 
concern  to  the  King's  malady — a  malady  that  prevented  his  servants 
from  approaching  his  person  or  communicating  with  him — simply 
moved  that  they  should  adjourn  for  a  fortnight. 

But  a  new  performer  was  now  to  enter  on  the  scene,  and  displace 
the  fussy  persons  who  were  confusing  the  situation;  and  a  more 
capable  mind  was  to  take  the  command.  Fox,  it  was  believed  and 
hoped,  was  fast  hurrj'ing  to  England.  Messenger  after  messenger, 
it  was  said,  had  been  despatched  by  the  Prince  in  pursuit  of  him, 
though  no  one  could  tell  precisely  where  he  was  to  be  found.  The 
task,  however,  had  been  intrusted  to  one  resolute  and  persevering 
messenger,  who  had  followed  in  his  track  like  a  hound,  now  losing, 
now  picking  up  the  trail.  Not  a  moment  had  been  lost  in  sending 
him  away.  He  had  been  despatched  on  the  sixth  day  after  the  dis- 
tressing scene  at  dinner  when  the  King's  malady  first  broke  out. 
He  was  detained,  however,  at  Dover  by  contrary  winds  till  the  8th. 
Without  losing  an  hour  he  traced  Fox  to  Geneva,  where  he  was  for 
a  time  uncertain  what  route  "the  chase"  had  taken,  and  finally 
came  up  with  him  at  Bologna,  covering  the  long  journey  from  Paris 
in  a  week.  Fox,  who  was  jiiiiiKUd  by  the  notorious  Mrs.  Armi- 
stead,  had  laid  out  for  himself  u  delightful  Italian  tour,  and,  turn- 
ing with  disgust  from  politics,  had  purposely  left  no  traces  of  his 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT,  I43 

progress.  He  wished,  as  his  friend  Elliot  said,  to  be  lost.  Though 
he  had  been  absent  since  August,  he  never  looked  at  a  newspaper 
save  once,  and  that  from  curiosity  to  see  what  had  won  a  race  at 
Newmarket.  Since  September  he  had  not  received  a  letter  from 
England,  and  knew  nothing  of  what  was  going  on.  No  doubt  he 
assumed  that  the  prospects  of  his  party  were  hopeless,  and  that  the 
record  of  perpetual  defeat  must  be  uninteresting.  One  day,  at 
Bologna,  he  heard  from  a  stray  traveller  that  a  messenger  had  been 
searching  for  him  at  Geneva ;  and  Fox,  having  heard  from  another 
tourist  that  Lord  Holland  was  very  ill,  naturally  concluded  that 
news  of  his  father's  death  was  on  its  way  to  him.  When  the  mes- 
senger at  last  reach  him,  his  affectionate  anxiety  was  so  relieved 
that  he  fell  upon  a  sofa  and  burst  into  tears.  He  started  at  once,  and 
the  trusty  messenger,  still  unwearied  after  his  long  journey,  set  off 
the  same  day  on  his  return,  ordering  horses  in  advance  all  along  the 
road  for  the  greater  traveller  following,  who  hurried  on,  travelling 
night  and  day.  On  Mont  Cenis,  his  carriage  crossed  that  of  Pul- 
teney,  father  of  the  great  heiress  of  the  day,  and  to  whom  he  com- 
municated the  news.  At  Lyons,  he  found  letters  still  more  press- 
ing, with  the  additional  news  of  the  King's  total  loss  of  reason; 
then,  for  greater  speed,  he  quitted  his  companion  and  proceeded 
alone,  taking  one  of  the  ordinary  post-carriages  instead  of  his  own 
well-appointed  chariot. 

Finally,  he  drove  up  to  Thomas's  Hotel,  in  Berkeley  Square, 
which  still  flourishes,  arriving  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  Novem- 
ber 24th,  having  been  just  nine  days  on  the  road.  This  was  consid- 
ered an  amazing  feat ;  and  such  it  certainly  was,  under  the  condi- 
tions of  travel  in  those  times.  But  the  immense  exertion,  and  the 
rudeness  of  the  chaise  for  which  he  had  exchanged  his  own,  told  on 
his  bulky  person  accustomed  to  ease,  and  when  he  was  set  down 
in  London  he  was  already  an  altered  man. 

This  might  be  considered  like  the  presence  of  Napoleon  with  an 
army.  He  was  only  just  in  time.  His  coming  made  an  important 
change  in  the  conduct  of  affairs.  Almost  as  soon  as  he  arrived  he 
wrote  to  Loughborough,  begging  him  to  come  to  him  to  arrange 
some  plan  of  action ;  but  that  he  had  not  seen  or  heard  from  the 
Prince  and  had  no  authority.* 

Meanwhile,  the  negotiations  with  the  Chancellor  had  proceeded 


*  Lord  Campbell  is  surely  mistaken  in  declaring  that  Fox  offered  him  the 
chancellorship,  and  that  Loughborough  "  clutched  at  the  seal." 


144  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

very  far.  It  was  contrived  that  he  should  have  a  kind  of  right  of  in- 
spection of  the  King;  which  gave  him  opportunities,  as  the  Prince's 
party  fancied,  for  arranging  with  them,  but  as  he  intended  it,  for 
judging  day  by  day  whether  the  King  would  recover.  They  had 
determined  that  "  no  active  courtship  was  to  be  practised." 

Lord  Loughborough — who  had  himself  set  his  mind  on  the  chan- 
cellorship— was  pressed  to  resign  his  pretensions,  the  Prince  saying 
lightly:  "Well,  if  the  Chancellor  chooses  to  remain  where  he  is, 
Lord  Loughborough  can  have  the  privy  seal  of  the  President  of  the 
Council  for  the  present,  and  settle  the  other  arrangement  afterwards, 
if  it  is  more  to  his  mind."  We  shall  see  that  this  partiality  was  a 
whim  of  the  Prince's,  which  his  followers  too  obsequiously  favored. 
Sir  William  Young  writes  that  "this  wonderful  attachment  to 
Thurlow"  was  matter  of  public  remark;  and  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot 
suggested  that  the  liking  was  for  "  the  sake  of  his  table  qualities," 
and  that  he  had  been  "negotiating,  and  intriguing,  and  canvassing 
him  incessantly,  with  little  discretion;  and,  in  spite  of  many  disap- 
pointments and  breaches  of  engagements,  still  persisted  in  sending 
for  him."  With  this  courtship — not  from  members  of  the  party, 
but  from  the  future  king — it  was  difficult  for  such  a  character  to 
take  a  firm  part,  and  he  is,  therefore,  entitled  to  some  indulgence. 
We  shall  presently  see  how  and  what  he  finally  detennined. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  too,  that  the  Chancellor  had  announced 
to  the  Prince  that,  in  any  case,  his  views  as  to  his  (the  Prince's) 
rights  were  opposed  to  Pitts's,  And  this  should  be  kept  in  mind 
during  the  curious  and  much- debated  intrigue  which  is  to  follow. 

The  Prince  was  all  this  time  imprisoned  at  Windsor,  and  obliged 
for  decency's  sake  to  forego  his  usual  round  of  pleasure.  It  was 
noted  that  he  fretted  against  this  confinement,  which  had  now 
lasted  nearly  a  month.  Occasionally  he  made  his  escape  to  Bagshot 
or  to  Carlton  House,  and  when  the  King  had  been  removed  to  Kew, 
on  November  29th,  he  found  himself  within  half-au-hour's  drive 
from  the  capital  and  the  favorite  scene  of  his  enjoyments.  Stories 
were  circulated  of  the  want  of  feeling  and  rashness  displayed  by  the 
two  brothers,  but  as  these  were  industriously  spread  by  those  of  the 
opposing  faction,  and  who  were  virtually  his  enemies,  they  may  be 
assumed  to  be  much  exaggerated.  One  charge  dwelt  on  with  hor- 
ror was  that  he  had  introduced  Lord  Lothian  into  the  King's  dark- 
ened room  in  order  that  he  might  hear  his  ravings,  a  proceeding  not 
perhaps  to  be  justified  on  the  score  of  good  taste,  but  intelligible 
when  it  is  considered  that  it  was  insinuated  that  the  Prince  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  145 

making  out  the  King's  condition  worse  than  it  really  was.  The 
nature  of  the  struggle  between  the  two  contending  factions  made  all 
delicacy  impossible.  His  situation  was  the  most  awkward  conceiv- 
able :  credited  with  the  worst  motives  by  his  mother  and  his  sisters, 
watched  with  jealousy,  looked  on  as  an  intruder  and  as  his  father's 
worst  enemy,  he  was  driven,  as  it  were,  into  a  hostile  attitude.  Mr. 
Jesse  deals  severely  with  the  behavior  of  the  two  princes,  but  with 
a  certain  exaggeration.  For  the  instances  of  unfeeling  conduct  are 
presented  as  occurring  during  the  hoiTors  of  the  first  stage  of  the 
King's  seizure,  whereas  they  really  belong  to  a  period  many  weeks 
later,  when  the  worst  was  over  and  his  recovery  certain.  On  the 
other  hand,  men  of  his  own  party  represent  his  conduct  during  the 
crisis  as  having  been  all  that  was  correct.  "It  was  universally 
agreed,"  Storer  wrote,  "that  he  had  conducted  himself  with  great 
propriety."  Lord  Sheffield  declared 'that  he  gained  great  credit  by 
his  conduct  at  Windsor.  "  It  is  agreed  on  all  sides,"  wrote  Storer  a 
fortnight  after  his  first  letter,  "that  the  Prince  has  acted  with  the 
greatest  attention  to  the  King,  and  in  all  respects  with  the  greatest 
propriety, "  while  Sir  Grilbert  Elliot  wrote  to  his  wife  that  both  the 
Prince  and  his  brother  had  conducted  themselves  "in  an  exemplary 
way."  Making  due  allowance  for  their  partialities,  this  testimony 
may  be  fairly  accepted,  especially  as  there  is  nothing  to  set  against 
It  on  the  other  side. 

But  now  Fox  had  assumed  the  command,  and  a  larger  and  less 
frivolous  view  of  the  situation  was  to  be  taken.  He  saw  the  Prince 
on  the  Wednesday,  and  suggested  that  the  regular  leaders  of  the 
party  should  be,  as  was  only  fitting,  called  into  council.  The  Prince 
had  quarrelled  with  Fox's  devoted  friend  the  Duke  of  Portland,  and 
during  the  present  crisis  had  had  no  communication  with  him. 
This  advice  had  the  best  effect.  In  consequence,  the  Prince  gave 
Fox  a  message  for  the  duke.  Taking  him  by  the  hand  he  said: 
"  Pray  shake  the  Duke  of  Portland  by  the  hand  for  me,  and  tell  him 
that  I  hope  everything  that  is  past  may  be  forgot  between  us ;  and, 
as  a  proof  that  I  retain  no  impression  from  it,  assure  him  that  as 
Boon  as  I  come  to  town,  which  will  be  in  a  day  or  two,  I  shall  come 
to  Burlington  House,  and  I  do  not  desire  that  my  going  there  should 
be  kept  private. "  "This  looks  more  like  heart,  and  is  done  more 
like  a  gentleman  than  one  looks  for  from  any  other  prince  we  have 
known  in  England,"  said  Elliot.  The  duke  was  properly  touched, 
and  with  the  help  of  Windham  and  Sir  G.  Elliot  wrote  a  reply. 
When  they  met,  the  Prince  gi-eeted  him  warmly  and  embraced  him, 
7 


146  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

begging  that  every  unpleasant  circumstance  that  had  passed  between 
them  might  be  buried  in  oblivion,  and  assuring  him  that  he  should 
be  happy  to  receive  his  aid  and  counsels.  The  Prince  then  begged 
to  have  the  advice  of  the  party  who  were  in  the  Cabinet  in  1783. 

Fox  seems  to  have  entered  reluctantly  into  the  plan  for  gaining 
the  Chancellor,  who  had  been  allowed  access  to  the  King  in  the  hope 
that  the  spectacle  would  have  due  effect.  Captain  Payne  was  to  set 
off  for  town  immediately  after  to  report  the  result  to  Sheridan 
and  Fox  at  the  latter's  house.  One  of  the  physicians  was  despatched 
to  Pitt  with  the  view  of  announcing  a  welcome  relapse,  and  with  the 
rather  spiteful  purpose  of  letting  him  know  that  the  King  had  been 
letting  out  some  state  secrets,  and  brought  word  that  the  minister 
was  much  taken  aback.  These  small  intriguers  did  not  know  that 
this  news  had  only  confirmed  Pitt  in  his  plans,  for  that  night  at 
White's  it  was  remarked  that  he  was  in  the  highest  spirits.  The 
attempt  on  the  Chancellor  does  not  seem  to  have  been  very  successful. 
Lord  Bulkeley,  an  enthusiastic  Tory,  wrote  that  very  day  that  he 
had  "heard  for  certain  that  he  was  now  firm  as  a  rock." 

On  the  Wednesday  night,  or  rather  during  the  small  hours  of 
Thursday  morning,  a  messenger  came  to  Pitt's  house  with  sum- 
monses for  a  Cabinet  meeting  at  Windsor  in  the  afternoon.  The 
servant  who  opened  the  door,  after  inquiring  as  to  the  reason  of  this 
unreasonable  visit,  asked  if  he  had  found  the  Chancellor,  and  was 
answered  "Yes,"  and  that  "Mr.  Fox  was  with  him."  This  seems 
to  have  been  the  first  time  that  Pitt  had  any  direct  evidence  of  the 
intrigue  that  was  going  on;  and  that  the  chief  of  the  hostile  force 
should  be  closeted  at  midnight  with  his  Chancellor  had  certainly  a 
suspicious  air.  But,  however  suspicious  the  transaction  may  have 
appeared,  the  truth  was  Fox  had  as  yet  made  him  no  offers. 

The  Duke  of  Leeds — then  Lord  Carmarthen,  and  one  of  the  min- 
istry— describes  a  curious  message  to  the  Cabinet  from  the  Prince, 
delivered  on  this  very  day.  Written  in  his  own  hand,  it  set  out  that 
"not  choosing  to  act  upon  his  own  authority,  he  had  thought  it 
necessary  to  convene  the  King's  confidential  servants,  that  they 
might  learn  his  state  and  see  whether  it  was  necessary  to  remove 
him  to  Kew."  There  was  something  here  to  excite  grave  suspicion. 
"  The  manner  in  which  we  were  convened  and  the  style  of  the  paper 
rendered  it  necessary  for  us  to  proceed  with  caution  in  framing  our 
answer,  especially  in  the  use  of  the  word  'authority.' " 

The  answer  was  accordingly  framed  so  as  to  offer  no  recognition 
of  what  appeared  to  be  thus  claimed;  and  they  announced  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  147 

they  were  ready  to  see  his  Majesty,  in  consequence  of  an  intimation 
made  to  them  that  it  was  ''tlie  pleasure  of  the  Prince  and  the  royal 
family." 

On  the  next  day  the  ministers  proceeded  to  Windsor.  The  object 
of  this  visit  was  to  decide  on  the  removal  of  the  patient  to  Kew,  a 
place  more  suitable  for  his  proper  treatment,  as  being  more  private. 
This  matter  being  settled,  it  was  proposed  to  exhibit  the  poor  King 
not  to  the  Chancellor  merely,  but  to  the  Prime  Minister,  Unfortu- 
nately for  Captain  Payne,  he  was  not  in  so  favorable  a  state  for  this 
purpose  as  he  had  been  two  days  before.  The  Chancellor  shed  big 
tears  at  the  affecting  spectacle,  which  were  duly  ridiculed.  The 
sight  might,  indeed,  have  had  some  effect  in  securing  his  wavering 
allegiance.  It  was,  indeed,  piteous  enough.  The  colder  Pitt  owned 
that  the  King  was  deranged,  but  that  his  conversation  was  surpris- 
ingly coherent.  In  concert  with  the 'Queen  he  had  brought  down 
Dr.  Addington.  The  Prince  declined  to  see  the  ministers  then, 
contenting  himself  with  a  written  message  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
couched  in  "rather  royal  style,"  and  which  was  replied  to  with  a 
cautiously  drawn  paper  which  did  not  admit  his  authority,  and  at 
the  same  time  did  not  proffer  any  advice.  He  had  a  positive  dislike 
to  Mr.  Pitt,  whose  respectful  hostility  had  met  him  at  every  turn. 
He  was  determined,  as  Sir  G.  Elliot  wrote  to  his  wife,  "to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  him,  since  he  had  insulted  him  whenever  he  could, 
and  was  arrogant  to  him  both  in  manner  and  conduct." 

The  imperious  minister,  before  he  left  the  Castle,  was  to  have  his 
suspicions  once  more  confirmed  as  to  the  fidelity  of  Thurlow  in  the 
most  curious  way.  As  the  council  broke  up,  their  hats  were  brought 
to  the  ministers;  but  the  Chancellor's  alone  could  not  be  found.  He 
was  in  some  confusion  at  this  loss,  when — Lord  Stanhope  heard  Mr. 
W.  Grenville  tell  the  story — a  servant  came  running  with  the  missing 
article,  saying  that  he  had  found  it  in  the  Prince  of  Wales's  room. 
The  awkwardness  of  this  discovery,  and  the  significant  glances  of 
the  party,  may  be  conceived.* 


*  Mr.  Moore  makes  an  odd  jumble  of  this  story,  representing  Thurlow  as 
coming  to  the  Coimcil  with  the  Prince's  hat  instead  of  his  own.  Another  ver- 
sion of  this  story  is  told  by  Mr.  Wilberf orce,  which  gives  Lord  Camden  the 
credit  of  the  detection.  He  was  pressing  the  Chancellor  to  return  to  London 
with  him,  when  the  latter  made  the  excuse  that  he  had  to  dine  with  a 
friend  at  Windsor.  Lord  Camden,  having  his  suspicions  aroused,  made 
inquii-ies,  and  found  that  the  "  friend  "  was  the  Prince.  The  Chancellor  was 
certainly  unlucky. 


148  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV. 

Still,  he  was  only  "  rattically  inclined,"  to  use  Lord  Bulkeley's  odd 
expression;  and  notwithstanding  all  these  interviews  and  soundings, 
the  Prince  and  his  friends  did  not  find  him  in  a  sufficiently  encour- 
aging mood  to  make  their  offer.  Meantime,  the  awkward  discovery 
at  Windsor  had  circulated  among  his  party,  and  looks  of  suspicion 
greeted  him.  Grenville,  however,  had  sagacity  enough  to  guess 
how  matters  stood;  he  was  even  indulgent.  "His  situation,"  he 
writes,  "is  a  singular  one.  It  is  unquestionably  true  that  he  has 
seen  Fox  repeatedly,  and  certainly  the  Prince  of  Wales ;  and,  of  all 
these  conversations,  he  has  never  communicated  one  word  to  any 
other  member  of  the  Cabinet.  Yet  I  am  persuaded  that  he  has  made 
no  terms  with  them  as  yet."  He  was  afraid,  too,  that  it  was  from 
Thurlow  that  the  Prince  and  his  party  had  gained  their  knowledge 
of  Pitt's  plans;  not  that  the  Chancellor  had  deliberately  revealed 
them,  but  they  were  inevitably  to  be  gathered  from  the  tenor  of  his 
conversation. 

Yet  in  the  adoption  of  these  plans  he  "explicitly  agreed  with 
Pitt."  His  doubtful  behavior  had  caused  deep  resentment,  and  was 
universally  reprobated  by  those  he  acted  with;  Pitt,  indeed,  from 
his  regard  to  the  King,  dissembled  his  knowledge  of  the  matter,  and 
suppressed  all  allusion  to  the  subject.  But  a  Cabinet  Council,  held 
on  the  following  Saturday,  must  have  been  a  mauvais  quart  d'heure 
for  the  "beetle-browed  "  Chancellor,  whom  the  cold  gaze  of  his  chief 
and  the  suspicious  reserve  of  his  comrades  must  have  disturbed. 

At  once,  some  artfully  designed  inquiries  were  made  to  test  him. 
Had  any  one  heard  whether  Fox  had  been  to  Windsor  to  see  the 
Prince?  Did  any  one  present  know  anything  of  his  movements? 
But  the  rough  Chancellor  was  not  to  be  thus  put  out  of  countenance, 
and  declined  to  be  "drawn,"  as  it  is  called,  in  this  indirect  fashion. 
He  joined  with  the  rest,  and  no  doubt  with  truth,  in  expressing  his 
ignorance  on  the  point.  He  even  asked  if  any  one  knew  what  was 
the  color  of  Fox's  chaise. 

Pitt  then  came  direct  to  the  point,  and  asked  if  there  was  any  one 
among  them  who  desired  to  unite  with  the  Opposition,  and  addressed 
this  question  personally  to  the  Chancellor.  No  doubt  he  also  resented 
being  baited  in  such  a  style,  and  answered  that  that  was  an  abstract 
question.  Pitt  retorted  that  it  was  a  plain  one.  He  desired  to  know 
would  he  join  under  any  circumstances.  To  this  no  answer  was 
given.  But,  strange  to  say,  Pitt  seemed  to  gather  from  the  ominous 
silence  of  the  rest  that  a  coalition  of  some  kind  witli  the  Opposition 
would  be  necessary.     It  is  Mr.  liose  that  reports  this  little  scene, 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOEGE  IV.  149 

and  it  illustrates  curiously  the  character  of  the  leading  actor,  and  it 
favors  Thurlow,     This  was  on  Saturday,  the  29  th  November. 

On  the  Thursday  Parliament  was  to  reassemble,  so  there  was  no 
time  to  be  wasted  in  further  coquetry.  One  cause  of  the  delay  in 
making  a  direct  offer  was  certainly  the  noted  objection  of  Fox,  who 
felt  what  a  doubtful  gain  there  was  in  such  an  alliance,  and  how 
disloyal  it  would  be  to  put  aside  Lord  Loughborough,  Nothing 
shows  how  worthy  Fox  was  of  that  warm  affection  which  his  friends 
bore  to  him  than  his  scruples,  and  even  at  being  obliged  to  take  this 
course.  He  had  spent  the  whole  week  in  trying  "to  discourage  the 
notion,"  and  had  actually  prevented  the  Prince  saying  anything  to 
Thurlow  that  would  commit  him.  But  the  pressure  was  too  strong, 
and  on  the  Saturday  he  ruefully  consented.  Not  but  that  Lord 
Loughborough  suspected  what  was  going  on,  and  a  day  or  two  after 
the  visit  to  Windsor  he  addressed  a  solemn  warning  to  Sheridan 
against  the  duplicity  of  the  Chancellor.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
bitterness  of  this  letter.  He  drew  a  picture  of  Thurlow  as  a  false, 
self-seeking  adventurer,  who  "wanted  to  make  his  way  by  himself , " 
and  who  had  managed  hitherto  as  one  very  well  practiced  in  that 
game.  The  plan  of  letting  him  see  the  King  periodically,  "the 
inspection,"  instead  of  winning  him  would  be  artfully  turned  to 
purposes  of  trimming,  as  he  would  then  have  access  to  the  Prince 
and  to  the  Queen.  It  w^as  with  this  view  that  he  actually  contrived 
that  the  physicians  should  magnify  the  King's  disorder  so  as  to  lead 
to  the  proposal  of  his  visits.  "  In  short,  I  think  he  will  try  to  find 
the  key  of  the  backstairs,  and  with  that  in  his  pocket  take  any  situ- 
ation that  preserves  his  access  and  enables  him  to  hold  a  line  between 
different  parties. "  He  laughed  at  the  tears  shed  over  the  King  as 
hypocritical,  and  even  with  a  view  of  touching  the  Queen.  Their 
own  "best  friends,"  particularly  men  Hke  Lord  John  Cavendish, 
were  certain  to  be  alienated,  and  would  be  reluctant  to  take  any 
active  part,  and  would  shrink  from  such  an  ally.  Finally,  the 
Chancellor's  position  at  that  moment  virtually  gave  him  the  com- 
mand of  the  House  of  Lords.  He  explained  how,  but  the  rest  of  the 
sentence  beginning  "for"  is  provokingly  obliterated  by  damp.  It 
no  doubt  showed  how  his  ambiguous  attitude  held  him  out  as  having 
in  some  degree  the  confidence  of  both  Prince  and  Queen. 

Lord  Loughborough  must  have  been  disagreeably  surprised  to 
receive  ah  almost  supplicating  letter  from  Fox,  with  a  direct  proposal 
that  he  should  waive  all  his  own  claims  and  make  way  for  Thurlow. 
Fox  said  he  was  literally  ashamed  to  write  to  him;  but  he  explained 


150  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  pressure  that  was  put  on  him,  and  in  terms  of  humiliation  owned 
that  the  motive  that  influenced  him  was  that  he  shrank  from  the 
responsibility  that  would  attach  to  him,  should  his  refusal  be  foimd 
to  have  endangered  the  chances  of  his  party.  His  feelings  were 
revealed  more  poignantly  in  a  letter  which  he  despatched  to  Sheiidan. 
"I  have  swallowed  the  pill,"  he  said,  "and  a  most  bitter  one  it  was." 
No  wonder  he  found  the  pill  bitter;  since,  according  to  Sir  G.  Elliot, 
Fox  thought  worse  of  him  than  of  any  man  in  the  world.  With 
true  forecast,  he  added  he  was  convinced  that  it  would  come  to 
nothing,  and  their  offers  be  rejected.  He  never  felt  so  uneasy  about 
any  other  political  thing  he  ever  did  in  his  whole  life. 

The  next  point  was,  who  was  to  make  the  proposal  to  Thurlow. 
Was  it  to  be  the  Prince  himself,  Sheridan,  or — strange  negotiator- 
Warren,  the  doctor?  which  shows  how  much  the  latter  was  a  crea- 
ture of  the  Prince's.  To  this  point  had  the  matter  reached  by  Satur 
day  night,  November  29th.  Fox  assumed  to  Sheridan  that  Lough- 
borough's answer  "of  course  must  be  consent,"  as  it  proved  to  be. 
The  latter  wrote  dryly,  that  it  appeared  to  him  to  be  a  strong  indica- 
tion of  weakness. 

But  the  wily  Chancellor  was  undecided,  and  contrived  to  put  aside 
the  proposal;  no  doubt  with  the  excuse  that  he  had  used  before,  "a 
pretence  of  delicacy  towards  his  colleagues." 

The  unfortunate  King  had  now  been  removed  to  Kew,  under 
charge  of  the  Queen,  who  had  first  received  a  notification  or  declara- 
tion from  her  son  that,  in  consequence  of  what  had  passed  at  the 
Privy  Council,  he  was  prepared  to  accept  the  post  of  Regent;  but 
hoped  that  she  would  take  on  herself  "the  sole  and  absolute  care 
of  the  distraught  monarch."  The  former  office,  he  declared,  he 
claimed  from  his  station  and  age. 

A  Council  was  held  at  Mr.  Pitt's,  on  Sunday,  at  noon.  Upon  its 
rising,  a  messenger  was  despatched  to  Kew,  with  a  letter  to  the 
Queen.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  Prince 
of  Wales  received  a  reply  from  her  Majesty,  in  which  were 
"strongly-expressed  sentiments  of  that  prudence,  good  sense,  and 
maternal  and  conjugal  affection  by  which  her  Majesty's  conduct  had 
ever  been  distinguished."  Her  Majesty  informed  the  Prince  that 
she  had  been  applied  to,  and  urged  to  take  a  share  in  the  Regency,  as 
the  only  means  of  securing  to  herself  a  certainty  of  preserving  the 
care  of  the  King's  person.  "But,"  her  Majesty  added,  "  she  author- 
ized his  Royal  Highness  to  declare  that  she  would  on  no  account 
take  any  share  in  the  political  affairs  of  this  kingdom ;  it  being  her 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  151 

determination  to  remain  at  Kew,  or  wherever  else  his  Majesty  might 
be,  and  to  devote  herself  wholly  to  him  as  his  friend  and  companion." 
His  royal  highness's  answer,  which  was  immediately  returned,  con- 
tained the  most  dutiful  and  tender  professions.  It  concluded  with 
the  assurance  that,  "if  her  Majesty's  taking  any  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  this  country  could  give  her  any  additional  care  or  authority 
over  his  royal  father's  person,  he  should  be  the  first  to  propose  its 
being  conferred;  but,  her  Majesty  being  the  only  person  upon  whom 
such  a  trust  ought  to  devolve,  she  might  assure  herself  that  she 
should  be  considered  as  his  Majesty's  sole  guardian,  so  long  as  the 
unhappy  malady  should  continue. "  * 

Here  were  there  the  beginnings  of  that  unseemly  struggle  between 
mother  and  son,  when  contending  interests  soon  imparted  to  it  the 
bitterest  rancor;  for  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  the  interest  of  one 
that  the  King  should  recover,  of  the  other  that  he  should  not. 

Theoretically,  the  Prince  was  a  spectator  of  this  contest;  but  in 
practice  he  was  known  and  accepted  as  the  leader  of  one  side.  The 
conflict  was  to  be  of  a  desperate  kind — letters  were  written  in  cipher 
for  fear  of  their  being  opened;  meetings  between  natural  allies  were 
contrived  with  mysterious  secrecy;  accusations  of  treachery,  dis- 
loyalty, and  unscrupulousness  were  to  be  bandied  to  and  fro. 

No  wonder  Thurlow's  colleagues  were  mistrustful.  Later,  when 
they  were  arranging  the  details  of  the  Eegency  Bill  and  talking  of 
the  restrictions,  the  Chancellor  showed  his  discontent.  After  a 
Cabinet  Council,  we  learn  from  the  Duke  of  Leeds'  MS.,  the  Chan- 
cellor remained  behind,  and  discussed  with  Lord  Carmarthen  some 
suggestions  that  had  been  made.  "  He  said  the  paper  would  not  do 
either  for  our  own  sakes  or  other  people's.  He  then  mentioned  the 
difficulty  of  restrictions  and  the  foolish  one  respecting  the  peerage. 
He  agreed  there  was  no  probability  of  the  King's  recovery,  and 
that,  for  the  quiet  of  the  country,  his  death  might  not  be  a  very 
unfortunate  event."  This  was  significant  enough.  Not  unnatu- 
rally, the  Duke  of  Richmond,  ^Titer  of  the  paper  they  had  been  dis- 
cussing, had  his  suspicions  aroused  by  finding  that  on  that  day  Fox 
had  been  closeted  with  the  Chancellor  at  the  House  of  Lords.  "He 
said  he  thought  it  shameful  for  him  to  be  making  his  terms  with 
the  Opposition  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  present  at  all  our  meet- 
ings." 

*  These  particulars  are  to  be  found  in  Holt,  "  Life  of  George  EH." 


152  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
1789. 

On  Monday,  December  4th,  Parliament  reassembled.  The  Chan- 
cellor had  addressed  letters  of  summons  to  all  the  Peers,  and  in  the 
Lower  House  a  call  of  all  the  members  had  been  directed.  The 
attendance,  therefore,  was  very  large.  The  appearance  of  Fox 
shocked  every  one.  "  His  body  seemed  to  be  emaciated,"  as  one  of 
the  members  present  described  him;  "his  countenance  sallow  and 
sickly,  his  eyes  swollen,  while  his  stockings  hung  upon  his  legs,  and 
he  rather  dragged  himself  along  than  walked  up  the  floor  to  take  his 
seat."  The  physicians  had  been  examined  by  the  Privy  Council  the 
day  before,  and  their  report  w^as  laid  before  the  House.  Tliis  was 
hazy  enough,  but  all  inclined  to  the  idea  of  the  King's  recovery. 
Warren  alone  had  declared  it  impossible  to  give  any  precise  opinion 
on  the  point,  and  the  propriety  of  putting  the  question  categorically 
to  him  was  debated  more  than  an  hour  and  a  half. 

Nothing,  however,  could  be  extracted  from  him,  and  he  declared 
that  he  had  no  data  on  which  to  found  an  opinion.  This  was  a  dis- 
agreeable surprise  for  the  Prince  and  his  party,  who  were  said  to  be 
furious  at  an  opinion  which  they  found  not  sufficiently  thorough, 
and  so  different  from  what  they  expected  from  their  creature.  On 
the  other  hand,  Dr.  Addington  was  more  sanguine  than  his  brethren. 
Pitt  moved  that  it  should  be  considered  at  their  next  meeting,  and 
also  gave  notice  that  he  should  move  for  a  committee  to  search  for 
precedents  applicable  to  the  present  crisis.  It  was  faintly  objected 
by  Fox  and  others  that  the  House  itself  ought  to  have  an  opportu- 
nity of  examining  the  physicians,  but  the  matter  was  not  pressed.  In 
the  other  House  much  the  same  proceeding  took  place.  It  struck 
some  observers  that  the  Opposition  were  rather  cast  down  by  the 
result  of  the  day,  while  some  saw  in  Pitt's  propossils  a  wish  to  defer 
the  appointment  of  a  regent  and  make  persons  outside  think  it  was 
unnecessary.  From  this  they  might  gain  their  first  hint  of  the 
inflexible  mood  in  which  the  minister  was  to  encounter  them.  The 
following  day  hf  liim^  H'  'Monjlit  \o  Kcw  an  aged  clcrirynian  who 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  153 

was  rector  of  "Wapping,  and  who,  from  a  strange  fancy,  kept  a 
madhouse,  which  he  conducted  with  extraordinary  success.  No 
one  suspected  at  the  time  that  to  the  introduction  of  this  sagacious 
practitioner  the  King  was  to  owe  his  rapid  recovery.  For  with  him 
he  brought  confidence  and  a  cheerful  hope,  while  his  sensible  treat- 
ment began  almost  at  once  to  exhibit  results. 

On  the  10th,  when  the  House  met  again,  Mr.  Pitt  moved  "  that 
a  committee  be  appointed  to  examine  and  report  precedents,"  a 
motion  which  was  strenuously  opposed  by  Mr.  Fox,  who  contended 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  Parliament  to  lose  no  time  in  proceeding  to 
provide  some  measure  for  the  exigency  of  the  present  moment. 
What,  he  asked,  were  they  going  to  search  for?  Not  precedents 
upon  their  journals,  not  parliamentary  precedents,  but  precedents  in 
the  history  of  England.  There  existed  no  precedents  whatever  that 
could  bear  upon  the  present  case.  There  was  then  a  person  in  the 
kingdom  differing  from  any  other  person  that  any  existing  prece- 
dents could  refer  to — an  heir-apparent,  of  full  age  and  capacity  to 
exercise  the  regal  power.  He  declared  that  he  had  not  in  his  mind 
a  doubt  that  in  the  present  condition  of  his  Majesty,  his  Royal  High- 
ness the  Prince  of  Wales  had  as  clear,  as  express  a  right  to  exercise 
the  power  o^  sovereignty  during  the  continuance  of  the  incapacity 
with  which  it  had  pleased  God  to  afflict  the  King,  as  in  the  event  of 
his  Majesty's  having  undergone  a  natural  demise ! 

The  moment  the  fatal  words  as  to  the  Prince's  "right"  escaped 
Fox,  Pitt  was  said  to  have  struck  his  thigh,  saying  triumphantly, 
"  I'll  unwhig  the  gentleman  for  the  rest  of  his  life."  There  was  an 
inconsistency  almost  ludicrous  in  such  a  claim  coming  from  Fox, 
which  was  indeed  appropriate  in  some  old  Tory.  Starting  to  his 
feet  the  instant  Fox  sat  down,  and  with  eyes  flashing,  he  declared 
that  the  doctrine  they  had  just  heard  was  little  short  of  being  treason- 
able to  the  Constitution.  He  scornfully  added,  the  truth  was  that 
the  Prince  had  no  more  right  than  any  individual  in  the  community. 
He  was  prepared  to  admit  that  the  Prince  had  a  claim  which  was  of 
course  entitled  to  the  greatest  respect.  Then  this  master  of  resource 
proceeded  to  turn  the  opening  to  account,  artfully  declaring  that 
now  or  never  a  question  had  arisen  which  must  be  settled.  The 
great  privileges,  "our  own  rights,"  had  been  questioned  by  one  of 
themselves.  And  with  a  haughty  confidence  he  pledged  himself 
to  show  that  the  view  he  had  laid  down  was  supported  by  every 
precedent.  Fox  might  have  gathered  from  the  enthusiastic  cheers 
which  greeted  Pitt  that  he  had  made  a  monstrous  blunder,  though  a 

7* 


154  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

claque,  formed  of  the  young  followers  of  his  party,  and  who  "took 
the  time  "  from  Fitzpatrick,  may  have  encouraged  him.  Stung  by  the 
clever  turn  Pitt  had  given  to  his  mistake,  he  again  defiantly  reiter- 
ated his  statement.  He  declared  that  the  Prince's  right  could  not  be 
more  clear  even  in  the  case  of  the  King's  death.  He  defied  Pitt, 
"acute  as  he  was,"  to  prove  that  the  Houses  had  such  a  power  as  he 
claimed. 

But  every  one  must  have  been  amazed  at  Burke,  who  now  leaped 
to  his  feet,  and  with  a  bitterness  and  incoherent  fury,  fell  upon  the 
minister.  He  seemed  to  have  lost  all  self-control.  In  a  fury  him- 
self, he  accused  Pitt  of  "bursting  into  a  flame,"  and  of  trying  to 
intimidate  them.  Where  was  the  boasted  freedom  of  debate,  he 
asked,  if  they  were  to  be  charged  with  treason  "by  one  of  the 
Prince's  competitors?"  Instantly  he  was  interrupted  by  vociferous 
cries  of  "Order!"  from  the  excited  Treasury  bench.  This  only 
inflamed  him  the  more,  and  he  declared  that  he  repeated  the  phrase 
and  would  justify  it.  But  the  scene  that  took  place  in  the  House 
of  Lords  on  the  next  day  was  more  exciting  still,  when  Lord  Cam- 
den branded  Fox's  doctrine  as  new  to  him,  unconstitutional,  and 
extraordinary.  Which  brought  forward  Lord  Loughborough,  who, 
thus  challenged,  "in  a  manly  style,"  says  Wraxall,  justified  the 
doctrine  and  avowed  it  to  be  his  own.  Then,  assuming  the  oJBfen- 
sive,  he  assailed  Pitt  for  his  doctrine,  which,  he  declared,  made  the 
regency  elective,  which  was  a  thing  far  more  alarming.  The  Par- 
liament, he  said,  might  set  up  a  pageant  of  a  regent,  while  they 
assailed  his  sovereignty;  for,  of  course,  the  elected  must  be  the 
slave  of  the  electors. 

Then  he  showed  how,  as  regards  treason  and  its  penalties,  the 
law  assumed  the  Prince  to  be  on  the  same  footing  as  the  King.  To 
his  ingenious  argument  the  Chancellor  came  forward  to  reply,  amid 
much  curiosity  and  speculation.  It  was  noticed  that  he  was  "  very 
sour  and  crusty,"  but  nothing  could  be  more  skilful  than  the  few 
words  he  uttered.  He  affected  keenly  to  discuss  the  point  of  law 
opened  by  Lord  Loughborough,  which  he  declared  was  new  to 
him,  though,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  willing  to  be  enlightened 
and  receive  all  the  information  on  so  delicate  a  topic  that  could 
assist  him.  He  then  passed  a  high  eulogium  on  the  Prince,  whose 
virtues  and  merits  he  praised  Lord  Loughborough  for  not  intro- 
ducing as  a  support  for  his  arguments,  and  "who  should  always 
have  his  applause  when  its  expression  could  not  be  an  act  of  imper- 
tinence." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  155 

This  was  thought  by  Pitt's  friends  almost  decisive  that  "  he  had 
opened  enough  of  his  sentiments  to  show  that  he  meant  to  stand 
by  his  colleagues."  It  struck  Lord  Bulkeley  as  being  "one  of  the 
finest  speeches  he  ever  heard,"  and  it  was  greeted  with  merry 
"Hear,  hears,"  a  testimonial  of  adhesion  "not  very  frequent  in  the 
House  of  Lords."  This  beginning  of  steadiness  was  thought  to  be 
owing  to  the  positive  opinion  as  to  the  King's  state  given  by  Willis, 
the  new  doctor,  and  also  to  some  pressure  exerted  by  Lords  Wey 
mouth  and  Stafford. 

Lord  Campbell  and  others  have  alluded  to  Pitt's  threat  of  send- 
ing Lord  Loughborough  to  the  Tower,  as  reported  by  the  Duke  of 
Leeds.  But  it  seems  to  have  been  scarcely  seriously  intended,  for 
the  duke,  who  heard  him,  writes  in  his  MS.:  "Mr.  Pitt  said  if 
Lord  Loughborough  again  brought  forward  his  doctrine  of  devolu- 
tion, his  words  should  be  taken  down  by  the  clerk,  and  if  they  are 
not  satisfactorily  explained,  he  should  be  sent  to  the  Tower.  .  .  . 
He  then  said  that  though,  seriously  speaking,  it  might  not  be  neces- 
sary to  proceed  to  so  violent  a  measure,  yet  it  must  be  directly  met 
by  a  resolution."  The  rumors,  however,  of  passion  and  prejudice 
that  filled  the  air  were  inconceivable.  It  was  urged  that  the 
restrictions  on  the  Prince,  according  to  his  followers,  were  an  art- 
ful device  of  Pitt's  to  make  him  refuse,  when  a  "committee  of 
Regency"  would  be  appointed,  of  which  the  minister  would  be 
chief,  reigning  "as  King  William  IV."  Burke  lashed  him  as  "a 
competitor  for  the  Regency."  When  Pitt  replied  to  such  attacks 
it  was  noticed  that  "  he  spoke  in  a  damned  passion."  The  general 
opinion  was  that  nothing  could  be  more  adroit  and  masterly  than 
his  treatment  of  the  whole  matter;  yet  a  heated  partisan,  Lord 
Sheflfleld,  when  every  one  was  talking  of  Fox's  and  Sheridan's  blun- 
ders, could  only  see  that  Pitt  was  playing  the  game  without  temper 
or  judgment,  and  his  "  mountebank  speeches  suit  the  nonsense  of 
many." 

Mr.  Rose  was  listening  to  Fox's  speech,  and  some  words  which 
the  latter  dropped  to  those  near  him  showed  that  he  felt  alarmed  at 
the  effect  of  his  declaration,  and  meant  to  explain  them  away. 
This  he  attempted  to  do  on  the  12th  by  declaring  that  the  Prince 
had  a  claim — and  the  only  one  that  had  a  claim — to  the  Regency, 
which,  however,  it  rested  with  the  House  to  declare  and  admit. 
Pitt,  however,  with  an  almost  malicious  logic,  declared,  while 
admitting  the  explanation,  that  as  the  point  of  right  had  been  raised 
it  must  be  settled  before  they  went  a  step  further,  and  that  it  was 


156  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

his  duty  to  have  it  decided  that  it  belonged  to  the  Parliament  alone 
to  confer  such  powers.  He  affected,  however,  to  make  a  conces- 
sion, that  the  Prince  was  the  most  proper  and  suitable  person,  and 
that  it  was  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  tliat,  subject 
to  certain  guards,  he  should  be  a  Regent,  or,  as  he  put  it,  "  what- 
ever portion  of  the  royal  power"  it  might  be  necessary  to  invest  him 
with.  In  reply  to  a  question  of  Fox's,  he  even  declared  that  the 
Prince  should  not  be  fettered  with  a  Council,  and  should  be  free  to 
choose  his  own  political  servants,  but  that  anything  likely  to 
embarrass  the  King's  lawful  authority  on  his  recovery  should  be 
withheld. 

This  notification  was  a  relief,  as  it  disposed  of  the  rumors  of  the 
Council  of  Regency,  "King  William  the  Fourth,"  and  the  like; 
but  the  question  of  right  was  held  to  be  an  artful  pretext  for  creat- 
ing delay.  In  vain  Fox  protested;  when  the  indiscreet  Sheridan — 
carried  away  by  his  warmth,  and  panting  for  place — warned  the 
ministers  against  the  danger  of  forcing  the  Prince  to  assert  his 
right!  No  wonder  Mr.  W.  Grenville  declared  that  he  "had  never 
known  a  man  of  the  meanest  talents  guilty  of  such  a  blunder." 
And  the  uproar  which  he  excited  exceeded  anything  that  members 
could  recollect. 

Once  more  the  masterful  minister  had  only  to  turn  the  opportu- 
nity to  his  advantage,  and  declare  that  now — after  "so  indecent  a 
menace" — he  must  see  to  maintaining  the  rights  of  the  House;  and, 
speaking  with  great  spirit  and  emphasis,  that  "the  House  would 
do  its  duty,  in  spite  of  any  threat,  however  high  the  quarter  from 
which  it  might  come." 

This  heated  language  shows  the  pass  to  which  matters  had  come. 
The  Prince  was  alarmed  and  angry,  and  instantly  addressed  a  let- 
ter to  the  Chancellor,  complaining  of  the  disrespect  with  which  he 
was  treated,  in  this  plan  being  ready  to  be  brought  forward  with- 
out any  communication  being  made  to  him;  and  also  bitterly 
inveighed  against  the  whole  behavior  of  Pitt  toward  him  person- 
ally, since  the  illness  of  the  King  began.  This  was  answered  by 
the  minister  in  his  haughtiest  style,  and  he  took  care  to  show 
how  he  resented  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  treated  by  the 
Prince. 

The  answer  received  was  as  follows.  Pitt  wrote,  on  Monday, 
December  15th,  that  he  had  the  unhappiness  to  perceive  that  his 
general  conduct,  and  what  he  had  said  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
had  been  represented  in  a  light  which  neither  of  them  deserved. 


TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  157 

"I  have  certainly  felt  myself  bound  rather  to  wait  the  commands 
of  your  Royal  Highness,  than  to  intrude  on  your  Royal  Highness's 
time,  without  having  received  a  previous  intimation  of  your  pleas- 
ure; at  the  same  time,  your  Royal  Highness  will  permit  me  to 
recall  to  your  recollection  that  I  more  than  once  had  an  opportu- 
nity humbly  to  express  my  readiness  at  all  times  to  attend  your 
Royal  Highness;  and  have  several  times,  at  Windsor,  had  the  honor 
to  inquire  whether  your  Royal  Highness  had  any  orders  for  me,  and 
have  received  for  answer  that  you  had  not."  He  then  explained 
that  he  had  not  announced  the  plan  as  reported,  the  details  of 
which  he  now  unfolded. 

To  Pitt's  communication  no  reply  was  sent,  so  it  may  be  con- 
ceived how  inflamed  was  the  hostility  between  the  two.  But  on 
the  same  day  the  Prince  had  despatched  the  Duke  of  York  to  the 
House  of  Lords  to  disclaim  on  his  part  any  such  intention  as  had 
been  imputed.  After  soliciting  the  indulgence  of  his  hearers,  as 
being  unaccustomed  to  public  speaking,  he  said,  "  that  no  claim  of 
right  had  been  made  on  the  part  of  the  Prince;  and  he  was  confi- 
dent that  his  Royal  Highness  understood  too  well  the  sacred  princi- 
ples which  seated  the  House  of  Brunswick  on  the  throne  of  Great 
Britain,  ever  to  assume  or  exercise  any  power,  be  his  claim  what  it 
might,  not  derived  from  the  will  of  the  people,  expressed  by  their 
representatives,  and  their  Lordships  in  Parliament  assembled." 
This  address  on  the  part  of  the  young  Prince  found  much  favor, 
both  for  its  matter  as  well  as  for  the  manner  in  which  it  was  deliv- 
ered. But  the  appeal  was  ineffectual ;  nor  was  that  of  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester  more  successful.  But  the  point  of  dramatic  interest  was 
reached  when  the  Chancellor  rose  to  speak.  The  House  was 
crowded,  and  the  leading  members  of  the  Lower  House  were  on  the 
steps  of  the  throne.  Pitt  and  liis  own  party,  the  last  to  be  taken 
into  his  confidence,  expected  to  hear  him  declare  his  adherence  to 
the  Prince.  But  there  was  a  surprise  in  store  for  all.  The  scene 
has  become  historical.  He  began  by  dealing  a  stroke  at  Pitt,  de- 
claring that  the  question  of  right — like  all  abstract  questions  of 
right — was  odious  and  need  not  be  opened.  The  real  object  was  to 
preserve  the  King's  rights,  "  so  that  when  Divine  Providence  shall 
restore  him  to  his  people,  he  may  not  find  himself  disabled  from 
exercising  his  prerogatives."  Then  alluding  to  the  piteous  specta- 
cle of  the  afflicted  monarch  he  uttered  the  hypocritical  burst  so  well 
known:  "My  debt  of  gratitude  to  him  is  ample  for  the  numerous 
honors  which  he  has  bestowed  on  me,  which,  whenever  I  forget, 


158  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV. 

may  my  God  forget  me.  ..."  "0  the  rascal!"*  was  an  excla- 
mation that  broke  from  Pitt  as  he'  listened.  This  bitter  comment 
of  Wilkes'  has  been  often  quoted:     "Forget  you!    He'll  see  you 

d d  first!"    Nor  was  Burke's  less  witty  or  original:     "Forget 

you!    The  best  thiog  that  can  happen  you!" 

This  scene  is  usually  considered  the  consummation  of  "Thur- 
low's  treachery."  He  was  eager  to  join  the  Prince,  and  had 
drawn  back  when  he  saw  that  there  was  little  or  no  chance  of  the 
Prince  coming  to  power.  But,  strange  to  say,  the  speech  was  not 
considered  among  the  Opposition  to  be  a  declaration  for  the  King; 
it  amounted  to  no  more  than  a  hypocritical  burst  of  sympathy.  It 
is  certain  that  the  dramatic  point  of  this  declaration  is  lost  if  we 
find  that  it  made  no  alteration  in  the  relation  of  the  parties,  and 
that  the  offers  of  the  Prince  and  his  advisers  were  continued  for  a 
fortnight  more.  We  find  that  on  Christmas  Eve  he  and  Mr.  Fox 
had  a  conversation,  in  which  he  announced  that  the  negotiations 
must  come  to  an  end,  and  desired  that  no  more  should  be  said  to 
him  on  the  subject  till  the  Regency  was  settled.  He  advised  that 
the  Prince  should  now  make  his  arrangements  without  reference  to 
him.  Mr.  Fox  declared  that  he  was  perfectly  open  and  explicit. 
He  talked  of  the  constitutional  question  that  was  to  be  debated, 
and  said  it  was  confused  and  difficult.  Then  they  passed  to  general 
topics— travelling,  the  classics,  and,  in  short,  were  in  perfect  good 
humor.  In  this  conversation  he  had  left  a  curious  impression  on 
that  statesman,  who  had  expected  to  hear  from  him  an  outline  of 
the  arguments  with  which  he  was  to  confute  those  of  Pitt  and  his 
friends.  "But,"  says  Mr.  Fox,  "I  could  not  collect  what  would 
be  the  course  of  his  arguments.  He  said  it  was  a  confused  and  dif- 
ficult case,  and  I  therefore  suspect  he  will  answer  the  arguments 
of  others  rather  than  produce  his  own.  My  idea  is  he  has  thought 
less  on  the  subject  than  could  be  supposed."  f  This  was  scarcely 
the  bearing  of  a  traitor,  but  Fox's  open  nature  did  not  suspect  any- 
thing. 

The  explanation  may  be  that  it  was  directed  against  Pitt,  who, 
he  insinuated,  was  limiting  the  King's  powers  and  prerogatives; 
and  this  is  supported  by  the  King's  coldness  to  Pitt  when  he  recov- 


*  General  Manners  heard  the  words,  and  with  natviral  wonder  asked  Pitt 
what  was  meant  by  this  remark,  when  the  latter  gave  an  account  of  Thurlow's 
.suspected  double-dealing.  Wraxall  received  this  account  from  General  Man- 
ners himself.—"  Posth.  Memoirs,"  iii.  221, 

t  Lord  Campbell,  "  Life  of  Lord  Loughborough,"  voL  vi. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV.  159 

ered.  In  no  case  could  it  apply  to  his  continuing  as  the  Prince's 
Chancellor,  such  change  of  service  being  common  enough  in  those 
days. 

Still,  we  find  that  the  Prince's  party  equally  complained  of 
being  tricked.  Lord  Rawdon,  the  Prince's  familiar,  talked  of  his 
"coquetting"  with  them,  and  that,  having  taken  fright  and  drawn 
back  a  little  on  some  show  of  amendment  in  the  King,  "he 
received  from  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Duke  of  York,  before  Fox, 
so  rough  a  charge  of  double-dealing  that  it  is  impossible  he  can 
close  with  us."  *    This  was  written  on  February  28th. 

The  year  after  we  find  Lord  Thurlow  expressing  himself  to  the 
Princess  of  Wales  on  the  manner  he  had  been  treated:  "It  would 
make  a  long  story  to  lay  before  your  Royal  Highness  in  exact 
detail  the  circumstances  of  the  period,  without  which  it  is  impos- 
sible to  form  a  judgment,  and  with  which  your  Royal  Highness 
would  be  the  readiest  to  discern  his  futility  and  folly.  The  Prince, 
he  believes,  is  satisfied  that  his  affairs  both  then  and  now  would 
have  been  in  a  different  situation  if  he  had  followed  sounder 
advice."  f  Notwithstanding  this  low  opinion  of  the  Prince,  he 
was  soon  to  become  his  friend  and  adviser. 


*  Comwallis,  "  Correspondence."  +  Sir  G.  Elliot,  iii.  34. 


160  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

1789. 

On  the  16th  of  December,  the  Prime  Minister  introduced  his 
resolution  in  a  very  convincing  speech.  He  showed  that  there 
were  precedents ;  that  the  argument  of  the  * '  civil  decease"  of  the 
King  had  no  foundation,  for  that  then  "the  Prince  would  ascend 
the  throne  as  King,  not  as  Prince;  that  when  the  third  branch  of 
the  legislature  was  gone  or  suspended,  there  was  but  one  plain 
remedy  to  resort  to — the  organs  of  the  people  in  both  Houses." 
This  seemed  a  refutation  of  Fox's  truly  fanciful  argument,  that 
King,  Lords,  and  Commons  were  necessary  for  any  legislative  Act. 
In  fact,  his  statement  of  the  question  they  had  to  settle  was  so 
briefly  framed  that  it  seemed  to  carry  its  answer  with  it,  viz., 
"  Whether  any  person  had  a  right  title  to  assume  or  to  claim  the 
exercise  of  the  royal  authority  during  the  infirmity  or  incapacity 
of  the  sovereign;  or  whether  it  was  the  right  of  the  Lords  and 
Commons  of  England  to  provide  the  deficiency?"  Nor  did  he  fail 
to  repeat  publicly  the  haughty  challenge  he  had  sent  to  the  Prince: 
"  I  trust  that  I  shall  not  be  represented  to  the  Prince  as  undutiful 
or  disrespectful  to  his  Royal  Highness;  but  were  I  even  certain 
that  I  should  be  so  represented  and  considered,  I  feel  that  within 
which  prompts  me  to  do  what  I  know  to  be  right;  and  I  will  sacri- 
fice every  personal  consideration  to  my  zeal  and  attachment  to  my 
sovereign  and  my  duty  to  the  public." 

The  three  resolutions  were:  "1.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this 
committee,  that  his  Majesty  is  prevented  by  his  present  indisposi- 
tion from  coming  to  his  Parliament  and  from  attending  to  public 
business,  and  that  the  personal  exercise  of  the  royal  authority  is 
thereby,  for  the  present,  interrupted.  2.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of 
this  committee,  that  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  Lords  spiritual 
and  temporal  and  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  now  assembled,  and 
lawfully,  fully,  and  freely  representing  all  the  estates  of  the  people 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  IGl 

of  this  realm,  to  provide  the  means  of  supplying  the  defect  of  the 
personal  exercise  of  the  royal  authority,  arising  from  his  Majesty's 
said  indisposition,  in  such  manner  as  the  exigency  of  the  case  may 
appear  to  require.  3.  That  for  this  purpose,  and  for  maintaining 
entire  the  constitutional  authority  of  the  King,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  said  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal  and  Commons  of  Great 
Britain  should  determine  on  the  means  whereby  the  royal  assent 
may  be  given  in  Parliament  to  such  bills  as  may  be  passed  by  the 
two  Houses  of  Parliament,  respecting  the  exercise  of  the  powers 
and  authorities  of  the  Crown,  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the 
King,  during  the  continuance  of  his  Majesty's  present  indisposi- 
tion," 

It  was  evident  that  here  was  opened  up  a  great  question,  on 
which  many  would  speak  and  amendments  be  moved;  so  it  was  not 
unlikely  that  there  was  truth  in  the  charge  that  he  was  willing  to 
avail  himself  of  the  delay.  It,  indeed,  actually  proved  to  be  of 
inestimable  service  to  his  cause;  for  the  three  weeks  thus  gained  to 
the  King,  by  Fox's  and  Sheridan's  blunder,  might  have  sufficed  to 
place  the  Regent  in  office,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  King  would 
not  have  been  "pronounced  to  have  recovered"  so  speedily  as  he 
would  have  been  when  in  the  hands  of  his  own  friends.  Nor  is  it 
fanciful  to  deny  that  the  young  Prince  and  his  train  of  impover- 
ished followers  would  have  shown  a  chivalrous  empressement  to  lay 
down  their  offices  as  soon  as  the  impartial  Willis  had  pronounced 
that  his  royal  master  was  restored. 

The  first  resolution  passed.  Stung,  however,  by  the  dishearten- 
ing prospect,  when  they  reached  the  second.  Fox  made  a  bitter 
attack  on  Pitt.  But  his  speech  only  showed  him  to  be  more  indis- 
creet than  he  had  been  before.  He  spoke  of  his  own  relations  to 
the  Prince.  He  accused  Pitt  of  insulting  the  Prince,  "whose 
favor  he  was  conscious  he  did  not  deserve.  He  was  so  fond  of 
power  that  he  determined  to  cripple  its  exercise  for  his  successors. 
Why,  if  his  doctrines  prevailed,  the  two  Houses  might  choose  for 
regent  a  foreigner,  a  Catholic,  and  set  aside  the  family  of  Bruns- 
wick!" At  which  extravagant  and  ill-judged  supposition  the 
House  showed  such  impatience  that  Fox  had  to  explain  his  illus- 
tration away. 

Nothing  could  be  more  crushing  than  Pitt's  reply.  Fox  had 
announced  himself  and  his  friends  to  be  the  successors  of  the  pres- 
ent administration.     He  did  not  know  upon  what  authority  that 


162  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

declaration  was  made;  but  he  thought  that  the  House  and  the 
country  were  obliged  to  him  for  this  seasonable  warning  of  what 
they  would  have  to  expect.  The  nation  had  already  had  some 
experience  of  that  right  honorable  gentleman  and  his  principles. 
It  was  well  known  to  be  the  avowed  system  of  him  and  his  party 
to  endeavor,  by  the  weight  and  extent  of  their  political  influence, 
to  nominate  the  ministers  of  the  Crown.  It  could  not  be  denied 
that  they  maintained  as  a  fundamental  maxim  that  the  ministers 
ought  at  all  times  to  be  so  nominated.  It  could  not  but  be  sup- 
posed that  by  such  advisers  power  would  be  perverted  to  a  pur- 
pose, which  it  was  indeed  impossible  to  imagine  that  the  Prince  of 
Wales  could,  if  he  were  aware  of  it,  ever  endure  for  a  moment. 
The  other  side  of  the  House  was  desponding.  "  We  were  shock- 
ingly beat,"  writes  Sir  G.  Elliot;  "two  hundred  and  sixty.eight  to 
two  hundred  and  four."  Yet  every  nerve  had  been  strained.  The 
Prince  and  his  brothers  were  canvavssing  openly.  To  Lord  Lons- 
dale, the  head  of  the  great  house  of  Lowther,  who  directed  the 
votes  of  half-a-dozen  members,  the  Prince  had  written,  asking  his 
support  as  a  personal  favor.  This  he  obtained.  In  fact,  at  a  meet- 
ing at  Burlington  House,  Fox  assured  his  friends  that  they 
were  certain  of  victory.  Nor  was  victory  so  improbable;  for  the 
demoralization  of  the  situation  produced  a  spirit  of  political  gam- 
bling, it  being  on  the  cards  either  that  the  King  would  recover  or 
the  Prince  be  established  in  his  place.  Either  case  was  fatal  for 
the  losers,  and  this  in  consequence  of  the  King's  own  unconstitu- 
tional theory  that  those  who  opposed  the  King's  ministry  were 
enemies  of  the  King  himself,  and  that  those  who  sought  to  displace 
his  ministry  sought  to  displace  him.  To  choose  one's  side  was 
therefore  a  matter  of  peril.* 

A  discreditable  spectacle  was  the  number  of  distracted  waverers 
and  deserters.  The  list  of  "  rat  peers  "  and  ' '  rat  members  "  increased 
every  day;  and  it  was  whispered  that  the  most  splendid  ^offers  and 
promises  were  being  made.  Among  these  deserters  were  the  Duke 
of  Queensberry,  Lords  Malmesbury,  Lothian,  Abergavenny,  Chol- 
mondeley,  Eglinton,  and  Rodney,  with  some  baronets.  Some  of  these 
cases  were  flagrant.     The  Duke  of  Queensberry  and  Lord  Lothian 


*  The  result  was  shown  first  in  a  sort  of  "  cave"  or  impartial  body,  who  went 
by  the  name  of  "'The  Armed  Neutrality."  It  had  met  at  Northumberland 
House,  and  consisted  of  about  thirty  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  and 
some  thirty  peers. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  163 

were  actively  in  office  about  the  King.  Lord  Lothian  had  been  for 
many  years  in  confidential  relations  with  him.  But  Lord  Malmes- 
bury's  behavior  was  more  extraordinary.  He  had  just  been  raised 
to  the  peerage  by  the  King.  The  well-known  "  single-speech  Hamil- 
ton" was  another  deserter,  after  having  "eaten  toads"  for  years  at 
Mr.  Pitt's  table. 

Fox  was  now  so  ill  that  the  next  debate  was  put  off  for  a  day.  On 
the  20th  it  was  resumed,  when  the  second  resolution  was  passed.  On 
the  22nd  the  third  was  debated  in  the  most  acrimonious  style.  Pitt, 
fortified  by  the  unanimous  support  of  the  country,  addresses  from 
the  great  towns  pouring  in  on  him,  was  determined  not  to  make  the 
slightest  concession  even  to  the  dignity  of  the  Prince.  In  vain  the 
Opposition  urged  that  after  the  Prince  was  invested  with  his  office 
it  would  then  be  proper  to  settle  the  restrictions.  Pitt  would  not 
trust  him.  "Who  can  answer,"  he  exclaimed,  "for  his  not  using 
the  royal  negative  when  the  limitations  are  presented  to  him  for 
assent?"  Until  this  was  done  he  proposed  to  supply  the  absence  of 
the  royal  assent  by  a  cumbrous  mode  of  empowering  the  Chancellor 
to  affix  the  great  seal ;  a  fallacy  it  will  be  seen,  as  it  was  the  delega- 
ted act  of  the  two  Houses.  It  justly  acquired  tlie  nickname  of  "  the 
phantom."  No  wonder,  then,  that  on  the  22nd  Burke  should  have 
attacked  this  theory,  tearing  and  rending  it  with  all  the  powers  of 
his  sarcasm  and  invective.  "He  was  wilder  than  ever,"  said  an 
observer,  "and  laid  himself  and  party  open  more  than  ever  speaker 
did.  He  is  Folly  personified,  but  shaking  his  cap  and  bells  under 
the  laurel  of  Genius.  Among  other  things,  he  said  that  Pitt's  pro- 
posals could  not  be  adopted  by  them  as  gentlemen,  as  cavaliers. " 
"The  words,"  adds  Sir  William  Young,  who  was  writing  these 
notes,  "will  not  be  forgot. "  "As  little  acquainted  with  the  interior 
of  Carlton  House  as  of  Buckingham  House,  I  profess,"  adds  Burke, 
"only  to  deliver  my  sentiments  in  a  manner  becoming  a  simple  citi- 
Een.  The  great  seal,  it  appears,  is  to  be  affixed  to  a  commission, 
robbing  the  executive  power  of  its  due  function.  A  composition  of 
wax  and  copper  is  to  represent  the  sovereign.  So  preposterous  a 
fiction  merits  only  contempt  and  ridicule.  I  disclaim  all  allegiance, 
I  renounce  all  obedience  to  a  king  so  formed.  I  worship  the  gods 
of  our  glorious  Constitution,  but  I  will  not  now  bow  down  before 
Priapus!"  Against  the  Chancellor,  Burke  inveighed  in  the  most 
personal  terms.  "I  approve  not," exclaimed  he,  '  of  robbery,  house- 
breaking, or  any  other  felony.  Yet  is  each  of  these  crimes  less  inex- 
cusable than  law  forgery.     If  the  unfortunate  monarch,  whom  we 


164  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

all  lament,  could  know  the  proposition  now  agitated,  he  would  no 
doubt  cry  out  with  Macbeth — 

Upon  my  head  they  placed  a  fruitless  crown, 
Thence  to  be  wrench'd  with  an  unlineal  hand, 
No  son  of  mine  succeeding. 

Restore  me,"  he  would  add,  "to  my  former  state.  Let  me  not 
behold  a  black-browed  phantom  seated  on  my  throne!"  This  coarse 
vein  of  allusion  he  foUow^ed  up  by  likening  the  character  to  the  god 
Priapus  in  the  hands  of  the  carpenter  Pitt.  Then  carried  away  by 
this  madness,  as  it  seemed  to  the  ministerial  party,  he  let  out  the 
names  of  some  of  those  whom  his  party  intended  advancing,  reward- 
ing such  as  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  who  was  to  be  Marquis  of  Rocking- 
ham, and  Lord  George  Cavendish.  More,  it  was  thought,  would 
have  been  revealed  but  for  his  friends  pulling  him  back,  and  for  the 
ironical  cheers  from  the  ministerial  benches. 

All  this  brought  fresh  glory  to  Pitt,  to  whom  the  City  of  London 
was  now  proposing  to  offer  a  present  of  three  thousand  pounds  a  year 
on  his  quitting  office,  a  thing  now  considered  to  be  settled.  The  debate 
in  the  Lords,  when  the  resolution  reached  it,  was  even  more  exciting. 
It  was  remarkable  for  Lord  Shelburne's  (now  Lord  Lansdowne)  brief 
but  admirable  summary  of  the  question.  The  Chancellor  strongly 
supported  Lord  Lansdowne's  arguments,*  while  he  bestowed  eulo- 
giums  on  the  Prince.  In  reply  to  Lord  Loughborough's  assertions 
of  the  right  which  his  royal  highness  possessed  to  exercise  the 
Regency,  Thurlow  demanded:  "What  means  the  term  of  regent? 
Where  is  it  defined?  In  what  law  book,  or  in  what  statute?  I  have 
heard  of  protectors,  guardians,  and  lords  justices;  but  I  know  not 
where  to  look  for  the  office  and  functions  of  a  regent.  To  what  end 
then  address  the  Prince  to  take  on  him  a  power  the  limits  of  which 
are  not  ascertained?"  "No  man  entertains  a  higher  respect  than 
myself,"  continued  he,  "for  that  illustrious  person.  I  wish  as 
ardently  the  advancement  of  his  honor  and  interests  as  those  who 
affect  more  attachment  to  him.  But  I  never  will  argue  that  he 
possesses  any  inherent  right  to  the  regency,  or  that,  as  heir-apparent, 
he  can  possess  such  a  right.  There  might  even  arise  Piinces  of 
Wales  whose  conduct  would  justify  the  two  Houses  in  setting  them 
aside  from  the  regency.     It  becomes,  therefore,  expedient  that  we 


♦  Lord  Hawksbury  told  Mrs,  Harcourt  that  he  had  prevailed  on  the  Chan- 
cellor to  make  one  of  his  finest  speeches  for  the  cause,  probably  this  one. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  165 

should  not  abandon  the  power  inherent  in  us ;  nor,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  we  are  placed,  fail  to  declare  it  to  be  our  right." 
When  the  division  took  place,  only  sixty-six  peers  were  found  in  the 
minority.* 


*  The  Dukes  of  York  and  Cumberland  voted  in  the  minority;  as  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester  would  have  likewise  done,  if  he  had  not  been  prevented  from 
attending  by  severe  indisposition.  All  the  Lords  of  the  Bedchamber,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  adhered  to  Government.  Thir- 
teen bishops,  including  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  were  likewise  found 
on  that  side;  three  members  of  the  episcopal  bench  voting  with  Opposition. 
The  Scottish  peers  ranged  themselves,  six  with  administration,  seven  on  the 
other  side. 


166  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XVL 

1789. 

The  resolution  being  passed,  and  the  bill  being  prepared,  founded 
on  the  principles  of  the  resolution,  we  will  now  turn  to  contemplate 
what  was  going  on  at  Windsor,  where  the  Chancellor  was  still  the 
central  figure. 

"The  Prince,  having  understood  that  the  Chancellor  had  used 
some  expressions  of  which  he  thought  he  had  cause  to  complain, 
desired  to  see  his  lordship,  and  generously  afforded  him  an  oppor- 
tunity of  vindicating  himself,  if  the  rumor  were  unfounded.  The 
Chancellor  assured  his  Royal  Highness  that  he  never  had,  even  in 
thought,  deviated  from  the  profound  respect  he  owed  him.  He 
begged  to  know  the  full  extent  of  what  he  had  been  charged  with, 
in  the  full  confidence  of  being  able  to  exculpate  himself.  His  lord 
ship  proceeded  to  say  that  what  opinions  he  had  publicly  advanced 
his  legal  situation  compelled;  but  that  he  felt  himself  strongly 
devoted  to  his  Royal  Highness :  and  that  he  might  assure  himself 
that  he  should  on  no  account  unite  with  Mr.  Pitt,  or  enter  into  any 
opposition  to  his  Royal  Highness's  government,  when  his  dismission, 
which  he  saw  was  at  hand,  should  take  place.  He  should,  on  the 
contrary,  give  it  every  support  in  his  power;  and  if,  at  a  future  day, 
his  services  should  be  thought  of  use,  he  should  be  happy  to  offer 
them.  The  Chancellor  spoke  of  Mr.  Pitt  as  a  haughty,  impractica- 
ble spirit,  with  whom  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  ever  cordially 
to  unite.  He  added  that  the  whole  party  was  split,  divided,  and 
discontented."* 

The  family  dissensions,  too,  had  reached  a  scandalous  stage,  chiefly 
owing  to  the  Queen.  A  hostile  system  of  exclusion  was  adopted, 
directed  by  her.  The  Prince  was  not  allowed  to  see  the  King;  or 
else  such  difficulties  were  thrown  in  the  way  as  made  it  disagreeable 
and  almost  impossible.  When  he  wished  to  see  his  mother,  the  same 
obstructive  course  was  pursued.    As  he  fairly  argued  in  his  letter  of 


♦  "  Particulars"  In  Holt's  "  Life  of  George  m." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  167 

grievances,  he  "could  not  force  his  way  in."  Up  to  this  time,  too, 
it  had  been  the  practice  to  send  the  physicians'  report  of  each  day  to 
the  Prince — "the  only  distinction,"  he  sarcastically  said,  "made 
between  myself  and  the  rest  of  your  Majesty's  subjects,"  and  cer- 
tainly a  privilege  to  which  he  was  entitled.  Now  express  orders 
were  given  to  the  doctors  that  this  was  not  to  be  done. 

In  the  confusion  of  the  removal  to  Kew,  it  had  been  forgotten  that 
the  King's  papers  and  jewels  had  been  left  open  and  unprotected. 
The  Prince,  after  consulting  with  the  Chancellor,  repaired  with  Lord 
Weymouth,  the  King's  friend,  and  Lord  Brudenell,  the  Keeper  of 
the  Privy  Purse,  to  Windsor,  and  made  them,  in  his  presence,  col- 
lect and  seal  up  all  these  articles,  taking  a  formal  receipt  from  them. 

When  the  Queen  heard  of  this  reasonable  precaution,  she  fell  into 
a  fury.  As  the  Prince  describes  the  scene:  "  To  my  extreme  aston- 
ishment, she  condescended,  at  my  next  interview,  to  a  species  of 
warmth  of  reproaches,  into  which  nothing  could  have  surprised  or 
betrayed  her  Majesty  but  a  degree  of  passion  which  I  had  never  wit- 
nessed or  believed  to  exist  in  her  Majesty  before. "  Without  ascrib- 
ing the  Queen's  dislike  to  him  to  this  cause,  he  had  "soon  to  lament 
it,  as  the  first  open  demonstration  of  it."  This  is  very  significant, 
and  shows  the  hostility  between  the  hard  German  lady  and  her  son. 

"  What  a  fine  fellow  my  brother  York  is  !"  the  Prince  was  heard 
to  say  at  a  supper;  "he  never  forsakes  me."  Then,  describing  the 
scene  of  the  jewels  and  his  mother's  anger,  he  repeated  his  worthy 
brother's  speech  to  her.  "Says  York  to  her,  'I  believe,  madam, 
you  are  as  much  deranged  as  the  King  I"  *  * '  She  is  playing  the 
devil,"  wrote  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot  to  his  lady,  "and  has,  all  this  time, 
been  at  the  bottom  of  the  cabals  and  intrigues  against  the  Prince.  It 
is  believed  that  she  was  ready  to  accept  the  Regency,  if  the  Prince 
had  been  advised  to  refuse  it. "  f 

This  was  undoubtedly  part  of  the  policy  of  her  faction,  and  per- 
haps the  object  of  Mr.  Pitt's  almost  insulting  treatment  of  the  Prince. 
"Mr.  Pitt,"  wrote  Mr.  Storer,  "  is  so  powerful  that  he  can  do  as  he 
pleases.  Had  he  known  his  own  power  at  the  beginning  of  this 
business,  perhaps  he  would  never  have  thought  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  as  Regent ;  it  being  now  undoubtedly  proved,  I  think,  that  he 
might  have  conferred  the  Regency  on  the  Queen.  If  he  has  been 
guilty  of  any  error,  it  has  been  in  not  having  foreseen  his  strength  in 
Parliament. " 

*  Auckland,  "  Correspondence,"  ii.  280, 
t  "  Life  of  Sir  G.  Elliot,"  i.  252, 


168  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

This  envenomed  feeling,  with  the  sense  that  they  were  looked  on 
by  their  family  and  the  ministers  as  enemies,  is  some  justification  for 
the  many  outbursts  which  were  set  down  as  "indecent"  on  the  part 
of  the  foolish  youths.  Both  talked  loudly  of  their  grievances  every- 
where and  in  all  companies.  The  following  description  shows  how 
painfully  strained  must  have  been  the  relations  of  this  happy  family.* 
Through  the  curious  record  before  alluded  to  f  we  are  enabled  to 
hear  the  royal  brothers  explaining  themselves  on  the  situation. 

"At  entertainments  given  by  the  Duke  of  York,  having  for  their 
avowed  object  the  conciliation  of  members  of  both  Houses,  the  Prince 
was  present,  and  expatiated  with  great  eloquence  upon  ' '  the  indig- 
nities and  injustice  he  had  experienced  from  the  usurpers  of  those 
powers  of  which  he  conceived  he  ought  to  be  possessed,  as  the  natu- 
ral representative  of  a  father  unhappily  incapable  of  exercising  them, 
and,  to  the  infinite  afliiction  of  his  family,  not  likely  to  be  ever  again 
in  a  situation  to  hold  the  reins  of  government."  He  said:  "  Reports 
have  been  circulated  that  I  had  frequent  interviews  with  Mr.  Pitt. 
The  truth  is  I  saw  him  but  once  during  my  stay  at  Windsor.  In  the 
first  days  of  the  King's  illness,  and  before  I  had  recovered  from  the 
shock  it  occasioned  me,  some  person  told  me  that  Mr.  Pitt  and  the 
Duke  of  Richmond  were  come.  My  mind  fully  occupied  by  the  sad 
state  of  things,  I  hardly  heard,  and  it  soon  escaped  my  recollection 
that  they  were  there.  Some  time  after,  Mr.  St.  Leger  entered  the 
room,  and  told  me  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond  and  Mr.  Pitt  had 
been  waiting  two  hours.  I  awoke  as  it  were  from  a  trance,  and 
desired  that  they  might  instantly  be  admitted.  The  duke  was  most 
obsequious,  bowed  incessantly.  Mr.  Pitt  was  most  stately.  He  said 
he  should  do  so-and-so,  and  looked  with  unforgiving  haughtiness." 
He  had  assured  the  Queen  he  should  be  happy  to  confonn  in  every- 
thing to  the  wishes  of  his  royal  father;  and  he  promised  that  every 
indication  of  his  intentions  previous  to  his  lamented  indisposition 
should  be  religiously  observed.  Her  Majesty  having  then  received 
no  unworthy  impression,  was  satisfied  and  happy  in  receiving  this 
assurance,  and  permitted  him  and  the  Duke  of  York  to  assist  in 
packing  up  and  to  put  their  seals  upon  the  Crown  jewels  and  some 
valuable  movables  of  the  King's,  which,  together  with  the  Queen's 


♦  In  the  palace,  even  the  royal  pages  betrayed  their  master,  and  no  lefls 
than  four  were  afterwards  dismissed  for  furnishing  the  Prince  with  infor- 
naation. 

t  Given  in  Holt's  "  Life  of  George  IlL" 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  169 

jewels,  were  conveyed  to  Kew  when  the  Queen  went  thither.  He 
had  now  to  lament  a  sad  revolution  in  her  Majesty's  opinion,  which 
had  been  effected  by  mischievous  and  designing  persons.  He  had 
received  a  letter  from  her  Majesty  of  her  own  writing,  but  not  of  her 
own  dictating.  It  charged  him  w  ith  designing  to  take  advantage  of 
the  weak  state  of  the  King  to  get  possession  of  his  treasures,  and  to 
change  the  whole  state  of  things. 

"Ladies  ,  H ,  and  C were  censured  by  his  Royal 

Highness  as  the  advisers  of  this  letter.  He  said  he  had  charged  the 
last  mentioned  with  a  knowledge  of  it,  and  if  he  had  not  before  had 
a  certainty  of  it,  her  confusion  would  have  given  it.  He  complained 
of  the  personal  indignity  with  which  Mr.  Pitt  had  treated  him  on 
every  occasion.  He  specified  two  important  instances  of  most  in- 
decorous conduct  toward  him.  The  summonses  to  members  of  the 
Privy  Council  to  examine  the  physicians  (of  which  he  had  received 
no  previous  intimation),  and  the  restrictions  upon  the  power  of  a 
regent,  had  both  been  sent  by  common  Treasury  messengers,  and 
left  without  ceremony  with  a  porter  at  Carlton  House  ! 

' '  The  Prince  was  not  present  at  the  fourth  and  last  entertainment. 
The  Duke  of  York  entered  upon  the  interesting  tale  of  the  injury 
done  to  his  brother  in  withholding  his  acknowledged  rights,  and  of 
the  imposition  practised  upon  the  public  by  fallacious  representations 
of  the  King's  state.  His  royal  highness  said :  '  It  must  be  imagined 
that  the  subject  was  a  most  painful  one  to  him ;  that  only  the  solici- 
tude he  felt  to  impress  a  sense  of  his  brother's  wrongs,  and  to  warn 
gentlemen  whom  there  was  a  design  to  mislead,  could  have  induced 
him  to  enter  upon  it. ' 

"His  royal  highness  spoke  concisely  but  clearly.  He  declared 
'  that  a  string  of  fallacies  had  been  obtruded  upon  the  public ;  gave 
his  royal  word  that  not  one  of  the  King's  children  w^as  permitted  to 
approach  him;'  and  lamented  that  'the  Queen,  wrought  upon  by 
insidious  arts,  particularly  by  the  machinations  of  the  Chancellor, 
seemed  resolved  to  abet  the  daring  attempt  to  supersede  his  brother's 
just  pretensions,  and  to  promote  the  views  of  those  most  inimical  to 
him.' " 

His  royal  highness  then  mentioned  an  attempt,  on  the  preceding 
Thursday,  to  prevent  Sir  C.  Baker's  seeing  the  King,  which  w^as 
rendered  abortive  by  his  steadily  refusing  to  sign  the  bulletin,  if  that 
were  not  permitted.  The  Duke  said  "that  endeavors  had  also  been 
used,  the  following  day,  to  prevent  Dr.  Wan-en's  entering  the  royal 
chamber,  Willis  assuring  him  that  the  King  was  in  such  a  state  as 
8 


170  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

promised  immediate  recovery,  and  that  his  presence  would  do  harm. 
WaiTcn,  upon  an  acknowledgment  being  extorted  that  the  Queen 
had  seen  the  King  that  morning,  insisted  upon  being  admitted,  as 
one  whose  presence  was  less  likely  to  agitate  the  royal  mind.  He 
found  his  Majesty  sitting  quietly,  and  attentively  considering  a  Court 
calendar,  which  he  was  translating  from  beginning  to  end  into  dog- 
gerel Latin,  He  accosted  Warren  upon  his  entrance,  '  Ricardensus 
Wan*enensus,  baronetensus. '  "  The  Duke  said,  ' '  Warren  had  assured 
him  that  after  a  long  and  minute  examination  he  brought  away  the 
melancholy  conviction  that  the  mind  was  only  subdued,  and  that  its 
sanity  was  in  no  degree  restored." 

On  the  Duke  being  asked  what  was  the  general  state  of  his  Maj- 
esty's health,  he  replied,  "he  was  told  that  he  was  deplorably  emaci- 
ated; but  that  that  circumstance  was  as  much  concealed  as  possible." 
His  royal  highness  said,  "that  the  Queen  seemed  no  longer  to  have 
confidence  in  any  person  but  the  Chancellor,  who,  while  he  M^as 
flattering  her  Majesty  with  every  demonstration  of  zeal,  was  paying 
obsequious  court  to  his  brother."  He  added:  "He  seems  to  have 
learnt  a  lesson  of  duplicity  from  Pitt.  The  Chancellor,"  the  Duke 
continued,  "seldom  fails  to  receive  three  or  four  letters  a  day  from 
the  Queen,  and  he  generally  sees  her  once  every  day.  Till  conceal- 
ments respecting  the  King  began  to  be  practised,  and  till  the  Queen 
suddenly  declared  her  resolution  to  accept  the  Regency,  if  the  Prince 
would  not  accept  it  with  severe  restrictions,  my  brother  and  myself 
omitted  not  one  day  paying  our  duty  to  her;  but,  since  these  events, 
our  visits  have  been  discontinued." 

The  Duke  concluded  by  expressing  in  strong  terms  "  the  miseiy 
he  felt  at  being  compelled  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  public,  that 
induced  the  necessity  of  exposing  circumstances  over  which  every 
principle  of  delicacy,  feeling,  and  filial  affection  prompted  his  royal 
brother  and  himself  to  throw  a  veil;  and  which  a  sense  of  what 
they  owed  to  that  public  could  alone  prevent  their  interposing;  their 
duty  to  that  outweighing,  in  their  estimation,  all  that  could  affect 
themselves." 

"January  24th. — The  King  had  been  terribly  affected  during  the 
last  seven  or  eight  days.  On  the  19th  his  Majesty  had  been  induced 
to  walk  in  the  garden.  The  anxiety  of  the  amiable  and  royal  female 
relatives  drew  them  to  an  upper  window.  Regardless  of  everything 
but  his  own  impulses,  his  Majesty  threw  his  hat  into  the  air  and 
hurled  a  stick  he  held  in  his  hand  to  an  incredible  distance,  such 
was  the  force  that  animated  him.    His  Majesty  then  proceeded  with 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  171 

a  rapid  movement  towards  the  Pagoda,  which  he  was  very  desirous 
to  ascend.  Being  thwarted  in  tliat,  lie  became  sullen  and  desperate, 
threw  himself  upon  the  earth;  and  so  great  was  his  strength  and  so 
powerful  his  resistance  that  it  was  three  quarters  of  an  hour  before 
Willis  and  four  assistants  could  raise  him." 

Nor  were  the  scenes  in  the  ranks  of  the  Prince's  party  more  edify- 
ing. 

"Meantime,  nothing  was  equal  to  the  violence  of  the  party,  de  part 
et  d'autre,  but  most  the  Prince's  side,  because  disappointed.  The 
Duke  of  Portland  has  declared  to  the  Prince  his  determination  not 
to  act  with  Mr.  Sheridan  in  council,  who  is  just  now  Prime  Minister 
at  Carlton  House.  He  and  his  wife  live  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert, 
having  no  other  habitation.  Charles  Fox,  besides  ill-health,  is 
plagued  to  death  all  day  long;  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Sheridan's 
supremacy,  and  not  choosing  to  be  questioned  by  Mr.  Rojle,  who 
vows  he  will,  in  spite  of  threats  and  opposition,  approfondir  that 
matter. 

"But  what  you  will  not  see  is  the  strange  supper  of  which  I  am 
going  to  tell  you,  and  which  Lady  Mount-Edgcumbe  had  from  the 
Duchess  of  Gordon  herself,  who,  being  entirely  for  Mr.  Pett,  is  vastly 
teased  by  the  princes,  whom  she  never  fails  to  answer  extremely  well. 
A  few  days  ago  Mrs,  Richard  Walpole  gave  a  supper  to  the  two 
princes,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  Colonel  Fullarton,  Jack  Payne  (who  is 
such  a  favorite  he  is  to  be  a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  and  leans  on  the 
Prince  as  he  walks,  not  the  Prince  on  him).  Miss  Yanneck,  and  a 
few  others;  the  Duchess  of  Gordon  the  only  Pittite.  Then  says 
Jack  Payne,  after  a  gi-eat  many  invectives  against  Mr.  Pitt,  calling 
him  William  the  Fourth  and  William  the  Conqueror,  etc. ,  '  Mr.  Pitt's 
chastity  will  protect  the  Queen ;'  which  was  received  by  all  present 
as  a  veiy  good  thing.  The  Duchess  of  Gordon*  (for  which  you  will 
like  her,  though  a  Scotchwoman)  declared  if  they  began  to  abuse  the 
Queen  she  would  leave  the  room.  And  now  I  am  in  a  fright  lest  I 
should  have  told  you  all  this  before. " 

The  triumphant  Pitt  now  addressed  a  formal  letter  to  the  Prince, 
announcing  to  him  the  nature  of  the  restrictions  it  was  proposed  to 

*  "Jack  Payne,  the  Prince's  secretary,  one  day  uttered  some  ribaldry  about 
the  Queen,  in  the  presence  of  the  Duchess  of  Gordon  '  You  httle,  insig- 
nificant, good-for-nothing,  upstart,  pert,  chattering  puppy,'  said  her  grace, 
'  how  dare  you  name  your  royal  master's  royal  mother  in  that  style?'  "— 
"  Lady  Harcourt's  Diary,"  Locker  MSS.,  inMassey's  "  History  of  England," 
iii.  389. 


172  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

lay  upon  him.  The  Prince  of  Wales  complained  bitterly  of  a  studied 
affront  in  the  mode  of  delivery  of  this  letter,  that  it  was  left  at  his 
door  by  a  servant,  though  this  was  denied;  but  he  retaliated  by 
addressing  his  answer  not  to  Pitt,  but  to  the  Chancellor.* 

Mr.  Pitt's  communication  was  dated  Tuesday  night.  December 
30th,  1788. 

"It  is  their  humble  opinion  that  your  Royal  Highness  should  be 
empowered  to  do  all  acts  which  might  legally  be  done  by  his 
Majesty;  with  provisions,  nevertheless,  that  the  care  of  his  Majesty's 
royal  person,  and  the  management  of  his  Majesty's  household,  and 
the  direction  and  appointment  of  the  officers  and  servants  therein, 
should  be  in  the  Queen,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  thought 
necessary.  That  the  power  to  be  exercised  by  your  Royal  Highness 
should  not  extend  to  the  granting  the  real  or  personal  property  of 
the  King  (except  as  far  as  relates  to  the  renewal  of  leases),  to  the 
granting  any  office  in  reversion,  or  to  the  granting,  for  any  other 
term  than  during  his  Majesty's  pleasure,  any  pension,  or  any  office 
whatever,  except  such  as  must  by  law  be  granted  for  life,  or  during 
good  behavior;  nor  to  the  granting  any  rank  or  dignity  of  the  peer- 
age of  this  realm  to  any  person,  except  his  Majesty's  issue  who  shall 
have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years." 

the  prince  of  wales  to  lord  loughborough. 

"My  dear  Lord, 

"I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  the  Minister  with  such 
restrictions  as  no  dictator  could  possibly,  I  think,  ever  have  been 
barefaced  enough  to  have  brought  forward.  .  .  .  Pray  come  to 
Charles,  as  soon  as  you  possibly  can,  to  take  tlitsc  matters  into 
consideration.  I  am,  my  dear  Lord, 

"Most  truly  yours, 

"G.  P." 

The  result  of  this  consultation  was  a  reply  which  the  (  hancellor 
was,  oddly,  selected  to  be  the  bearer  of. 

Writes  the  Duke  of  Leeds:  "At  Carlton  House  a  note  was 
delivered  to  him  in  the  hall  desiring  him  to  go  to  Mr.  Fox  in  South 
Street  (Mr.  F.,  for  more  quiet,  was  removed  to  Mrs.  Armistead's), 
who  was  not  well  enough  to  come  out,  and  that  there  the  Prmce 

♦  "  Court  and  Cabinets,"  ii.  87. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  173 

would  meet  him.  He  found  there  Lord  Robert  Spencer  and  two 
other  members  of  the  House,  who,  when  Mr.  Fox  came,  withdrew. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  Prince  arrived.  I  think  the  Chancellor  said 
the  Prince  received  the  paper  afterwards  and  offered  to  send  it  to 
the  Chancellor,  but,  his  lordship  declining  giving  him  that  trouble, 
the  Prince  signed  it  and  sealed  it  up. " 

"He  observes,  therefore,  only  generally  on  the  heads  communi- 
cated by  Mr.  Pitt — and  it  is  with  deep  regret  the  Prince  makes  the 
observation,  that  he  sees  in  the  contents  of  that  paper  a  project  for 
producing  weakness,  disorder,  and  insecurity  in  every  branch  of  the 
administration  of  affairs — a  project  for  dividing  the  royal  family 
from  each  other — for  separating  the  Court  from  the  State;  and 
therefore,  by  disjoining  government  from  its  natural  and  accustomed 
support,  a  scheme  for  disconnecting  the  authority  to  command  ser- 
vice from  the  power  of  animating  it  by  reward ;  and  for  allotting  to 
the  Prince  all  the  invidious  duties  of  government,  without  the  means 
of  softening  them  to  the  public,  by  any  one  act  of  grace,  favor,  or 
benignity. 

"The  Prince's  feelings  on  contemplating  this  plan  are  also  ren- 
dered still  more  painful  to  him,  by  observing  that  it  is  not  founded 
on  any  general  principle,  but  is  calculated  to  infuse  jealousies  and 
suspicions  (wholly  groundless,  he  trusts)  in  that  quarter,  whose  con- 
tidence  it  will  ever  be  the  first  pride  of  his  life  to  merit  and  obtain. 

"With  regard  to  the  motive  and  object  of  the  limitations  and 
restrictions  proposed,  the  Prince  can  have  but  little  to  observe.  No 
light  or  information  is  offered  him  by  his  Majesty's  ministers  on 
these  points.  They  have  informed  him  what  the  powers  are  which 
they  mean  to  refuse  him,  not  why  they  are  withheld. 

"  The  Prince,  however,  holding  as  he  does  that  it  is  an  undoubted 
and  fundamental  principle  of  this  Constitution,  that  the  powers  and 
prerogatives  of  the  Crown  are  vested  there,  as  a  trust  for  the  benefit 
of  the  people,  and  that  they  are  sacred  only  as  they  are  necessary  to 
the  preservation  of  that  poise  and  balance  of  the  Constitution  which 
experience  has  proved  to  be  the  true  security  of  the  liberty  of  the 
subject — must  be  allowed  to  observe  that  the  plea  of  public  utility 
ought  to  be  strong,  manifest,  and  urgent,  which  calls  for  the 
extinction  or  suspension  of  any  one  of  those  essential  rights  in  the 
supreme  power,  or  its  representative;  or  which  can  justify  the 
Prince  in  consenting,  that  in  his  person  an  experiment  shall  be  made 
to  ascertain  with  how  small  a  portion  of  kingly  power  the  executive 
government  of  this  country  may  be  carried  on. 


174  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT. 

' '  The  Prince  has  only  to  add  that  if  security  for  his  Majesty*s 
repossessing  his  rightful  government,  whenever  it  shall  please  Provi- 
dence, in  bounty  to  the  country,  to  remove  the  calamity  with 
which  he  is  afflicted,  to  be  any  part  of  the  object  of  this  plan,  the 
Prince  has  only  to  be  convinced  that  any  measure  is  necessary,  or 
even  conducive  to  that  end,  to  be  the  first  to  urge  it  as  the  prelimi- 
nary and  paramount  consideration  of  any  settlement  in  which  he 
would  consent  to  share. 

"  If  attention  to  what  is  presumed  might  be  his  Majesty's  feelings 
and  wishes,  on  the  happy  day  of  his  recovery,  be  the  object,  it  is 
with  the  truest  sincerity  the  Prince  expresses  his  firm  conviction 
that  no  event  would  be  more  repugnant  to  the  feelings  of  his  royal 
father  than  the  knowledge  that  the  government  of  his  son  and 
representative  had  exhibited  the  sovereign  power  of  the  realm  in  a 
state  of  degradation,  of  curtailed  authority,  and  diminished  energy — 
a  state,  hurtful  in  practice  to  the  prosperity  and  good  government  of 
his  people,  and  injurious  in  its  precedent  to  the  security  of  the  mon- 
arch, and  the  rights  of  his  family.  Upon  that  part  of  the  plan, 
which  regards  the  King's  real  and  personal  property,  the  Prince 
feels  himself  compelled  to  remark,  that  it  was  not  necessarj'  for  Mr. 
Pitt,  nor  proper,  to  suggest  to  the  Printe  the  restraint  he  proposes 
against  the  Prince's  granting  away  the  King's  real  and  personal 
property.  The  Prince  does  not  conceive  that  during  the  King's  life 
he  is,  by  law,  entitled  to  make  any  such  grant ;  and  he  is  sure  that 
he  has  never  shown  the  smallest  inclination  to  possess  any  such 
power.  But  it  remains  with  Mr.  Pitt  to  consider  the  eventual 
interests  of  the  royal  family,  and  to  provide  a  proper  and  natural 
security  against  the  mismanagement  of  them  by  others. 

"  The  Prince  has  discharged  an  indispensable  duty  in  thus  giving 
his  free  opinion  on  the  plan  submitted  to  his  consideration. 

' '  His  conviction  of  the  evils  which  may  arise  to  the  King's  inter- 
ests, to  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  royal  family,  and  to  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  the  nation,  from  the  government  of  the  country 
remaining  longer  in  its  present  maimed  and  debilitated  state,  out- 
weighs, in  the  Prince's  mind,  every  other  consideration,  and  will 
determine  him  to  undertake  the  painful  trust  imposed  upon  liim  by 
the  present  melancholy  necessity  (which  of  all  the  King's  subjects  he 
deplores  the  most),  in  full  confidence  that  the  affection  and  loyalty 
to  the  King,  the  experienced  attachment  to  the  house  of  Brunswick, 
and  the  generosity  which  has  always  distinguished  tlie  nation,  will 
carry  him  through  the  many  diflieulties  inseparable  from  this  most 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  17^ 

critical  situation,  with  comfort  to  himself,  with  honor  to  the  King, 
and  with  advantage  to  the  public. 

"George  P. 

"  Carlton  House,  Jan.  2, 1789." 

The  authorship  of  this  has  often  been  discussed,  being  given  to 
Sheridan  or  to  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot.  It  was  thought  that  it  might  have 
been  the  handiwork  of  the  first,  as  he  was  so  intimate  with  the 
Prince.  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  consulted  by  Moore,  declared  from 
internal  evidence  that  it  must  have  been  Burke's  and  no  other's, 
though  Moore  declared  that  "the  violent  state  of  this  extraordinary 
man's  temper  during  the  debates  would  have  rendered  him  an  unfit 
person  for  such  an  office. "  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  who  had  written,  and 
was  to  write,  many  such  public  letters  for  the  Prince  and  his  party, 
disclaimed  it  and  furnished  the  true  answer.  "Not  a  word  in  it 
was  his,"  he  said;  "  it  was  originally  Burke's,  altered  a  little,  but  not 
improved,  by  Sheridan  and  other  critics."  * 

The  Duke  of  Leeds,  however,  showed  his  sagacity  at  guessing 
at  the  authorship.  "The  Prince  of  Wales's  comments  on  Pitt's 
letters  filled  three  quarto  pages,  showing  displeasure  to  Pitt.  It 
was,  upon  the  whole,  a  strange  performance,  by  no  means  an  able 
one ;  now  and  then  appeared  something  of  Sheridan's  language, 
and  still  more  of  Loughborough's." 

The  haughty  Pitt  now  proposed  that  a  reply  should  be  sent  to 
this  document;  and,  as  the  Duke  of  Leeds  informs  us,  "at  a  Cab- 
inet on  the  5th,  Mr.  Pitt  read  the  proposed  answer  to  the  Prince. 
The  Chancellor,  however,  disapproved  sending  any.  They  tried 
to  convince  him,  urging  the  mischievous  effect  on  the  public  of  a 
division  of  opinion.  The  Chancellor,  however,  remained  sulky." 
He  complained  of  being  misrepresented.  At  last  an  expedient  was 
thought  of,  that  he  should  go  and  ask  the  Prince  of  Wales  if  he 
wished  or  expected  to  receive  one,  and  if  so,  then  present  it.  To 
this  he  agreed,  though  not  with  a  good  grace.  The  Duke  of  Rich- 
mond said:  "  That  man  will  ruin  us  all  yet."  Lord  Camden  said 
privately  to  the  Duke  of  Leeds  that  he  was  a  bad  man.  Accord- 
ingly the  Chancellor  wrote  to  the  Prince  of  Wales  on  the  subject 
of  the  answer,  and  received  a  note  from  the  Prince,  dated  Picca- 
dilly (the  Prince  dining  at  the  Duke  of  Queensberry's),  desiring  him 
to  come  to  him  at  nine  to  South  Street.     The  Chancellor  went, 


*  "  Life  and  Letters,"  i. 


176  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

and  found  the  Prince  and  Mr.  Fox.  The  Chancellor  held  the 
letter  in  his  hand,  and  asked  the  Prince  whether  he  expected  any 
answer,  to  which  the  Prince  answered  in  the  negative ;  but  on  ]Mr. 
Fox  observing  that  as  there  was  one  prepared  it  might  as  well  be 
looked  at,  the  Chancellor  delivered  it  to  him. 

After  much  wrangling  over  the  "report"  of  the  physicians  (it 
filled  four  hundred  folio  pages),  Mr.  Pitt,  on  the  16th  of  Januar}-, 
introduced  his  "  Restrictions."  They  were  in  the  shape  of  resolu- 
tions, the  first  of  which  conferred  the  honors  of  Regency;  the 
second  restrained  him  from  granting  peerages,  save  to  the  royal 
family;  the  third  from  giving  places,  save  under  conditions;  the 
fourth  protected  the  King's  property;  and  the  fifth  and  most 
important,  introduced  on  the  19th,  gave  the  care  of  the  King*s 
person  to  the  Queen,  with  power  to  appoint  all  ofiicers  about  his 
person  with  the  assistance  of  a  Council.  These  were  duly  passed 
by  both  Houses.  It  was  this  resolution  on  the  household  that 
excited  the  most  tumult.  Its  object  was  evident.  By  household 
he  explained  himself  to  mean  any  office — "  master  of  horse,  cham- 
berlain, and  so  downward  to  the  pages,  beef-eaters,  and  grooms."  It 
was  noted  that  he  spoke  as  though  he  were  "ashamed  of  such  a 
scheme."  It  was  assailed  in  vehement  style  by  Sheridan,  who 
stigmatized  it  as  a  plan  for  governing  the  country  through  the 
Queen,  when  the  minister  himself  shall  liave  been  dismissed. 

He  denounced  Pitt's  duplicity  and  arrogance,  and  sneered  at  tlie 
Queen  with  ironical  praises,  and  pictured  the  former  coming  down 
to  the  House  attended  by  his  household.  Mr.  Fullarton,  a  fiery 
Scot,  quoted  from  the  "History  of  France"  the  description  of 
Queen  Isabella  and  her  minister  Marvilliers;  a  woman  whom  he 
described  as  attached  ouly  to  her  treasures,  and  governed  by  her 
chancellor. 

The  Council  was  to  be  composed,  as  Sir  G.  Elliot  heard,  of  tho 
great  oflEicers  of  the  household,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  ;nul 
the  Chancellor,  "so  that  this  immense  job  was  not  trusted  even 
to  the  Queen,  but  put  directly  into  the  hands  of  the  faction  itself." 

When  it  reached  the  House  of  Lords  on  January  26th,  the  dis- 
cussion was  expected  to  be  interesting  from  a  melancholy  spectacle 
of  what  Lord  Bulkeley  would  have  called  "a  rat  bishop,"  viz., 
Watson  of  Lljindaff.  Never  was  there  so  unlucky  a  miscalcula- 
tion. He  was  a  man  of  a  certain  power  and  talent;  and  for  his  two 
hours'  eager  advocacy,  it  was  reported  he  was  to  receive  splendid 
promotion  when  the  Regent  came  into  office.     But  he  was  never 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOUQE  IV.  I77 

forgiven  by  the  King,  and  had  to  endure  for  the  rest  of  his  life  per- 
petual banishment  to  his  obscure  Welsh  diocese. 

But  there  was  to  be  another  scene  of  treachery  more  painful  still. 
Thurlow  now  stood  forward  to  bid  for  the  gratitude  of  the  recover- 
ing monarch,  having  at  last  made  up  his  mind.  After  dwelling  on 
that  piteous  and  lamentable  situation,  "a  misfortune  equal  to  any 
which  has  ever  fallen  to  the  lot  of  man  since  misfortune  was  known 
upon  the  earth;"  then  drawing  a  picture  of  the  ingratitude  the 
royal  sufferer  had  been  treated  with — 

Deserted,  in  his  utmost  need, 
By  those  his  former  bounty  fed- 
he  burst  into  tears.  This  exhibition  excited  the  ridicule  of  Burke, 
who,  when  Pitt  moved  to  wait  on  the  Prince  with  the  resolutions, 
frantically  burst  out  in  the  most  violent  agitation.  The  minister 
was  a  despot.  "  Slaves,"  he  cried,  "  do  you  presume  to  hesitate?" 
And  later  he  held  up  the  Chancellor — his  tears  and  his  "phantom" 
— in  his  wittiest  vein.  "The  other  House  is  not  yet  recovered 
from  that  extraordinary  burst  of  the  pathetic  which  was  exhibited 
the  other  evening;  it  has  not  yet  dried  its  eyes  nor  been  restored  to 
its  placidity.  The  tears  shed  on  that  occasion  were  not  the  tears 
of  patriots  for  dying  laws,  but  of  lords  for  expiring  places.  They 
were  the  'iron  tears  that  flowed  down  Pluto's  cheek,'  and  rather 
resembled  the  dismal  bubbling  of  Styx  than  the  gentle  streams  of 
Aganippe.  In  fact,  they  were  tears  for  his  Majesty's  bread.  The 
Lords  of  the  Household  would  stick  by  the  King's  loaf  as  long  as 
a  single  cut  of  it  remained;  they  would  fasten  on  the  crust,  and 
gnaw  it  while  two  crumbs  of  it  held  together;  and  they  would 
proudly  declare,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  was  the  honor  of  the  ser- 
vice, the  dignity  of  the  office,  which  alone  they  regarded."  Then, 
bursting  into  a  new  paroxysm,  he  exclaimed :  "I  cannot,  for  my 
soul,  understand  the  means  of  this  art-magic,  any  more  than  I  can 
doubt  the  purpose.  I  see  a  phantom  raised.  But  I  never  heard  of 
one  being  raised  in  a  family  but  for  the  purpose  of  robbing  the 
house.  The  whole  ceremonial,  instead  of  being  a  representative  of 
the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  is  a  masquerade,  a  mummery,  a 
piece  of  buffoonery,  used  to  ridicule  every  form  of  government." 

At  last  the  resolutions  were  passed,  and  it  was  on  the  30th  of 
January  that  a  deputation,  consisting  of  Lords  Camden  and  Staf- 
ford, with  Pitt  and  some  others,  waited  on  the  Prince  with  an 
address;   to  which  he  gave  the  following  reply,  supposed  to  be 

8* 


178  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

written  by  Sheridan,  but  which  was,  in  truth,  the  work  of  Sir  G. 
Elliot,  done  in  a  hurry,  half  an  hour  before  it  was  spoken: 

"My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, 

' '  I  thank  you  for  communicating  to  me  the  resolutions  agreed 
to  by  the  two  Houses;  and  I  request  you  to  assure  them,  in  my 
name,  that  my  duty  to  the  King  my  father,  and  my  anxious  con- 
cern for  the  safety  and  interests  of  the  people,  which  must  be 
endangered  by  a  longer  suspension  of  the  exercise  of  the  ro5^al 
authority,  together  with  my  respect  for  the  united  desires  of  the 
two  Houses,  outweigh,  in  my  mind,  eveiy  other  consideration,  and 
will  determine  me  to  undertake  the  weighty  and  important  trust 
proposed  to  me,  in  conformity  to  the  resolutions  now  communi- 
cated to  me. 

"  I  am  sensible  of  the  difficulties  that  must  attend  the  trust,  in 
the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  it  is  committed  to  my  charge, 
in  which,  as  I  am  acquainted  with  no  former  example,  my  hopes 
of  a  successful  administration  cannot  be  founded  on  any  past  expe- 
rience; but  confiding  that  the  limitations  on  the  exercise  of  the 
royal  authority,  deemed  necessary  for  the  present,  have  been 
approved  only  by  the  two  Houses  as  a  temporary  measure,  founded 
on  the  loyal  hope,  in  which  I  ardently  participate,  that  his 
Majesty's  disorder  may  not  be  of  long  duration ;  and  trusting,  in 
the  meanwhile,  that  I  shall  receive  a  zealous  and  united  support  in 
the  two  Houses  and  in  the  nation,  proportioned  to  the  difficulty 
attending  the  discharge  of  my  trust  in  this  interval,  I  will  entertain 
the  pleasing  hope  that  my  faithful  endeavors  to  preserve  the  inter- 
ests of  the  King,  his  crown,  and  people,  may  be  successful." 

All  this  was  merely  preparatory  to  the  introduction  of  the  bill 
itself.  The  next  step  was  to  issue  a  commission,  who  were  to  be 
empowered  to  set  the  great  seal  to  a  patent  for  giving  the  royal 
assent  to  the  regency  bills  now  to  be  passed.  These  "roundabout " 
devices  seem  ludicrous  enough.  The  Prince  and  the  Duke  of  York 
were  included  in  the  commission,  but  the  latter  rose  in  his  place 
and  declined  the  honor  for  himself  and  for  his  brother,  and  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  did  the  same  for  himself  as  well  as  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester. 

When  the  bill  was  introduced  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Burke 
burst  out  once  more  into  fury.  It  seems  incredible  that  so  sound  a 
mind  could  deliver  itself  to  such  intemperance.     He  accused  Dr. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  179 

"Willis  of  rashness,  impetuosity,  and  presumption,  in  taking  upon 
him  to  fix  the  probable  duration  of  his  Majesty's  illness.  He 
exclaimed:  "Of  his  sanity,  should  God  restore  it,  where  was  the 
confirmation?  With  a  junto — an  obscure  and  contemptible  Coun- 
cil! manifestly  not  wishing  to  produce  a  sound  King,  but  to  usurp 
the  Government  without  one — where  a  proclamation  was  to  super- 
sede the  two  Houses — a  proclamation  from  authority  existing  no 
more — for  the  King  governs  not — but  is  governed!"  He  taxed  the 
bill  with  reviving  the  doctrine  of  divine  right,  which  had  been 
exploded  on  the  expulsion  of  the  House  of  Stuart  in  favor  of 
another  House.  "In  the  idiot  abominations  of  the  Stuart  race 
divine  right  was  the  assumption  of  the  Prince  alone!  it  was  now 
more  monstrously  to  be  usurped  by  the  Minister!"  "The  bill,"  he 
said,  "was  not  only  to  degrade  the  Prince  of  Wales,  but  the  whole 
House  of  Brunswick,  who  were  to  be  outlawed,  excommunicated, 
and  attainted,  as  having  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  confidence  of  the 
country." 

This  extraordinary  declaration  having  excited  the  smiles  of  sev- 
eral of  the  members,  Mr.  Burke's  indignation  rose  with  his  climax, 
and  he  directly  charged  the  House  "with  degrading  the  royal 
family;  sowing  the  seeds  of  future  distractions  and  disunion  among 
them,  and  proceeding  to  act  treasons,  for  which  the  justice  of  the 
country  would  one  day  overtake  them,  and  bring  them  to  trial!" 
He  received  a  fine  rebuke  from  Mr.  Pitt,  who  observed  that  when 
Mr.  Burke  chose  to  indulge  himself  with  a  direct  attack  upon  him, 
in  the  style  of  invective  in  which  he  was  accustomed  to  deliver 
himself  in  that  House,  he  seldom  thought  it  worth  his  while  to 
make  him  any  answer,  because  his  speeches,  from  their  extraor- 
dinary style,  and  the  peculiarly  violent  tone  of  warmth  and  of 
passion  with  which  they  were  generally  delivered,  seldom  failed  to 
make  that  impression  which  those  to  whom  they  were  directed 
wished  them  to  make. 

But  even  here  the  consequences  of  the  Prince's  rash  marriage 
and  his  flagrant  denial  were  to  pursue  him.  Mr.  Rolle,  who  had 
been  threatening,  in  spite  of  all  cajolery,  that  he  would  bring  for- 
ward his  favorite  subject,  at  last  found  an  opportunity  made  to  his 
hand  in  a  clause  depriving  the  Prince  of  the  regency  should  he 
marry  a  Papist.  He  proposed  an  amendment,  awkward  to  deal 
with,  "excluding  any  one  thus  married  already,  either  in  law  or 
fact."  The  old  ground  was  once  more  gone  over,  and  it  was  urged 
that  the  royal  marriage  virtually  roponlod  the  Act  of  Settlement 


180  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

aud  its  heavy  penalties.  But  it  was  noted  that  not  one  of  the  law 
officers  now  said  a  word ;  while  Dundas,  refuting  this  argument  as 
derogatory  to  the  Act  of  Settlement,  "declared  that  he  regarded 
the  solemn  assurance  of  Mr.  Fox  as  decisive."  Then  alluding  to 
Fox's  absence  in  the  country,  he  said  he  was  convinced  that  ' '  if 
anything  had  occurred  to  make  him  change  his  opinion,  he  (Mr. 
Fox)  would  at  all  hazards,  even  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  come  down 
to  the  House."  This  artful  thrust  must  have  gone  home.  But  he 
(Mr.  Fox)  was  now  considered  to  be  restored,  and  it  was  believed 
that  he  delayed  returning  to  avoid  this  awkward  situation.  The 
most  curious  position  in  this  episode  was  the  part  taken  by  Mr. 
Grey,  who  rebuked  RoUe  for  his  conduct,  and  imputed  to  him  the 
worst  of  motives.  This,  as  he  knew  Rolle  was  speaking  the  truth, 
seemed  strange.  But  of  late  his  relations  with  the  Prince  had 
become  confidential.* 

On  the  household  question  Burke  again  broke  out  in  extraordi- 
nar)"-  style,  and,  on  Pitt's  protesting  against  stripping  the  King  of 
the  adornments  of  royalty,  exclaimed:  "Did  they  recollect  that 
they  were  talking  of  a  sick  king,  of  a  monarch  smitten  by  the  hand 
of  Omnipotence;  and  that  the  Almighty  had  hurled  him  from  his 
throne  and  plunged  him  into  a  condition  that  drew  upon  him  the 
pity  of  the  meanest  peasant  in  the  kingdom  ?  This  produced  loud 
calls  to  order,  and  the  cries  of  '  Take  down  his  words '  interrupted 
him ;  and  the  Marquis  of  Graham  told  Mr.  Burke  that  neither  he, 
nor  any  man  in  that  House,  should  dare  to  say  the  King  was 
hurled  from  his  throne.  A  scene  of  gi*eat  confusion  followed, 
during  which  Burke  persisted  in  his  course,  and  justified  his  ex- 
pression by  the  language  of  the  prayer  offered  up  in  our  churches 
for  the  King's  recovery,  and,  proceeding  in  the  same  strain,  asked : 
'  Ought  they,  at  that  hour  of  sickness  and  calamity,  to  clothe  liis 
bed  with  purple  ?  Ought  they  to  make  a  mockery  of  him,  putting 
a  crown  of  thorns  on  his  head,  a  reed  in  his  hand,  and  dressing 
him  in  a  raiment  of  purple,  to  cry,  Hail!  King  of  the  British! '  "f 
The  disgust  expressed  by  the  House  at  this  indecorous  allusion, 
at  length  induced  the  orator  to  change  his  tone,  and  to  arraign  the 

*  In  December,  when  he  wrote  to  Sir  G.  Elliot  at  Brookes^s:  "  I  did  not  see 
the  Prince,  for  he  had  just  retired  to  a  private  room  with  Grey,  who  is  a  great 
favorite,  and  is  admitted  to  most  private  or  Cabinet  Councils." 

t  On  the  following  morning  Mr.  Burke  found  chalked  on  his  door  a  sort  of 
parody  of  the  daily  bulletins:  "  Very  irritable  in  the  evening;  no  sleep  all 
night;  and  very  unquiet  this  morning.''— Auckland,  ii.  29*2. 


^SE  LIF^  of  Q^OROE  IV.  181 

clause  with  more  chastened  animation,  and  with  more  temperate? 
eloquence. 

The  effect  of  one  of  these  restriction?  was  to  jprevent  a  peerage 
being  given  to  Prince  William,  which  "  the  party  thought  was 
an  act  of  pure  malice."  This  was  said  to  have  hurt  the  Prince  of 
Wales  more  than  all  the  rest,  and  the  Duke  of  York  was  heard  to 
say,  in  a  coffee-house,  that  it  was  very  hard  that  Mr.  Pitt  should 
punish  his  brother,  who  had  never  done  anything  to  offend  him ; 
but  that  for  himself,  Mr.  Pitt  was  right  to  do  him  all  the  injury 
that  he  could,  for  he  had  opposed  him. 

Sir  G.  Elliot  said  later,  the  plan  was  "to  consider  the  Prince 
and  everybody  that  is  suspected  of  the  least  attachment  to  him,  as  a 
prey,  to  be  hunted  down  and  destroyed  without  mercy.  This,  I 
assure  you,  is  the  private  conversation  of  him  and  the  Queen's 
whole  set." 

It  was  then  proposed  that  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  other 
Princes  should  be  of  the  Council;  which  was  plainly  and  sansfagon 
resisted  by  Pitt,  who  declared  that  if  the  Prince  was  unsuited,  on 
various  accounts,  to  have  the  care  of  the  King,  the  argument  ap- 
plied, a  fortiori,  to  the  others.  The  last  clause  was  concerned  with 
the  delicate  question  as  to  who  was  to  have  power  to  declare  the 
King  restored  to  health.  This  was  to  be  done  when  it  should 
appear  proper  to  her  Majesty  and  to  five  members  of  the  Council, 
and  by  them  should  be  notified  to  the  President  of  the  Privy 
Council;  and  that,  the  act  being  then  complete,  the  Regent  should 
cease  to  rule,  and  the  King  resume  his  office.  This  was  hotly  con- 
tested, and  it  was  urged  that  Parliament  alone  should  restore  the 
powers  it  had  taken  away;  and  the  plan  had  certainly  a  doubtful 
air,  and  it  was  certainly  open  to  the  suspicions  imputed  by  the 
Opposition. 

The  excitement  that  prevailed  during  this  struggle  was  extraor- 
dinary. London  society  was  ranged  in  two  factions,  each  agi- 
tated by  feelings  of  the  most  vulgar  kind.  Every  one  was  to  gain 
or  lose  by  the  issue ;  the  Opposition  rapacious  for  power  and  place, 
now  almost  within  their  grasp — the  Government  as  eager  to  defeat 
them.  Everywhere  there  was  fury  and  acrimony,  and  the  ladies 
were  more  inflamed  than  the  men.  At  balls  and  parties  ladies 
were  already  seen  wearing  ' '  Regency  caps. " 

How  the  hungry  followers  of  Fox  and  Sheridan  must  have  been 
affected  by  the  giving  away  the  control  of  the  household  to  the 
Queen,  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  no  less  than  one  hun- 


182  TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 

dred  and  fifty  places  would  be  thus  lost  to  them.  It  seemed  invid- 
ious, and  was  certainly  insulting  to  the  Prince  to  lay  down  that  he 
was  not  fitted  to  be  entrusted  with  such  patronage;  but  it  must  be 
recollected  that — shocking  as  it  may  seem — he  and  his  father  were 
on  the  footing  of  enemies,  and  that  his  father's  malady  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  induced  by  his  unfilial  treatment.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  was  an  inconsistency  in  the  argument  of  the 
Opposition,  who,  it  will  be  recollected,  had  vehemently  denied  the 
power  of  the  House  in  the  matter. 

But  the  prospect  of  power  had  its  usual  disintegrating  effect 
upon  the  Opposition,  and  dissensions  had  broken  out  among  the 
leaders.  Fox,  as  we  have  seen,  under  pretext  of  illness,  had  retired 
from  the  fray,  disgusted  at  the  influence  which  Sheridan  and  Grey, 
with  others  of  that  "wing"  of  the  party,  enjoyed  in  the  direction 
of  the  Prince's  affairs. 

The  Duke  of  Portland,  Fox's  ardent  friend,  declared  that  one 
could  take  no  step  so  long  as  Sheridan  enjoyed  the  supremacy  he 
had.  Burke,  too,  as  Mr.  Moore  thinks,  was  dissatisfied  with  Fox, 
as  being  too  temperate.  Between  Sheridan  and  Burke  there  were 
also  jealousies.*  It  would  seem  that  much  of  Burke's  extraor- 
dinary violence  and  intemperance  of  language  was  prompted  by 
the  pressure  of  personal  necessities,  and  of  a  hope  deferred  in  the 
most  exasperating  way;  and  he  was  inclined  to  lay  the  cause  of  the 
failure,  which  he  foresaw  was  at  hand,  to  the  moderate  counsels  of 
Fox. 

The  first  care  of  his  friends  had  been  to  lay  out  splendid  provision 
for  him  in  their  plans;  and  when  the  next  fit  of  royal  lunacj'  came 
on  some  twenty  years  later,  they  were  to  be  again  busy  allotting 
aGrial  places  of  the  same  kind,  and  to  be  again  the  prey  of  a  similar 
illusion. 

In  this  Utopian  ministr)'",  Sheridan  was  to  be  Treasurer  of  the 
Navy.  Less  sanguine  than  might  Ix)  supposed,  he  never  accepted 
the  prospect  of  office  seriously,  always  maintaining  that  the  King 
would  recover.  They  had  even  sent  him  the  plan  of  the  rooms  in 
tlie  new  Somerset  House  which  he  was  to  occupy.  And  when  he 
came  to  hear  of  his  disappointment,  he  could  drink  the  King's 
iiealth  cheerfully  at  his  own  table.  As  to  the  other  offices,  the 
Duke  of  York  was  to  be  Commander-in-Chief;  field-marshals  were 
to  be  created,  of  which  the  Prince  himself  was  to  be  one.    Lord 

*  Moore,  "Life  of  Sheridiui,"  ii.  60. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  183 

Spencer  was  to  go  to  Ireland ;  Fitzpatrick  to  be  Secretary-at-War ; 
the  Home  Secretaryship  lay  between  Lords  Rawdon  and  Stormont. 

The  Prince  in  his  cups  would  give  away  colonelcies  to  unqual- 
ified persons,  who  would  insist  on  keeping  liim  to  his  promise  next 
day.*  Lord  North,  now  old  and  blind,  declined  office.  Even  the 
Bishopric  of  St.  Asaph  had  fallen  vacant,  and  a  successor  had  been 
designated,  who  had  received  the  congratulations  of  his  friends. 
With  these  arrangements  they  were  busy  in  the  first  weeks  of 
February,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  Prince  would  be  in  pos- 
session by  Saturday,  the  14th. f  Alas!  for  such  pleasing  anticipa- 
tions. For  now,  while  in  this  fool's  paradise,  rumors  of  a  steady 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  royal  patient  began  to  take  firmer 
shape.  Dr.  Warren,  to  the  disgust  of  his  friends,  was  compelled 
to  declare  that  the  King  was  improving  every  day.  X  In  fact,  so 
earl}^  as  the -beginning  of  February  the  disorder  had  begun  to 
diminish.  On  the  11th  the  King  bade  Warren  feel  his  pulse,  and 
asked  him  did  he  not  think  there  was  some  amendment,  to  which 
the  doctor  agreed ;  and  on  the  17th  certified  that  "the  King  was 
in  a  state  of  convalescence."  On  the  19tli  the  Chancellor  stood  up 
in  the  House  and  announced  that  it  would  be  "indecent,"  in  the 
King's  state,  to  proceed  with  the  bill  further,  and  proposed  to 
adjourn  for  a  week.  The  Duke  of  York  professed  great  satisfac- 
tion at  the  news. 

In  truth  the  Prince  and  his  party  already  felt  that,  in  vulgar 
phrase,  "the  game  was  up,"  for  even  if  they  came  into  office,  it 
seemed  to  be  settled  that  he  could  not,  with  the  King  fast  recover- 
ing, dismiss  the  existing  Ministers,  who  would  have  to  be  restored 
a  week  or  two  later.  Already  the  Duke  of  Portland  was  said  to 
have  told  the  Prince  that,  under  the  circumstances,  he  could  not 
take  office  ;§  nor  were  there  other  annoying  elements  wanting  to 
make  this  "day  of  dupes"  even  more  humiliating.  The  Irish 
Parliament,  after  some  angry  debates,  had  voted  an  address  to  the 
Prince,  inviting  him  to  take  on  him  the  Regency  of  Ireland.     On 


*  Auckland,  "Correspondence,"  ii.  292. 

t  "  Life  of  Sir  G.  Elliot,"  i.  269. 

X  One  of  the  Prince's  good  stories  often  told  at  his  own  expense,  was  the 
comfort  brought  to  hiha  by  Fox's  Italian  servant,  Basilico  who  would  approach 
him  confidentially:  "I  have  de  honor,  sare,  to  be  at  Windsor.  I  have  seen 
your  fader,  and  "—here  the  Prince  would  admirably  mimic  his  air  of  rueful 
sympathy—"  and  he  looks  as  well  as  ever."— Moore's  *'  Diary." 

§  "  Court  and  Cabinets,"  ii.  107. 


184  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

February  19th  the  Houses  waited  upon  the  Lord-Lieutenant  with  a 
request  that  he  would  transmit  it  to  the  Prince.  This  he  refused 
to  do  on  constitutional  grounds,  while,  after  passing  a  vote  of 
censure  on  the  Lord-Lieutenant,  a  deputation  was  appointed  to 
convey  the  address  to  London,  w^hich,  unfortunately  for  their  pur- 
pose, they  did  not  reach  until  the  "day  after  the  fair,"  and  the 
King  all  but  restored.  This  might  have  brought  about  a  dangerous 
conflict.  "The  Irish  Ambassadors,"  as  they  were  called,  were 
rather  unfairly  assailed  with  gross  abuse.  Epigrams  were  showered 
on  them  for  their  bootless  errand.  The  members  were  ridiculed  in 
a  coarse  vein.  At  the  various  dinner-parties  given  to  the  deputies 
by  the  Duke  of  York,  Sir  T.  Dundas,  and  others,  the  Prince  de- 
voted himself  to  making  a  favorable  impression  on  them.  At  the 
latter's  house  he  was  "uncommonly  agreeable  and  captivating," 
singing  a  capital  sea-song,  which  turned  on  a  battle  between  a 
French  and  English  ship;  the  French  ship  sinking,  and  the 
British  rescuing  the  crew,  the  burden  being  that  "the  Briton 
conquers  but  to  save."  This  gives  a  good  idea  of  his  convivial 
gifts. 

On  the  27th  of  Februaiy,  when  the  very  bulletins  had  ceased  to 
api^ear  as  unnecessary,  the  Prince  received  their  address  and  answered 
it  in  a  suitable  manner: 

"  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, 

"  The  address  from  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  the 
Commons  of  Ireland,  which  you  have  presented  to  me,  demands  my 
warmest  and  earliest  rtianks.  If  anything  could  add  to  the  esteem 
and  affection  I  have  for  the  people  of  Ireland,  it  would  be  the  loyal 
and  dutiful  attachment  to  the  person  and  government  of  the  King 
my  father,  manifested  in  the  address  of  the  two  Houses. 

"  Wliat  they  have  done,  and  their  manner  of  doing  it,  is  a  new 
proof  of  their  undiminished  duty  to  his  Majesty,  of  their  uniform 
attachment  to  the  house  of  Brunswick,  and  their  constant  attention 
to  maintain  inviolate  the  consord  and  connection  between  the  king- 
doms of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  so  indispensably  necessary  to  the 
l)rosperity,  the  happiness,  and  the  liberties  of  both. 

"If,  in  conveying  my  grateful  sentiments  on  their  conduct,  in 
relation  to  the  King  my  father,  and  to  the  inseparable  interests  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  I  find  it  impossible  to  express  adequately  my  feel- 
ings on  what  relates  to  myself,  I  trust  you  will  not  be  the  less  dis- 
posed to  believe  that  I  have  the  undeixlanding  to  comprehend  iho 


T3E  LIFE  OF  QEOmE  IV.  185 

value  of  what  they  have  done,  a  heart  that  must  remember,  and 
principles  that  will  not  suffer  me  to  abuse  their  confidence. 

"But  the  fortunate  change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  circum- 
stance which  gave  occasion  to  the  address  agreed  to  by  the  Lords 
and  Commons  of  Ireland,  induces  me  to  delay,  for  a  few  days,  giv- 
ing a  final  answer;  trusting  that  the  joyful  event  of  his  Majesty's 
resuming  the  personal  exercise  of  his  royal  authority  may  then  ren- 
der it  only  necessary  for  me  to  repeat  those  sentiments  pf  gratitude 
and  affection  to  the  loyal  and  generous  people  of  Ireland,  w^hicli  1 
feel  indelibly  impressed  on  my  heart. 

"The  happy  event  of  the  King's  recovery,  and  the  consequent 
reassumption  of  the  exercise  of  his  auspicious  government,  an- 
nounced by  his  royal  commission  for  declaring  the  further  causes  of 
holding  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  has  done  away  with  the 
melancholy  necessity  which  gave  rise  to  the  arrangement  proposed 
by  the  Parliament  of  Ireland;  but  nothing  can  obliterate  from  my 
memory  and  my  gratitude  the  principles  upon  which  that  ar- 
rangement was  made,  and  the  circumstances  by  which  it  was 
attended. 

"I  consider  your  generous  kindness  to  his  Majesty's  royal  family, 
and  the  provision  you  made  for  preserving  the  authority  of  the 
crown  in  its  constitutional  energy,  as  the  most  unequivocal  proof 
which  could  be  given  of  your  affectionate  loyalty  to  the  King,  at  the 
time  when,  by  an  afflicting  dispensation  of  Providence,  his  govern- 
ment had  suffered  an  intermission,  and  his  house  was  deprived  of  its 
natural  protector, 

"I  shall  not  pay  so  ill  a  compliment  to  the  lords  and  commons  of 
Ireland  as  to  suppose  that  they  were  mistaken  in  their  reliance  on 
the  moderation  of  my  views,  and  the  purity  of  my  intentions.  A 
manly  confidence,  directing  the  manner  of  proceeding  towards  those 
who  entertain  sentiments  becoming  the  high  situation  in  which  they 
are  born,  furnishes  the  most  powerful  motives  to  the  performance 
of  their  duty;  at  the  same  time  that  the  liberality  of  sentiment,  which, 
in  conveying  a  trust,  confers  an  honor,  can  have  no  tendency  to 
relax  that  provident  vigilance,  and  that  public  jealousy  which  ought 
to  watch  over  the  exercise  of  power. 

"  Though  full  of  joy  for  the  event  which  enables  me  to  take  leave 
of  you  in  this  manner,  personally  I  cannot  but  regret  your  departure. 
I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  your  pri- 
vate characters,  and  it  has  added  to  the  high  esteem  which  I  had 
before  entertained  for  you  on  account  of  your  public  merits;  both 


186  TEE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

have  made  you  the  worthy  representatives  of  the  great  bodies  to 
which  you  belong. 

"I  am  confident  that  I  need  not  add  my  earnest  recommendation 
to  Parhament  and  people  of  Ireland  to  continue  to  cultivate  the 
harmony  of  the  two  kingdoms  which,  in  their  mutual  perfect  free- 
dom, will  find  the  closest  as  well  as  the  happiest  bond  of  their  inter- 
course." 

On  the  same  day  they  were  entertained  at  a  magnificent  banquet 
at  Carlton  House,  at  which  assisted  the  Dukes  of  York,  Cumber- 
land, and  Portland ;  Fox  (now  returned),  Burke,  Sheridan,  and  all  the 
leaders  attended.  The  Prince  exerted  his  most  engaging  arts  as 
host,  and  at  the  close  insisting  on  what  he  called  the  "Landlord's 
Bottle,"  and  drew  from  Burke  the  rather  solemn  jest  that  he  was 
entitled  to  order  if  jure  di-mno.  They  spent  some  jovial  weeks 
in  town  fSted  by  all  the  Opposition,  and  then  returned  to  their  own 
countiy. 


TRE  LIFE  OF  QEOEGE  IV.  187 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

1789. 

What  made  these  proceedings  the  more  unbecoming  was  the  fact 
that  the  King  was  actually  recovered.  On  the  20th  he  had  been  seen 
by  the  Chancellor,  who  declared  that  he  never,  at  any  period,  saw 
the  King  more  composed,  collected,  or  distinct.  All  accounts  agree 
in  this  view,  which  is,  moreover,  supported  by  the  minute  and 
accurate  reports  of  Miss  Burney.  They  had*  even  opened  to  him 
some  of  the  proceedings  which  had  taken  place  during  his  confine- 
ment— a  most  painful  and  delicate  task. 

Pitt,  more  defiant  and  haughty  under  these  conditions,  was  not 
disposed  to  allow  his  enemies  even  the  formal  advantages  of  this 
position,  "We  shall  not  feel  ourselves  disposed, "* wrote  Mr.  Gren- 
ville,  "to  give  up  the  King's  authority  into  the  hands  of  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  less  so  because  we  know  that 
he  and  his  friends,  as  he  calls  them,  have  taken  the  resolution  of 
making  the  change  at  all  events,  and  of  taking  all  the  offices  of  the 
country  into  their  own  hands,  even,  as  they  express  themselves,  if 
they  are  to  hold  them  only  twelve  hours."  * 

But  the  most  disagreeable  incident  in  this  painful  business  was 
now  to  be  seen.  The  sons  were  compelled  by  this  hostile  treatment 
to  look  on  the  announced  recovery  as  part  of  their  enemies*  "  game," 
and  possibly  a  deception  contrived  by  the  Queen  and  her  '' faction." 
On  this  ground  they  declined  to  believe  that  he  had  recovered,  and 
were  searching  in  his  words  and  actions  for  evidence  to  the  con- 
trary. The  accounts  were  still  colored  by  violent  prejudice.  The 
Chancellor  had  seen  the  King  for  the  second  time  on  the  20th,  and 
declared  to  Pitt  that  there  was  not  the  least  trace  of  tlie  disorder. 


*  The  same  spirit  was  evident  in  the  mode  of  treating  the  Irish  address. 
"  On  conversing  with  Pitt,"  wrote  Mr.  Grenville,  "we  were  both  clearly  of 
opinion  that  no  communication  ought  to  be  made  to  his  Royal  Highness  of 
what  had  passed  in  Ireland,  as  we  have  uniformly  considered  him  as  not  enti- 
tled under  the  present  circumstances  to  any  communication  of  any  part  of 
the  business  of  Government."—"  Court  and  Cabinets,"  ii.  123. 


188  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

For  the  other  party  he  had  a  different  story.     "  By  G ,"  he  said 

to  the  Duke  of  York,  **  they  always  contrive  to  wind  up  the  King 
when  I  am  to  see  him,  and  he  appears  very  well  before  me."  He 
had  told  Warren  to  repeat  to  the  two  Princes  his  opinion  of  the 
King's  state,  which,  at  his  first  interview  at  least,  was  certainly 
unfavorable,* 

Inflamed  by  this  suspense  and  the  contradictory  reports,  the  two 
Princes  called  repeatedly  at  Kew,  and  pressed  to  be  allowed  to  see 
their  f aiher.  They  were  refused  on  various  pretences ;  it  being,  no 
doubt,  considered  that  they  came,  moved  not  by  filial  anxiety,  but 
in  the  capacity  of  spies.  At  last  they  addressed  a  demand  to  the 
Queen: 

"Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  most 
humbly  begs  leave  to  represent  to  your  Majesty  the  following  cir- 
cumstances : 

"  It  has  for  some  days  been  confidently  reported,  and  is  generally 
credited,  that  his  Majesty  is  happily  restored  to  health,  though  that 
health  is  not  yet  perfectly  confirmed.  It  must  be  on  a  supposition 
of  this  fact,  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  has  been  introduced  into  his 
Majesty's  presence. 

"That  the  Prince  of  Wales,  with  the  Duke  of  York,  have  fre- 
quently made  most  respectful  and  dutiful  apphcations  to  be  per- 
mitted to  see  the  King  their  father;  but  that  they  have  met  with  a 
refusal,  on  the  idea  that  his  Majesty  was  by  no  means  in  a  condition 
to  be  approached  by  them,  without  the  danger  of  affecting  his  sensi- 
bility in  such  a  manner  as  to  renew  or  increase  his  illness. 

"They  beg  leave  to  inform  your  Majesty  that,  in  such  a  moment, 
the  Prince  claims  a  right  to  see  his  father,  as  a  malilication  due  to 
his  feelings  as  a  son.  The  Prince  claims  access  to  liis  Majesty  in 
right  of  his  birth.  He  claims,  at  fitting  times,  and  w  ith  proper  pre- 
cautions, an  audience  of  the  King,  as  being  actually  nominated  by  u 
l)ill,  which  has  passed  the  House  of  Commons,  for  the  arduous  and 
delicate  trust  of  his  Majesty's  government  during  his  illness. 


♦  Even  on  the  morning  after  the  Chancellor's  announcement  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  when  Sir  G.  Baker  complimented  the  King  on  seeing  him  dressed  in 
his  usual  clothes:  "  I  wish  you  joy,  sir,  of  appearing  again  like  a  king,  and  I 
am  glad  to  see  that  star  again."  The  poor  patient  replied,  putting  his  finger 
on  his  mouth:  "Hush,  hush!  don't  talk  of  stars,  we  must  not  talk  of  stars; 
you  know  I  axtimopsimxts,  and  don't  like  French  mottoes."— Sir  O.  p:iliot, 
"  Life."  1.  278. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  189 

"  The  rule  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  conduct  must,  in  a  great 
measure,  be  formed  upon  an  accurate  idea  of  his  Majesty's  condition 
He  apprehends  that  he  owes  it  to  his  Majesty  and  to  his  Majesty's 
faithful  subjects,  to  do  all  that  in  his  power  lies,  that  no  man  should 
make  use  of  his  Majesty's  name  whilst  he  labors  under  illness,  which 
may  redound  to  the  detriment  of  his  Majesty's  government— which 
may,  against  his  will,  and  by  surprise,  possibly  tend  to  the  dishonor 
and  disadvantage  of  his  family. 

'•Her  Majesty  will  naturally  expect  that  the  Prince  of  Wales 
should  be  exceedingly  anxious  and  apprehensive  lest,  if  he  and  the 
Duke  of  York  should  not  see  the  King  (though  they  may  be,  against 
their  wishes,  excluded  from  his  Majesty's  presence),  that  circum- 
stance might  be  hereafter  employed  by  persons  not  well  disposed  to 
your  Majesty,  or  to  them,  to  prejudice  his  Majesty's  mind  against 
them,  as  deficient  in  reverence,  duty,  and  natural  affection. 

"If  it  be  thought  that  their  seeing  his  Majesty  might  agitate  his 
mind,  and  retard  his  recovery,  the  Prince  is  sure  that  the  same 
reason  might  be  urged  with  regard  to  the  Chancellor,  who,  in  his 
character  of  minister,  must  naturally  remind  the  King  of  affairs  of 
State,  and  renew  in  his  mind  the  cares  and  anxieties  of  his  govern 
ment. 

' '  The  Prince  of  Wales  desires  and  requests,  as  guarantees  and 
witnesses  of  the  pi-udent  use  which  he  and  the  Duke  of  York  will 
certainly  make  of  this  visit  of  duty  and  respect,  the  presence  of  two 
or  more  of  the  attending  physicians,  provided  that  all  persons  who 
may  operate  on  the  King's  mind  by  restraint  be  not  present. 

"  The  Prince  of  Wales  entreats,  that  if  the  physicians  should  be  of 
opinion  that  his  Majesty's  state  of  health  will  not  safely  permit  the 
desired  interview,  the  Prince,  for  his  future  justification  with  the 
King,  may  receive  that  opinion  in  writing,  signed  by  them. 

' '  The  Duke  of  York  most  humbly  supplicates  your  Majesty  for 
the  same  indulgence,  in  paying  his  humble  and  affectionate  duty  to 
the  King  his  father.'' 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  they  again  presented  themselves  at 
Kew,  and  sent  Drs.  Warren  and  Gisborne  to  Dr.  Willis  with  a  formal 
demand  for  admission,  requiring  also  that  the  reasons  for  refusal 
should  be  given  in  writing.  Willis  returned  with  a  message  from 
his  Majesty,  thanking  them  for  their  inquiries;  but  wishing  to  put 
off  seeing  them  till  he  had  seen  the  Chancellor,  which  he  was  to  do 
to-morrow.     This  was  reduced  to  writing  and  sent  to  them.     "How 


190  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

it  will  be  received  I  know  not,  but  it  has  completely  defeated  the 
avowed  object  of  the  visit,  which  was  to  prejudice  his  mind  against 
the  measures  which  have  been  taken."  Such  was  Mr.  Grenville's 
ardent  view. 

Mrs.  Harcourt  gives  a  pleasant  picture  of  the  restoration:  "On 
February  22d,"  she  says,  "Lady  C.  Finch  said  the  King  showed 
the  gi-eatest  affection  to  the  Queen.  It  was  the  attention  of  a  lover. 
He  seemed  to  delight  in  making  her  presents — kissed  her  hand  & 
showed  every  mark  of  tenderness.  I  was  just  with  Lady  C.  when 
Gen'  H.  came  to  fetch  me  to  M""  Smelt's  house  saying  the  King  was 
waiting  to  see  me.  I  flew  up  stairs  where  I  found  the  King  & 
before  I  could  speak  he  caught  me  in  his  arms  &  kissed  me,  which  I 
own  I  did  him  on  both  sides  of  his  face,  telling  him  how  happy  I  was 
&  how  I  thanked  God  for  this  blessing  of  seeing  him  well,  yet  hardly 
knowing  what  I  said  so  overcome  was  I  with  jo}^  He  staid  about  i 
an  hour  in  which  time  he  was  exactly  what  I  had  ever  seen  him  when 
in  good  spirits.  He  talked  much  of  Windsor,  said  it  was  his  only 
home,  he  knew  no  other — spoke  of  the  great  regret  in  quitting  it. 
He  looked  very  thin  but  was  in  excellent  spirits,  making  his  usual 
jokes  &  looked  full  of  kindness  &  benevolence.  Gen'  H.  removed 
from  the  Ks.  mind  a  prejudice  as  to  the  Queen's  leaving  him  at 
Windsor  before  he  was  removed  to  Kew  by  fully  explaining  the 
plan  having  been  so  arranged  by  the  physician  &  the  King  declared 
himself  highly  pleased  &  satisfied.  The  King  &  Queen  afterwards 
came  together  to  see  me.  She  was  dreadfully  reduced  &  shewed 
me  her  stays,  which  would  wrap  twice  over." 

More  touching  still  is  Lord  Carmarthen's  (the  Duke  of  Leeds) 
account  of  his  first  meeting  with  the  poor  King.  He  remained  with 
him  three  hours:  "The  moment  the  door  was  shut  the  King 
embraced  me,  put  his  cheek  to  mine,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
thanked  me  for  my  affectionate  behavior  during  his  illness."  He 
found  him  grown  thin,  his  voice  hoarse,  but  he  .appeared  perfectly 
clear,  and  his  conversation  more  connected  and  less  hurried  than  it 
used  to  be.  He  was  most  grateful  to  all  for  the  support  he  had 
received  during  his  illness,  and  said  it  was  no  small  comfort  to  him 
to  reflect  on  the  small  number  of  those  who  had  deserted  him,  and 
still  more  so  as  they  were  persons  whose  conduct  he  was  not  sur- 
prised at. 

On  the  23rd  the  father  and  his  sons  were  to  meet.  The  meeting 
was  fixed  for  one  o'clock,  but  the  worthy  pair  did  not  arrive  till  half- 
past  three     Though  thus  kept  waiting  for  them,  the  King's  mind 


QUEEN   CHARLOTTE. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  191 

had  been  fully  prepared:  there  had  been  unfolded  to  him  the 
intended  regency,  the  very  day  it  was  to  have  passed ;  Willis,  with 
great  tact,  impressing  on  him  the  providential  interposition  which 
had  restored  him  at  so  critical  a  point.  The  result  was  that  he  was  so 
moved  to  thankfulness  and  pious  gratitude,  that  he  expressed  him- 
self "ready  to  bear  any  reverse  or  anything  vexatious  he  might 
have  to  know."  Rather  strange  seems  the  dislike  he  now  exhibited 
to  Mr.  Pitt,  chiefly,  it  would  appear,  from  an  idea  that  it  was  owing 
to  his  interference  that  he  had  been  confined  at  Kew.  It  was  more 
likely  to  have  been  caused  by  the  manner  in  which  the  minister 
had  favored  the  Queen,  and  given  over  his  authority  to  her. 

Yet  no  one  could  have  more  chivalrously  championed  his  master. 
The  king  said  piteously  to  Willis  that,  ''Had  they  crushed  you, 
doctor,  they  would  have  crushed  me— we  must  have  fallen 
together."  *  The  Princes,  too,  filled  with  bitterness  against  the 
man  who  had  crushed  them,  gave  out  that  as  soon  as  they  had 
explained  matters  to  the  King,  he  would  see  Pitt's  behavior  in  the 
worst  light.  At  the  interview  that  followed  between  the  King  and 
Mr.  Pitt,  full  justice  was  done  to  the  courageous  minister  who  had 
twice  "rescued  him  from  difficulties  and  dangers. 

Advised  no  doubt  by  their  friends,  the  Princes  had  thought  of 
reconciling  themselves  to  their  father,  for  their  position,  both  from 
debt  and  general  discredit,  had  now  become  most  critical.  But  the 
vindictive  Queen  jealously  guarded  her  spouse;  and  the  odious  role 
which  the  sons  had  played  was  to  be  transferred  to  her.  It  would 
appear  that  she  was  determined  to  use  the  victory  in  the  most 
uncompromising  fashion ;  more  particularly  as  there  were  still  some 
strange  symptoms  in  her  recovered  husband,  which  pointed  at  dis- 
turbance of  the  domestic  peace.* 

Now  began  a  series  of  painful  family  incidents.  The  Princes, 
having  at  last  obtained  an  audience,  were  shown  up  to  the  Queen, 
while  Colonel  Digby  went  to  inform  the  King.  When  he  came  to 
the  door  he  had  to  stop  from  agitation,  for  the  tears  rushed  to  his 
eyes.  After  a  pause,  he  said  to  Colonel  Digby  that  the  house  of 
Brunswick  had  to  make  it  a  rule  never  to  shed  tears.  Then,  enter 
ing,  he  took  both  his  sons  m  his  arms  with  the  greatest  tenderness. 
"  He  said  he  always  loved  them  and  always  should  love  them," 
shedding  tears  on  their  faces..     And  they,  too,  were  affected.  "The 


*  "  Mrs.  Harcourt's  Diary,"  p.  12. 

t  See  *'  Mrs.  Harcourt's  Diary,'"  p.  28,  for  this  unsuspected  episode. 


192  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Prince  protested  that  it  was  the  happiest  day  of  his  life."  "The 
King,"  -writes  Sir  G.  Elliot,  "  did  not  touch  at  all  on  anything  like 
business,  but  talked  to  the  Prince  about  horses,  and  to  the  Duke 
about  his  regiment.  The  Queen  was  present,  walking  to  and  fro  in 
the  room  with  a  countenance  and  manner  of  great  dissatisfaction ; 
and  the  King,  every  now  and  then,  spoke  to  her  in  a  submissive 
and  soothing  sort  of  tone.  ...  He  made,  however,  one  or  two 
•  slips,'  such  as  telling  them  he  was  the  Chancellor." 

They  took  leave  in  half-an-hour,  and  told  Colonel  Digby  they 
were  delighted  that  the  King  was  better,  though  they  noted  that  he 
had  made  an  odd  remark  about  his  "  playing  piquet  better  than  Mr. 
Charles  Hawkins." 

The  poor  monarch's  own  account  of  the  transaction,  dated  Feb- 
ruary 23rd,  was  given  to  Mr.  Pitt.  "  It  is  with  infinite  satisfaction," 
he  wrote,  "that  I  renew  my  correspondence  with  Mr.  Pitt  by 
acquainting  him  with  my  having  seen  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  my 
second  son.  Care  was  taken  that  the  conversation  should  be  gen- 
eral and  cordial.  They  seemed  perfectly  satisfied.  I  chose  the 
meeting  should  be  in  the  Queen's  apartment,  that  all  parties  might 
have  that  caution  which,  at  the  present  hour,  could  best  be  judi- 
cious." It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  Princes  were  maligned 
when  the  Court  party  set  it  about  that  they  were  unfeeling,  as  it 
was  the  King  who  made  the  conversation  general.  In  this  unfortu- 
nate contest  now  about  to  commence,  the  blame  must  be  shared 
between  the  parties;  but  the  chief  share  attaches  to  the  Queen,  who 
set  herself  up  as  the  head  of  a  faction,  and,  it  will  be  seen,  con- 
ducted the  struggle  \Vith  a  venom  and  bitterness  that  challenged 
hostility.  The  young  Princes,  without  proper  advisers,  smarting 
under  disappointment  and  their  "wrongs,"  were  only  too  ready  to 
encounter  her  enmity  with  enmity  as  inflamed — so  that  here  were 
furnished  materials  for  family  scandal  of  the  most  indecent  kind.* 
It  shows  how  envenomed  the  Court  party  was  when  it  spread 
abroad  the  report  that  "the  Princes  showed  no  emotion."  The 
same  authority  declared  that  they  were  frequenting  masquerades, 
"rioting,  and  drunk.  The  Duke  of  York  plays  much  at  tennis, 
and  has  a  score  witli  all  the  blacklegs,  and  in  the  public  court  tells 
theiij  they  shall  all  be  paid  as  soon  as  his  father  can  settle  with  liim 
some  of  the  Osnaburg  money  which  he  owes  him.    They  amused 

*  "Mrs.  Harcourt's  Diary,"  p.  12;  "  Court  and  Cabinets,"  U.  12-,':  Lit--  of 
Sir  G.PUliot,"  1274. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  193 

themselves  yesterday  evening  with  spreading  about  a  report  that  the 
King  was  still  out  of  his  mind,  and  quoting  phrases  to  which  they 
gave  that  turn :  Bless  God,  it  is  yet  some  time  before  these  mature 
and  ripened  virtues  will  be  visited  upon  us  in  the  form  of  a  govern- 
ment." 

The  Queen  had  despatched  General  Harcourt  to  Pitt  with  her 
account  of  the  interview,  pressing  him  to  come  the  next  day,  assur- 
ing him  of  the  most  cordial  reception.  Pitt  acknowledged  the  invi- 
tation, with  some  reserve  and  pride,  expressing  a  hope  that  the  zeal 
of  his  friends  was  not  pressing  him  on  the  King.  The  truth  seemed 
to  be  that  the  faithless  Chancellor  was  again  at  work,*  and  had  seen 
the  Prince,  who  had  sent  Adam  to  Fox  only  the  day  before  to  open 
some  new  scheme  of  alliance.  This,  however.  Fox  discouraged, 
saying  that  he  had  a  horror  of  negotiations  with  Thurlow.  Here  is 
an  amusing  glimpse  of  the  rough  Chancellor  at  this  time.  He  was 
convinced,  he  told  Lord  Carmarthen,  they  wanted  to  get  rid  of 
him,  and  complained  of  a  w^ant  of  confidence  between  members  of 
the  Cabinet.  ' '  Dundas  was  the  most  impudent  fellow  he  ever  knew ; 
that  he  had  proposed  a  dinner  to  the  Chancellor  at  the  house  of  the 
latter,  with  Pitt  and  Lord  Grenvillc,  where  he  (the  Chancellor)  was 
to  give  his  opinion  on  the  election  of  the  sixteen  Peers.  The  Chan- 
cellor told  him  he  would  very  readily  give  him  a  dinner,  but  no 
opinion."  f 

In  his  daughters  the  King  was  blessed.  Wrote  one  in  delight  at 
his  restoration :  "I  cannot  describe  to  you  the  joy  every  one  showed 
whenever  the  King  came.  I  can  assure  you  it  was  almost  too  much. 
Everywhere  they  sang  'God  save  the  King.'  I  was  greatly  enter- 
tained on  the  day  we  arrived  at  Lyndhurst  to  hear  a  poor  man  say 
'  I  am  so  sorry  we  have  no  band  for  the  King;  it  is  so  hard  he  has 
no  music — he  loves  it  so  much! ' " 

Of  the  Princess  Poyal  at  this  time  Mrs.  Harcourt  thus  speaks : 
After  declaring  that  her  disposition  was  such  that  she  had  not  an 
enemy  in  the  world,  she  goes  on:  "Her  apprehension  is  quick. 
Her  conduct  in  the  diflBlcult  situation  she  has  been  placed  in  by 
being  ever  distinguished  with  marked  affection  by  her  Brothers, 
especially  the  Prince,  has  been  uniformly  creditable  to  her  Judg- 
ment.    She  writes  with  an  ease  and  fluency  which  renders  her  let- 

*  "  The  Chancellor  is  again  getting  about  the  Prince,  persuading  him  that 
he  is  attached  to  him  and  that  he  hates  Pitt;  but  he  is  the  falsest  and  most 
treacherous  character  in  the  world."— Sir  G.  Elliot,  i.  275. 

t  Leeds  MS. 


194  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ters  singularly  entertaining.  I  have  heard  Miss  Goldsworthy  com- 
pare them  to  Mad.  de  Sevigne's.  Her  desire  is  ever  to  be  a  peace- 
maker—and if  she  can  procure  pleasure  to  others,  it  is  the  greatest 
delight  she  knows.  Princess  Augusta  adores  her  parents;  but  tho' 
she  is  ever  fulrilling  her  duty  she  is  a  less  marked  character,  tho'  I 
cannot  exactly  define  why,  than  the  Pss.  Royal.  Princess  Eliz''^ 
again  is  quite  different  from  her  two  Elder  Sisters.  She  has  great 
good  humor,  quick  feelings,  a  great  deal  of  genius,  an  Imagination 
full  of  fire,  much  resolution,  much  presence  of  mind,  the  same  sur- 
prising Memory  which  runs  through  the  family,  very  strong  affec- 
tions and  friendship,  high  principles,  and  a  manner  which,  from  its 
superlative  good  humor,  pleases  every  one.  She  has  a  turn  for  con- 
versation and  a  peculiarity  of  Ideas,  which  is  just  entitled  to  be 
called  wit.  She  writes  as  she  speaks,  often  full  of  humorous  con- 
ceits, and  she  has  the  power  of  defending  and  supporting  her  own 
opinions  in  presence  of  the  Queen  in  a  manner  her  Sisters  cannot 
attempt.  I  ought  rather  to  say  a  manner  which  the  P**  Royal  dares 
not,  and  the  P"  Augusta  does  not  wish  to  attempt.  Of  the  Beauty 
of  the  3  Princesses  people  think  differently,  though  all  agree  that 
they  have  a  considerable  share.  P"  Royal  is  the  finest  woman,  P" 
Augusta  the  prettiest,  and  P"  Eliz.  the  handsomest." 

PRINCESS  AUGUSTA  TO  MISS  GOLDSWORTHY. 

20th  Feb. 
**I  have  the  pleasure,  my  dearest  Gooly,  of  telling  you  we 
had  the  happiness  of  a  Visit  from  my  dear  Papa.  Last  night  he 
came  up  stairs  at  7  and  staid  till  |  past  9.  Thank  God  my  dearest 
Goullv,  for  this  Comfort.  Thank  God  for  his  great  mercy  to  us. 
I  am  so  very  happy  that  I  really  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes  when 
I  saw  him:  he  was  so  composed,  so  kind,  so  exactly  what  you  and 
all  our  real  friends  could  wish.  The  Gentlemen  below  declared 
they  never  saw  him  better  than  when  he  quitted  us,  and  he  has  had 
a  Charming  night  of  7  hours  sleep.    Your  most  affect,  my  deai-est 

Goully 

"Augusta  Sophia." 

"The  P"  Augusta  and  the  D.  of  Y.,"  adds  Mrs.  Ilarcourt,  "was 
now  continually  with  the  Q"  endeavoring  to  regain  her  favor  &  try- 
ing to  obtain  it  for  the  Prince.  The  Queen  said  there  were  parts  of 
his  conduct  she  could  never  forget,  &  instanced  his  setting  Sheridan 
to  answer  her  letters.     The  King  had  related  this  to  Mr.  Digby  & 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  195 

said  tears  were  shed  on  both  sides.  But  tlie  King  looked  to  amend- 
ment of  conduct  not  declarations. 

"P^*  Koyal  told  me  the  P.  of  Wales  had  won  money  of  the  D.  of 
Bedford  at  Newmarket  &  upon  the  Course  as  they  were  riding 
about  he  called  out  to  the  Duke,  You  know  it  don't  signify  what 
you  lose  to  me  as  your  Brother-in-law,  on  which  the  D.  of  Orleans 
said,  Qu'est  que  c'est  que  9a  que  vous  lui  dites  la?  Je  I'appelle  (said 
the  Prince)  mon  beau-fr^re. — Qu'est  que  9a  veut  dire;  est-ce  que  la 
Fitzherbert  a  une  Soeur? — Non,  non  (said  the  Prince),  il  estl'amant 
de  ma  Soeur  aine,  il  en  est  folle. 

"Dr.  Willis  had  now  prepared  the  King's  mind.  He  said  he  had 
told  the  K.  of  the  intended  Regency  &  what  day  it  was  to  have 
finally  passed.  That  he  was  struck  as  he  ought  with  the  mercy  of 
God,  who  had  restored  him  at  so  critical  a  juncture,  &  that  he 
expressed  unfeigned  Gratitude  to  the  Divine  author  of  all  Good. 
Said  he  felt  so  impressed  with  it,  &with  such  perfect  resignation  to 
the  will  of  him  who  had  afflicted  him,  that  he  could  bear  any 
reverse  or  anything  vexatious  he  might  have  to  know,  as  under 
such  circumstances  he  ought  to  bear  it. 

"  He  told  his  Majesty  the  great  part  M*"  Pitt  had  acted  &  his  obli- 
gations to  him.  The  King  told  M""  Smelt  afterwards  he  would 
rather  have  been  obliged  to  the  Nation  and  next  to  the  Nation  to  his 
Fred''  than  to  any  Individual,  but  he  seemed  on  the  whole  recon- 
ciled to  M"  Pitt,  anxious  to  see  him  &  likely  to  receive  him  kindly." 

Yet  Dr.  Willis  was  much  dissatisfied  with  the  remuneration 
offered  to  him  for  his  great  services.  He  complained  of  coldness  on 
the  part  of  the  King.  "He  only  now  learnt  that  he  was  to  be 
rewarded  with  £1000  a-year  for  20  years — £500  a-year  for  the  life  of 
D""  John.  Tom  Willis  was  to  have  his  Expences  p*^  &  to  be  pro- 
vided for  in  the  Church.  D'  W.  allowance  was  to  be  from  the 
King's  purse  not  from  ParP."  The  other  physicians  had  their 
expenses  paid  as  follows: 

Dr.  Geo.  Baker £13,000 

Dr.  Warren 1,000 

RejTiolds 900 

Pepys  &  Gisburne 700 

Dr.  John  Willis,  when  eighty  years  of  age,  and  some  forty  or  fifty 
years  after  the  transaction,  was  still  complaining  (to  Mr.  Julian 
Young)  of  Mr.  Pitt's  having  broken  his  promises. 


196  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
1789. 

On  February  26th  the  King  again  saw  his  favorite  son,  "his  Fred- 
erick," to  whom  he  would  rather  be  obliged,  he  said  to  Mr.  Pitt, 
than  to  any  one,  and  received  from  him  the  keys  of  his  papers, 
jewels,  etc.  The  King  received  them  with  many  expressions  of 
delight,  which  the  young  prince  told  and  reported  as  evidence  of 
his  insane  state.* 

His  pitiless  German  mother  was  determined  not  to  let  father  and 
sons  be  reconciled.  Almost  at  the  first  opportunity  the  Prince  had 
given  her  a  number  of  papers  to  be  laid  before  the  King,  which 
included  his  correspondence  with  Pitt,  and  an  explanation  of  his 
own  behavior.  On  the  5th  of  March,  having  received  no  answer, 
he  wrote  to  know  if  she  had  delivered  his  documents,  and  pressed 
for  an  interview  with  his  father.  "The  Queen  sent  him  some 
excuse,"  writes  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  "for  not  answering  that  day 
(not  choosing,  in  fact,  to  give  an  answer  till  she  could  see  the 
Chancellor  next  morning);  accordingly,  yesterday  the  Prince  re- 
ceived her  answer,  that  she  had  mentioned  the  matter  to  the  King, 
but  that  he  had  not  asked  to  see  him.  The  request  for  an  interview 
she  did  not  notice.  The  Duke  of  York  seems  to  have  been  always 
admitted,  amusing  himself  by  describing  his  father's  conversation, 
saying  it  was  made  up  of  childish  remarks,  or  rational,  with  occa- 
sional instances  of  singularity." 

On  one  occasion,  however  (March  4th),  when  the  Duke  tried  to 
obtain  admittance,  he  was  met  by  Dr.  Willis,  who  declared  that  it 
was  improper  that  he  should  see  the  King.  On  wliich  the  young 
prince  lost  his  temper,  and  threatened  to  knock  him  down  if  he 
dared  to  oppose  him.     "Dr.  Willis  then  besought  permission  to 


♦  He  kissed  them,  and  said:  "My  dear  key!  my  favorite  key!"  which  even 
Sir  G.  Elliot,  carried  away  by  the  distortion  of  party,  declared  "  was  perfectly 
unlike  sound  reason  in  anybody."  The  Duke  had,  of  course,  given  this  account 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  Opposition. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  197 

apprise  the  Queen  of  the  visit.  To  this  the  Duke  consented,  stipu- 
lating that  the  doctor  should  not  be  present  at  the  interview,  which 
his  royal  highness  declared  should  take  place.  The  Queen  then 
hastened  to  the  King's  apartment,  and  the  Duke  was  admitted. 
His  royal  liighness  did  not  depart  with  favorable  impressions  of 
the  King's  state;  he  scrupled  not  to  declare  that  he  thought  his 
Majesty  very  deficient  iu  mental  powers,  and  that  he  believed  some- 
thing like  fatuity  had  succeeded  to  irritation.  On  Thursday,  the 
12th,  the  Duke  of  York  visited  his  Majesty,  whom  he  found  care- 
fully examining  a  great  number  of  spectacles,  and  selecting  with 
peculiar  care  some  which  he  said  were  for  his  dear  Eliza.  To 
change  the  conversation,  the  Duke  informed  his  Majesty  that  he  had 
three  desertions  from  his  regiment.  The  King,  impatient  of  the 
interruption,  broke  out  into  violent  abuse  of  tlie  Duke  and  his  reg- 
iment, and  became  so  perturbed  that  the  Queen  was  obliged  to 
command  the  attendance  of  Dr.  Willis.  On  his  appearance,  the 
storm  instantly  subsided ;  his  Majesty  became  quite  composed :  he 
talked  of  an  intention  to  visit  Germany;  told  the  Duke  that  he 
should  send  over  a  curricle  and  six  small  grays,  and  drive  the 
Queen  and  himself  through  that  country." 

On  March  7th,  a  letter  was  written  and  sent  to  the  Prince  from 
the  Queen  enclosing  one  from  the  King  to  her,  in  which  he  vir- 
tually declined  to  see  his  sons,  on  the  ground  of  avoiding  all  busi- 
ness and  agitation.  How  wrong  the  Queen  was  all  through  this 
transaction  may  be  fairly  gathered  from  her  behavior  later  on, 
when  her  son  was  engaged  in  his  quarrel  with  Colonel  Lenox. 

On  which  the  Prince  of  Wales  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
the  Queen,  the  draft  of  which  is  corrected  and  the  date  annexed  in 
the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Fox: 


THE  PRINCE  OF   WALES  TO  THE   QUEEN. 

"  Carlton  House,  March  9th,  1789. 

"Madam, 

"The  contents  of  your  Majesty's  note  were  really  of  too 
much  importance,  and  of  too  painful  a  nature,  for  me  to  return  an 
immediate  answer.  I  have  shown  them  to  my  brother,  whose  sen- 
timents agree  entirely  with  mine,  and  Avho  feels  as  I  do  the  dis- 
tressing alternative  that  is  offered  us,  of  leaving  our  conduct 
unexplained  to  tlie  King,  or  of  obtruding  upon  him  a  discussion 
wiiich  may  have  the  effect  of  agitating  him  too  nmch.     In  this 


198  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

situation,  however,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  everything  to  our 
tenderness  for  his  Majesty,  and  do  not  desire  he  should  be  further 
troubled  upon  our  account  at  present.  We  have  too  lively  an  im- 
pression of  what  they  have  to  answer  for,  who  have  brought  or 
suffered  others  to  bring  business  before  the  King  at  a  time  when  all 
agitation  is  improper,  to  be  guilty  of  anything  liable  to  a  similar 
construction.  But  I  trust  we  shall  be  permitted  to  represent  to 
your  Majesty  a  few  facts  and  circumstances  relative  to  the  pecu- 
liarity of  our  situation,  with  the  truth  of  which  you  are  perfectly 
well  acquainted.  I  conceived  myself  to  have  a  promise  from  your 
Majesty  that  the  papers  which  I  had  sent  you  should  be  given  the 
King  at  the  first  moment  of  his  being  in  a  proper  state  to  attend  to 
business.  Relying  upon  this  promise,  I  thought  myself  authorized 
to  disbelieve  all  the  reports  which  the  Ministers  had  so  industri- 
ously circulated,  of  their  having  laid  business  before  his  Majesty, 
and  explained  to  him  what  had  passed  during  his  illness.  But 
when  the  Chancellor  and  Mr.  Pitt  made  their  respective  declara- 
tions in  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  last  Thursday,  I  could  not 
but  suppose  there  had  been  some  truth  in  what  I  had  before  treated 
as  idle  rumor,  and  wrote  to  your  Majesty  in  consequence. 

"Feeling  as  my  brother  and  I  do  for  the  King's  quiet  and  repose, 
we  consider  the  answer  sent  to  us  as  a  prohibition  with  respect  to 
any  present  explanation  of  our  conduct;  and  thus,  instead  of  hav- 
ing the  preference  to  which  we  had  so  just  a  claim,  and  which  we 
were  induced  to  expect,  we  dare  not  even  attempt?  to  counteract 
the  impressions  which  our  enemies,  who  have  daily  access  to  tlie 
King,  may  have  given  of  the  part  we  took  in  the  late  important 
occurrences.  Your  Majesty  must  surely  be  of  opinion  that  this 
state  of  things  is  neither  decent  nor  just,  and  that  whoever  is 
ersponsible  for  what  passed  at  Kew  since  the  King's  convalescence, 
has  much  indeed  to  answer  for.  I  forbear  to  say  anything  more 
upon  this  painful  subject,  nor  should  I  have  said  so  much,  if  I  had 
not  thought  that  I  owed  to  my  brother  and  myself  to  make  your 
Majesty  this  true  representation  of  these  peculiar  hardships  of  our 
situation.  I  am,"  etc. 

The  draft  of  another  note,  says  Lord  Russell,  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  Prince  himself,  without  date,  but  manifestly  written 
on  this  occasion,  deserves  insertion,  because  it  shows  what  were  his 
spontaneous  feelings  and  surmises  on  this  extraordinary  refusal  of 
a  father  to  listen  to  the  vindication  of  his  children. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  199 


the  prince  of  wales  to  the  queen. 
"Madam, 

"The  contents  of  your  Majesty's  note  were  really  of  too 
much  consequence  and  of  too  painful  a  nature  for  me  to  return  an 
immediate  answer,  before  I  had  first  seen  my  brother,  and  con- 
sulted with  him  whether  he  saw  in  the  same  point  of  view  and  with 
the  same  regret  what  appeared  to  me  a  proliibition  on  y*  just  claim 
we  both  conceived  we  had  on  the  paternal  goodness  and  affection 
of  his  Majesty,  and  w^,  we  are  confident,  w^  have  induced  his 
Majesty  to  have  furnished  us  with  the  earliest  opportunity  of 
informing  him  of  what  had  passed,  and  of  explaining  and  justify- 
ing our  own  conduct,  if  the  interested  advice  of  some  persons 
desirous  of  sowing  dissension  between  our  father  and  ourselves, 
and  of  concealing  the  truth  from  him,  had  not  interfered.  Under 
this  impression,  we  have  taken  the  liberty  of  writing  to  his  Majesty; 
and  we  wait  the  result  of  our  letter  with  y^  most  anxious  impa- 
tience, still  confiding  y\  with  y«  assistance  of  your  Majesty's  gra- 
cious and  affectionate  endeavors,  we  may  be  favored  with  the 
opportunity  of  communication  with  him,  w'*,  tlio'  denied  to  us, 
has  been  granted  to  others,  who  neither  by  affection,  duty,  or  blood 
are  attached  to  his  Majesty  as  we  are.  With  the  most  respectful 
submission,  I  have  y®  honor  to  subscribe  myself,  Madam, 

"Your  Majesty's,"  etc.* 

On  March  10th,  the  Houses  met  to  address  his  Majesty.  The 
King  was  still  represented  by  the  commission;  so  that  even  here 
there  was  an  embarrassment.  How  was  the  King's  recovery  to  be 
officially  known?  From  what  point  did  it  date?  Who  was  enti- 
tled to  say  he  was  recovered?  There  was  talk  of  an  examination 
by  the  physicians;  but  all  were  eager  not  to  raise  difficulties.  But 
even  here  the  family  rancor  intruded ;  and  Lord  Radnor  heard  that 
the  Duke  of  York  had  positively  determined  to  have  made  a  mo- 
tion, the  day  previous  to  the  address,  tending  to  show  that  the  King 
was  still  in  a  state  of  insanity;  but,  having  felt  his  ground,  he 
dropped  the  thought. f    This  scarcely  seems  credible. 

In  the  Lower  House,  Fox,  on  the  address  being  moved,  proposed 
another  to  the  Prince,  who,  he  said,  was  also  entitled  to  congratu- 


*  "  Correspondence  of  Charles  James  Fox,"  v.  305. 
t  Auckland,  "  Correspondence,"  ii.  306. 


200  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

lation  on  the  manner  in  which  he  had  behaved  during  the  crisis; 
but  tliis  was  put  aside. 

Then  followed  jubilations  and  festivities.  As  the  King  returned 
to  Kew  from  Windsor,  he  was  greeted,  Mrs.  Harcourt  says,  with 
bursts  of  joy.  At  night  the  City  was  illuminated.  The  King  of 
France  ordered  his  ambassador  to  give  a  fete.  "  But  those  about 
the  Court  were  very  uneasy  at  the  King's  hurried  manner,  and  the 
captious  temper  which  he  betrayed,  evidently  produced  by  the 
unusual  bustle  and  the  premature  intercourse  with  the  public." 
He  was  full  of  all  kinds  of  plans  for  travelling,  building,  etc. 

About  the  17th,  Lord  Chesterfield  waited  on  the  Queen  with  an 
invitation  from  the  gentlemen  of  "White's  Club,  which  proposed  giv- 
ing the  royal  family  a  ball,  in  honor  of  the  King's  recovery.  The 
Court  itself  proposed  some  festivities,  and  it  will  now  be  seen  what 
rancor  was  imported  into  these  gayeties,  and  how  the  narrow  vindic- 
tiveness  of  a  German  court  was  suffered  to  direct  all  the  proceed- 
ings that  followed — which  offers,  perhaps,  the  best  excuse  for  the 
behavior  of  the  Prince. 

The  iiiurninations  were  of  the  most  spontaneous  kind,  and  extended 
even  into  the  suburban  districts.  The  whole  country  seemed  ablaze 
with  lights.  The  reckless  Princes,  whose  good-humor  and  love  of 
enjoyment  never  flagged,  took  what  pleasure  they  could  out  of  the 
festival.     , 

"  On  the  day  of  the  illumination  the  Princes  dined  with  the  Irish 
deputies  at  Lord  Hertford's,"  writes  Sir  G.  Elliot.  "  The  Prince  and 
the  Duke  of  York  went  away  together  in  the  Prince's  coach,  and 
were  going  to  the  opera.  In  some  of  the  narrow  streets  the  coach 
was  stopped  by  other  carriages,  and  the  mob  soon  knew  the  Princes. 
They  called,  'God  save  the  King!'  while  the  Prince,  letting  down 
his  glasses,  joined  them  in  calling  very  heartily,  and  hallooed,  '  Long 
live  the  King,'  and  so  forth  with  the  mob.  But  one  man  called  out 
to  him  to  cry,  '  Pitt  forever!  or  God  bless  Pitt! '  The  Prince  said  he 
would  not;  but  cnlled  out,  'Fox  forever,  and  God  bless  Fox!'  The 
man  and,  I  Ixlicvc,  some  others  began  to  insist  on  his  s:i\  iug,  'Pitt 
forever;'  and  1  believe  he  said,  'Damn  Pitt — Fox  forever!'  on 
which  a  man  pulled  the  coach-door  open,  and  the  Prince  endeavored 
to  jump  out  amongst  them  in  order  to  defend  himself;  ])ut  the  Duke 
of  York  kept  him  back  with  one  arm,  and  with  the  other  struck  the 
iii.'in  on  the  head,  and  called  to  the  eoaelnnan  to  drive  on.  w  hieh  he 
(li<I  :ii  a  ureat  j)ace,  the  eoachdodr  lla))i)ini:-  about  as  they  went;  and 
'Mo  the  opera,     l-'r^n  iIk' opci-a  the  I 'I'in  re,  accompanied 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  gQl 

by  some  of  his  friends,  among  whom  was  Tom  Pelham,  would  walk 
to  Carlton  House ;  and  from  thence  he  chose  also  to  walk  abroad  the 
streets  to  see  the  illuminations.  But  they  persuaded  him  first  to  call 
at  Brookes'-  They  accordingly  made  their  way  on  foot  through  the 
crowd  along  Pall  Mall.  He  was  soon  known,  but  not  insulted; 
and  several  people  called,  '  God  bless  your  Highness ! '  which  he 
was  much  pleased  with.  They  also  called,  '  Long  live  the  King ! ' 
which  he  always  joined  in  as  loud  as  any  of  them.  At  St.  James' 
he  fell  in  with  a  gang  of  butchers,  with  marrow-bones  and  cleavers, 
who  knew  him,  and  began  immediately  to  play  before  him ;  and  he 
found  it  impossible  to  get  rid  of  them.  They  accordingly  cleared  the 
way  for  him,  playing  and  shouting  all  the  way  up  St.  James'  Street. 
When  they  came  to  Brookes',  they  gave  him  three  cheers ;  and  the 
Prince  in  return  hallooed  out,  '  Long  live  the  King ! '  and  gave  them 
three  cheers  himself.  He  then  sent  them  ten  guineas  to  drink.  He 
heard  at  the  same  time  that  Lord  Charlemont  and  another  Irish 
deputy  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  and  could  not  get  across ; 
on  which  he  gave  to  the  chairmen  nine  guineas  to  help  them  across. 
From  Brookes'  Pelham  persuaded  him  to  order  his  coach  and  go 
home,  which  he  did. " 

This  spirit  was  admired,  and  there  was  wonder  expressed  that  he 
had  not  the  good  luck  to  be  exceedingly  popular.  Still  striving  to 
obtain  access  to  his  father,  he  found  himself  frustrated  by  his  mother, 
with  whom  he  had  an  angry  altercation  on  the  subject.  "The 
Prince  of  Wales,"  says  Sir  G.  Elliot,  "has  had  a  smart  tussle  with 
the  Queen,  in  which  they  came  to  strong  and  open  declarations  of 
hostility.  He  told  her  that  she  had  connected  herself  with  his 
enemies,  and  had  entered  into  plans  for  destroying  and  disgracing 
him  and  all  her  children,  and  that  she  countenanced  misrepresen- 
tations of  his  conduct  to  the  King,  and  prevented  the  explanations 
he  wished  to  give.  She  was  violent  and  lost  her  temper,  and  the 
conversation  ended,  I  believe,  by  her  saying  that  she  would  not  be 
the  channel  of  anything  that  either  he  or  the  Duke  of  York  had  to 
say  to  the  King,  and  that  the  King  did  not  mind  what  either  he  or 
the  Duke  of  York  either  did  or  said  or  thought." 

The  enthusiasm  was  setting  fast  in  favor  of  the  recovered  monarch. 

"I  have  never  seen  a  greater  crowd  at  the  Court,  so  great  that  I 
was  never  within  a  room  of  the  Queen.  All  the  women,  with  only 
two  or  three  exceptions,  had  caps  with  'God  save  the  King!'  on 
them — our  ladies  as  well  as  the  others.     All  of  us  went  to  court. 

9* 


202  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"  The  King  is  in  London  to-day— I  believe  for  the  first  time  since 
his  illness.  He  persists  in  going  to  St.  Paul's,  although  every  means 
have  been  tried  to  dissuade  him."  * 

"  Inflamed  by  these  exciting  scenes  the  Queen  carried  her  hostility 
still  further.  It  was  proposed  to  give  a  concert  and  entertainment 
at  Windsor,  on  April  2nd,  in  return  for  the  sympathy  that  had  been 
displayed.  To  this  the  Princes  received  no  invitation;  and  it  almost 
seemed  that  the  injudicious  Queen  had  determined  to  exclude  them. 
She  sent  for  the  Duke  of  York,  and  delivered  to  him  a  message  from 
the  King.  '  I  am  commissioned  hj  the  King  to  acquaint  the  Prince  of 
Wales  and  you  that  there  is  to  be  a  concert  here  on  Thursday  next, 
to  which  you  will  be  very  welcome,  if  3'ou  like  to  come ,  but  it  is 
right  to  tell  you  that  it  is  given  to  those  who  have  supported  us 
through  the  late  business,  and  therefore  you  may  possiblj^  not  choose 
to  be  present  '  f  The  Duke  of  York  tried  to  laugh  the  thing  off,  and 
said,  '  Then  it  is  given  to  the  whole  nation,  for  all  parties  have  sup- 
ported the  King  according  to  their  different  opinions  of  his  interests.  '^ 
But  the  Queen  would  not  let  him  off  so,  and  said,  '  No,  no ;  I  don't 
choose  to  be  misunderstood.  I  mean  expressly  that  we  have  asked 
the  ministers,  and  those  persons,  in  short,  who  have  voted  in  Parlia- 
ment for  the  King  and  me. ' 

' '  The  Duke  of  York  was  amazingly  angry,  as  you  may  suppose, 
and  said  that  he  did  not  understand  the  sort  of  distinction  attempted 
to  be  made ;  that  his  brother  and  himself  did  not  yield  to  any  person 
in  the  kingdom  for  loyalty  and  affection  for  the  King;  and  since  this 
sort  of  distinction  was  to  be  made,  he  should  certainly  not  come  to 
the  concert.  He  added,  however,  that  he  should  inform  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  who  would  act  as  he  chose.  The  Prince  of  Wales  and  the 
Duke  of  York  were  both  in  a  violent  rage  on  this  attack  of  the 
Queen,  which  charged  them  in  plain  words  with  being  enemies  to 
the  King;  and  they  were  for  sending  strong  letters  or  papers  of 
remonstrance  and  justification  to  the  King  and  to  the  Queen.  The 
Duke  of  York  came  to  Burke  about  it,  who  went  to  Carlton  House, 
and  was  very  much  of  the  Prince's  mind  for  strong  measures,  and 
for  an  open  and  explicit  explanation.     But  he  advised  the  Prince  to 


*  Sir  G.  Elliot,  v.  288. 

t  Textual,  for  her  son  wrote  her  words  down. 

X  Even  the  maids  of  honor,  excepting  Miss  Brudenell,  who  had  shown  her 
loyalty,  were  punished,  and  told  they  would  not  be  invited.— Auckland,  "Cor- 
respondence." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  203 

consult  his  friends  first.  It  was  accordingly  agreed  to  assemble  some 
of  his  friends  the  next  morning,  and  I  was  sent  for  with  the  rest. 
The  Duke  of  Portland,  to  whom  Burke  went  overnight,  was  very 
much  against  any  strong  measures.  I  thought  it  more  important  to 
keep  the  King's  house  open  to  the  Princes,  and  to  avoid  any  rupture 
which  might  furnish  an  opportunity  for  excluding  them,  than  to 
make  their  justification  at  present.  It  was  agreed  to  support  this 
opinion.  It  turned  out,  on  the  testimony  of  Colonel  Goldsworthy, 
who  was  by  when  the  King  spoke  on  the  matter  to  the  Queen,  that 
the  good  monarch  said  that,  '  As  a  matter  of  course,  his  sons  were 
to  be  considered  as  invited  to  everything. '  So  that  the  rest  was  an 
addition  of  the  Queen's." 

After  many  councils  a  letter  of  a  rather  conciliatory  character  was 
accordingly  written  by  the  Duke  of  York,  as  follows: 

"Madam, 

"Having  delivered,  according  to  your  Majesty's  orders, 
your  message  to  my  brother,  I  lose  no  time  in  acquainting  your 
Majesty,  that,  anxious  as  we  are  [and  we  trust  have  ever  shown 
ourselves,  both  in  our  public  and  private  conduct]  to  seize  every 
opportunity  of  testifying  our  warmest  and  most  dutiful  affection 
and  attention  to  his  Majesty,  we  beg  your  Majesty  to  believe  that 
we  cannot  allow  any  circumstance  whatever  to  debar  us  from  the 
happiness  of  paying  our  duty  to  the  King  [when  he  is  so  good  as  to 
permit  it],  and  that  we  shall  have  the  highest  pleasure  in  attending 
his  Majesty  at  the  concert  on  Thursday. "  * 

The  King,  however,  according  to  Mrs.  Harcourt,  had  desired  to 
see  the  list  of  divisions  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  order  to 
exclude  those  who  had  deserted  him  in  his  affliction,  f  The  Oppo- 
sition declared  that  he  was  watched  "  like  a  prisoner,  and  never  out 
of  sight  of  one  or  other  of  the  head  keepers." 

The  f^te  was  a  grand  demonstration.  It  was  given  in  St.  George's 
Hall,  and  attended  by  all  the  first  people  in  the  kingdom.  The 
ladies  all  wore  "garter  blue,"  a  party  color.  The  Prince  and  the 
Duke  of  York,  it  was  noticed,  hardly  spoke  a  word  to  any  of  the 
royal  family;  the  Princess  Royal  declaring  "that  he  had  never  been 
kind  to  her,  but  she  did  not  care  for  that,  so  long  as  he  was  respect- 
ful to  her  parents."  X    The  King  was  remarkably  attentive  and  kind 

*  The  sentences  in  brackets  were  added  by  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot, 
t  '*  Diary,"  p.  23.  t  Ibid.  p.  15. 


204  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOEGE  IV. 

to  the  Princes;   the  Queen  quite  the  contrary,  and,  it  is  said, 
appeared  sour  and  glum  at  the  King's  behavior  to  them.     Before 
the  place  at  which  the  Chancellor  sat  at  supper  there  was  some 
device  in  which  his  aims  were  introduced,  with  a  motto  alluding  to 
the  support  given  by  him  to  the  King.     Before  Pitt  there  was  a 
Fame  supporting  Pitt's  arms  and  the  number  268,  the  first  majority 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  written  in  sugar-plums  or  sweetmeats. 
At  the  concert  the  music  had  most  of  it  some  allusion  to  politics. 
"All  this  is  quite  new  at  Court,  and  most  excessively  indecent,  as  the 
King  is  always  expected  to  be  of  no  party,  and  it  is  an  unconsti- 
tutional thing  that  he  should  even  express  openly  either  favor  or 
disfavor  on  account  of  any  vote  in  Parliament.     But  it  smells  very 
strongly  of  the  petticoat,  or  rather  of  breeches  under  petticoats.'  * 
At  this  party  there  was  high  play,  and  Payne  won  £1000  at  faro. 
This  game  was  now  in  high  fashion,  and  four  ladies,  namely,  Lady 
Archer,  Lady  Elizabeth  Luttrell,  Mrs.  Strutt,  and  Mrs.  Hobart,  kept 
banks  at  their  houses,  which  was  found  to  be  a  most  profitable  venture. 
But  the  ball  given  by  White's  Club  at  the  Pantheon  was  to  offer 
yet  another  display  of  these  animosities.     The  Prince,  it  was  stated, 
sent  round  to  his  friends  to  desire  that  they  would  not  attend  it, 
though  a  number  of  tickets  were  sent  to  him  and  his  brother.  These 
the  royal  pair  contemptuously  sent  to  "Hookham's  Library"  to  be 
sold  to  any  one  that  would  buy  them!    To  meet  this  the  stewards 
required  that  the  recipient's  name  should  be  written  on  the  tickets. 
They  were  then  sold  with  the  Duke's  name  attached.     At  this  f(5te 
there  were  the  most  extravagant  demonstrations  cf  loyalty,  the 
whole  company  singing  "  God  save  the  Queen!"    Dr.  Willis  was  the 
observed  of  all,  and  literally  "mobbed."    He  supped  beside  Mr. 
Pitt  and  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  and  seemed  ' '  all  but  mad  and  out 
of  himself  with  transport."    And  now  Brookes's  Club  followed, 
rather  malyre,  it  may  be  assumed,  with  another  fOte  on  the  21st,  and 
the  Court  ladies  gave  out  that  they  would  not  attend  it,  as  a  rebuke 
to  the  Opposition  ladies  for  abstaining  from  White's.     The  23d  of 
April,  the  day  of  the  ceremonial  of  the  King's  going  to  St.  Paul's  to 
return  thanks  for  his  recovery,  was  not  allowed  to  pass  without 
angry  feelings.     It  was  really  an  affecting  display  from  the  delight 
and  loyalty  of  the  crowds,  the  genuine  gratitude  of  the  royal  family, 
the  sobbing  Princesses,  the  composure  of  the  so  lately  afflicted  patient. 
But  our  Princes,  who  were  obliged  to  form  part  of  the  show, 

♦  Sir  G.  Elliot,  ii.  800. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  205 

according  to  an  ardent  courtier,  Lord  Bulkeley,  "behaved  in  such  an 
indecent  manner  as  was  quite  shocking. "  It  does  not  appear  that 
they  did  more  than  "talk  to  each  other  during  the  whole  time  of 
the  service" — an  irreverence  they  probably  displayed  on  other  pious 
occasions.  On  the  road  to  and  from  the  Cathedral  the  demonstra- 
tion naturally  took  the  shape  of  rival  demonstrations,  and  it  was 
noted  that  near  Carlton  House  the  King  was  coldly  received,  and 
the  Prince  warmly ;  but  in  the  City  there  was  the  loudest  acclama- 
tions for  the  King,  which  was  said  to  have  put  the  Prince  out  of 
temper.  On  the  return  of  the  procession,  when  the  guards  were 
drawn  up  before  the  palace  to  salute  the  King  and  his  family,  who 
were  at  the  windows,  with  a  feu  de  joie,  it  was  declared  that  the 
Prince  had  gone  off  at  the  head  of  a  mob,  his  cook,  Weltjie,  leading 
the  applause,  with  the  hope  of  drawing  away  attention  from  the 
King.*  The  truth  was  the  Prince  had  hurried  home  to  get  on  his 
uniform,  and,  taking  the  command  of  his  regiment,  proceeded  to 
tneet  his  father  and  escort  him  home.  At  the  door  he  led  him  in 
"with  what  was  considered  by  some  observers  the  most  affectionate 
Inanner,  Through  all  this  every  one  must  acquit  the  poor  harassed 
King,  whose  condition  required  the  most  delicate  soothing.  The 
policy  of  an  affectionate  wife  would  surely  have  been  to  let  the 
past  and  all  that  was  connected  with  it  be  forgotten;  but  family 
quarrels,  etc.,  were  terribly  agitating  for  a  person  in  the  King's  con- 
dition. "When,  early  in  June,  the  Duke  of  York  congratulated  him 
on  his  good  looks,  and  said  every  one  was  struck  by  them,  he  replied 
in  private:  "What  does  that  signify  when  I  feel  myself  that  I  am 
very  ill?"  He  complained  of  weakness,  and  that  riding  agitated  him 
so  much  that  he  was  obliged  to  give  it  up.  To  his  sons  he  was  one 
day  harsh,  the  next  tender  and  affectionate.  The  conclusion  was  that 
he  was  kept  in  subjection  by  the  Queen,  and  forced  to  behave  in  this 
fashion — indemnifying  himself  by  exhibiting  his  affection  to  them. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  suggest  a  reason  for  this  behavior;  at  least,  it 
was  not  unnatural  that  the  Opposition  faction  should  do  so.  It 
seemed  probable  that  the  King  would  relapse,  and  that  she  would 
would  use  the  first  opportunity  for  seizing  either  the  regency  or  as 
much  power  as  she  could.  For  the  mistakes  that  had  been  made 
during  the  last  crisis  in  not  securing  greater  power  was  now  evident 
to  her ;  or,  if  he  continued  in  his  present  nervous  condition,  she  might 
at  least  secure  the  chief  direction.  In  either  of  these  courses  there 
was  rather  a  selfish  disregard  of  the  interest  of  the  hapless  patient. 

*  "  Court  and  Cabinets,"  ii.  153. 


206  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

1789. 

But  all  this  bad  feeling  was  now  to  culminate  in  the  scandalous 
duel  fought  between  two  members  of  the  respective  factions :  one, 
no  other  than  the  Duke  of  York,  representing  the  Prince's  side ;  the 
other,  Colonel  Lenox,  the  Champion  of  the  Court.  Sir  Gilbert 
Elliot  gives  the  fullest  and  most  accurate  account  of  this  strange 
transaction. 

* '  Mr.  Lenox  (lie  writes  on  May  30)  had  been  amusing  himself  all 
this  winter  with  abusing  and  insulting  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the 
Duke  of  York  in  the  most  scurrilous  and  blackguard  way,  both 
behind  their  backs  and  soAietimes  to  their  faces.  It  was  the  more 
blackguard  in  Lenox  as  he  lived  a  good  deal  with  both  the  Princes, 
and  was,  indeed,  for  some  time,  hardly  ever  out  of  the  Duke  of 
York's  house,  whom  he  bored  extremely.  Lenox,  you  know,  was 
graciously  forced  into  the  Duke  of  York's  regiment,  against  the 
rules,  or  at  least  common  practice,  of  the  army,  over  all  the  officers' 
heads,  and  without  so  much  as  an  intimation  to  the  Duke,  who  was 
the  colonel.  This  made  a  great  noise  in  the  army,  and  particularly 
in  the  Guards,  and  most  particularly  in  the  Coldstream  regiment, 
which  is  the  Duke  of  York's.  The  Duke  remonstrated,  and  took 
the  natural  steps  for  a  colonel  in  such  a  situation,  but  without  effect, 
and  always  without  any  personal  reflections  on  Lenox,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  with  great  personal  civility  towards  him.  When  Lenox 
was  fairly  in  possession,  the  Duke  of  York  said  to  him  that  though 
he  certainly  disapproved  of  the  measure  by  which  he  had  come  into 
the  regiment  as  prejudicial  to  the  service  and  offensive  to  himself  as 
colonel,  and  had  done  what  he  thought  his  duty  in  opposing  it,  that 
yet  he  was  very  glad  the  thing  had  happened  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Lenox,  whom,  considering  the  thing  merely  in  a  personal  view,  he 
was  very  happy  to  have  in  liis  regiment.  To  this  gentlemanlike 
and  conciliatory  speech  Mr^  Lenox  answered  that  it  was  the  King's 
pleasure  he  should  be  there,  and  that  was  enough  for  him.     I  men- 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  207 

tion  this  to  show  the  sort  of  man.  Some  time  after  this,  Lenox  was 
abusing  the  Princes  and  talking  offensive  language  about  them  and 
their  friends  in  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  York  at  D'Aubigne's 
Chib,  when  St.  Leger  said  that  it  was  very  odd  he  always  chose  to 
say  these  things  to  persons  who  could  not  resent  them.  Why  don't 
you  say  them  to  some  of  us  who  can  answer  you?  This  was  the 
substance.  I  don't  know  the  terms  or  the  strength  of  the  language 
in  which  St.  Leger  expressed  himself.  To  this  Lenox  made  no 
answer,  and  took  no  notice  of  it.  The  Duke  of  York,  it  seems,  said 
afterward  to  somebody  (I  don't  know^  who  or  on  what  occasion) 
that  Lenox  had  submitted  to  language  which  a  gentleman  ought  not 
to  bear.  Lenox,  hearing  of  this,  went  to  the  Duke  of  York  on  the 
parade  and  asked  him  whether  he  had  not  said  so,  desiring  an  explana- 
tion. The  Duke  of  York  acknowledged  having  said  so,  but  said 
that  was  not  a  proper  place  for  explanation  on  such  a  subject. 
After  the  parade  he  w^ent  to  the  orderly-room,  and  there  Lenox 
renewed  the  subject  in  the  presence  of  the  officers  of  the  regiment, 
requiring  the  Duke  of  York  to  inform  him  what  the  words  were  to 
which  he  alluded,  and  who  had  spoken  them.  The  Duke  of  York 
refused  to  tell  him  either,  because  it  would  be  pointing  out  a  quar- 
rel to  him,  and  said  there  was  no  occasion  for  it,  as  the  words  were 
spoken  to  Tlr.  Lenox  himself,  and  he  must  therefore  be  as  well 
acquainted  with  them  as  anybody.  Lenox  said  this  laid  him  under 
a  great  hardship,  as  he  was  not  conscious  of  any  language  having 
"been  used  which  he  ought  to  resent,  and  as  the  Duke  of  York 
refused  to  inform  him  of  the  person  who  had  used  it;  adding  that 
the  Duke  of  York  was  his  colonel  and  the  King's  son,  which  placed 
them  on  an  unequal  footing,  and  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  have 
satisfaction,  as  he  might  in  another  case.  The  Duke  desired  that 
he  would  v/aive  those  circumstances,  and  consider  him  on  this  occa- 
sion exactly  as  he  would  any  other  gentleman.  This  Lenox  declared 
he  could  not  do,  and  so  they  parted.  The  next  thing  Lenox  did 
was  to  write  a  circular  letter,  dated  May  18th,  to  all  the  members  of 
the  Club,  desiring  them  to  inform  him  if  they  had  heard  any  lan- 
guage which  he  ought  to  resent. 

"  'Sm, 

'"A  report  having  been  spread  that  the  Duke  of  York  had 
said,  "  Some  words  had  been  made  use  of  to  me,  in  a  political  con- 
versation, that  no  gentleman  ought  to  submit  to,"  I,  on  the  first 
opportunity,  spoke  to  his  royal  highness  before  the  officers  of  the 


208  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Coldstream  regiment,  to  which  I  have  the  honor  to  belong:  his 
answer  was,  "That  he  heard  them  said  to  me  at  D'Aubigne's"; 
but  he  positively  refused  to  tell  me  the  expression,  or  the  person 
who  had  used  it.  In  this  situation,  being  perfectly  ignorant  what 
his  royal  highness  can  allude  to,  and  not  being  aware  that  any  such 
an  expression  ever  passed,  I  cannot  find  any  better  mode  of  clearing 
up  this  matter,  than  by  writing  a  letter  to  every  member  of  D'Au- 
bignl's  Club,  desiring  each  of  them  to  let  me  know  if  he  can  recol- 
lect any  expression  to  have  been  used  in  his  presence,  which  could 
bear  the  construction  put  upon  it  by  his  royal  highness,  and,  in  such 
case,  by  whom  the  expression  was  used.  If  any  such  expression 
should  occur  to  your  memory  (as  you  must  be  conscious  of  the  dis- 
agreeable situation  in  which  I  am  placed),  I  trust  and  hope  you  will 
take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  stating  it  to  me.  If  no  such  exprcs 
sion  occurs  to  your  memory,  I  would  not  give  you  the  trouble  of  an 
.answer,  which  I  should  else  hope  to  receive  before  this  day  se'nnight. 
** '  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

"'Your  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

"  *C.  Lenox.'" 

"  You  will  see  it  in  the  papers.  He  received  no  satisfaction  from 
this  measure.  As  he  had  heard  it  himself,  nobody  thought  them- 
selves bound  to  tell  him  what  he  ought  to  resent.  Some  of  the 
answers  were  in  a  taunting  and  insulting  style.  St.  Leger's  was  in 
substance  that  he  kept  no  account  of  club  conversation,  but  that  if 
he  had  said  anything  to  Mr.  Lenox  which  he  wished  for  satisfac- 
tion for,  he  was  ready  at  all  times  to  give  it  him. 

"  Colonel  Lenox  not  having  received  any  satisfactory  answer  to 
his  requisition,  sent  a  written  message  to  the  Duke,  to  this  pur- 
port: 'That  not  being  able  to  recollect  any  occasion  on  which 
words  had  been  spoken  to  him  at  D'Aubigne's,  to  which  a  gentle- 
man ought  not  to  submit,  he  had  taken  the  step  which  appeared  to 
him  most  likely  to  gain  information  of  the  words  to  which  his  royal 
highness  had  alluded,  and  of  the  persons  who  had  used  them;  that 
none  of  the  members  of  the  Club  had  given  him  information  of  any 
such  insult  being  in  their  knowledge,  and  therefore  he  expected,  in 
justice  to  his  character,  tliat  his  royal  liighness  should  contradict 
the  report  as  publicly  ns  ho  hnd  :is«ertcd  it.' 

"After  recciviiiu:  thcsi'    uii-;itisfactory  .•!  't  a 

challenge  to  the  Duki;  of  York  by  Lord  W'iiH  ih  v,  ,i ;  .n  i  ym  saw 
the  result  in  the  papers.     The  Duke  of  York  had  a  very  narrow 


IHE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  209 

escape;  and  Mr.  Lenox  had  so  much  an  intention  to  kill  him,  that 
Lord  Winchelsea's  carriage,  with  post-horses,  trunks,  and  imperials, 
was  in  waiting  at  hand  during  the  duel." 

The  Duke  (says  another  account),  who  was  then  residing  at  Carl- 
ton House,  took  the  utmost  care  to  keep  the  matter  a  secret  from 
his  brother  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  only  person  he  consulted 
upon  it  was  Lord  Rawdon,  who,  painful  and  delicate  as  the  com- 
mission was,  could  not,  in  point  of  honor,  refuse  to  accept  the  dan- 
gerous ofRce  of  second  to  his  royal  highness.  The  same  caution 
was  observed  on  the  following  morning,  which  was  the  26th  of 
May,  when  the  Duke,  to  prevent  inquiry,  left  his  own  hat  at  Carl- 
ton House,  and  took  one  belonging  to  a  domestic.  The  two  sec- 
onds issued  the  following  statement,  which  contains  the  official 
account  of  the  duel: 

"In  consequence  of  a  dispute  already  known  to  the  public,  his 
Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  York,  attended  by  Lord  Rawdon,  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox,  accompanied  by  the  Earl  of  Winchel 
sea,  met  at  Wimbledon  Common.  The  ground  was  measured  at 
twelve  paces,  and  both  parties  were  to  fire  at  a  signal  agreed  upon. 
The  signal  being  given,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  fired,  and  the 
ball  grazed  his  royal  highness's  curl.  The  Duke  of  York  did  not 
fire.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  observed  that  his  royal  highness 
had  not  fired:  Lord  Rawdon  said  it  was  not  the  Duke's  intention 
to  fire;  his  royal  highness  had  come  out  upon  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lenox's  desire,  to  give  him  satisfaction,  and  had  no  animosity 
against  him.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  pressed  that  the  Duke  of 
York  should  fire,  which  was  declined,  upon  a  repetition  of  the  rea- 
son. Lord  Winchelsea  then  went  up  to  the  Duke  of  York,  and 
expressed  his  hope  that  his  royal  highness  would  have  no  objection 
to  say  he  considered  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  as  a  man  of  honor 
and  courage.  His  royal  highness  replied  that  he  should  say  noth- 
ing; he  had  come  out  to  give  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  satisfaction, 
and  did  not  mean  to  fire  at  him:  if  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  was 
not  satisfied,  he  might  fire  again.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lenox  said 
he  could  not  possibly  fire  again  at  the  Duke,  as  his  royal  highness 
did  not  mean  to  fire  at  him.  On  this  both  parties  left  the  ground. 
The  seconds  think  it  proper  to  add  that  both  parties  behaved  with 
the  most  perfect  coolness  and  intrepidity. 

"Rawdon. 

"WmCHELSEA." 


210  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Two  letters  were  sent  oil  express  to  town,  one  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  the  other  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  giving  them  an 
account  of  the  proceedings.  At  the  instant  of  his  brother's  return, 
the  Prince  set  out  for  Windsor,  lest  rumor  should  have  given  his 
parents  an  incorrect  and  exaggerated  narrative  of  the  business. 

"Jack  Payne,"  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot  resumes,  "told  me  yesterday 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  business  was  received  by  the  King  and 
Queen.  Observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  second  who  carried  the 
challenge,  and  went  out  with  Lenox,  is  a  Lord  of  the  King's  Bed- 
chamber, son  of  Lady  Charlotte  Finch,  who  is  in  the  Queen's  fam- 
ily. While  the  duel  was  going  on,  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  walk- 
ing about  in  the  yard  at  Carlton  House,  in  great  agitation.  The 
Duke  of  York  brought  the  account  himself,  and  only  said,  'Broth- 
er, it  is  all  over,  and  all  is  quite  well;  but  I  have  no  time  to  tell  you 
particulars,  for  I  must  go  to  the  tennis-court.'  On  which  the  Prince 
wished  the  tennis-court  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  made  the  Duke 
of  York  relate  what  had  passed." 

Though  the  Duke  of  York's  conduct  may  appear  to  have  been 
ungenerous  in  his  refusal  of  explanations  before  and  at  the  meet- 
ing, it  must  be  considered  that  he  was  resenting  the  abuse  of  him- 
self and  his  brother,  which  the  Court  champion  indulged  in.  To 
those  of  the  present  generation  this  episode  will  seem  amazing. 
Everything  connected  with  it  shows  that  it  was  owing  to  the  enmity 
of  the  factions.  It  would  hardly  be  supposed  that  this  fury  would 
have  been  directed  against  a  young  Prince  of  the  Blood,  and  that  a 
subject  would  have  deliberately  sought  to  take  the  life  of  one  in  so 
high  a  station.  That  Colonel  Lenox  was  deliberately  "  set  on"  by 
the  Court  faction,  as  it  was  stated  by  the  Opposition,  is  incredible; 
yet,  from  the  subsequent  adoption  of  the  aggressor  by  the  Court,  it 
would  almost  seem  to  be  true.  Such  was  their  passion  that  the 
Court  at  once  took  up  his  cause  against  the  Prince.  The  Duke,  it 
was  admitted,  behaved,  according  to  the  code  of  duelling,  with 
much  spirit  and  courage;  and  it  was  clearly  believed  lie  was  acting 
*3  the  champion  of  his  brother's  cause.  Can  it  be  wondered  at  that 
it  was  believed  that  the  Court  looked  with  favor  on  this  attempt  to 
take  the  life  of  the  Duke,  when  we  read  of  the  extraordinary  beha- 
vior of  the  Queen? 

Once  more  the  lively  Sir  Gilbert  shall  recount  what  gossip  he 
picked  up  on  the  subject: 

"As  soon  as  the  Prince  of  Wales  had  learnt  the  particulars,  he 
set  off  for  Kew  with  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  sent  up  a  message 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  211 

to  the  King  by  Colonel  Goldswortliy,  that  he  wished  to  speak  to  the 
King  immediately  for  five  minutes,  and  that  he  wished  the  King  to 
be  alone.  Colonel  Goldswortliy  delivered  the  message  to  the  King, 
who  said :  '  Very  well,  very  well ;  but  I  want  just  to  go  up  to  the 
Queen  first.*  The  Prince  was  accordingly  admitted  to  the  King, 
Queen,  and  Princesses.  He  said  he  had  something  particular  to 
sny,  and  wished  that  the  Princesses  might  not  be  present.  They 
retired,  and  he  then  related  to  the  King  and  Queen  the  previous 
circumstances  which  led  to  the  duel,  and  turned  about  to  the  Queen 
and  said,  '  Madam,  you  know  I  acquainted  you  with  these  circum- 
stances a  week  ago '  (which  he  had  done  in  the  view  of  having  the 
thing  stopped  by  authority).  The  King  said,  'Ay,  indeed  !  I  never 
heard  a  word  of  it  before.'  The  Prince  then  related  what  had 
passed  in  the  duel,  and  when  he  mentioned  the  circumstance  of  the 
ball  having  passed  through  the  curls,  the  King  gave  a  shudder  and 
made  a  little  noise  expressive  of  terror,  which  was  the  only  mark  of 
sensibility  on  the  occasion  which  he  ventured  to  show.  The  Queen 
heard  it  all  with  perfect  composure,  and  without  the  slightest  expres- 
sion of  feeling  or  agitation.  She  stood  looking  out  at  window ;  and 
when  the  Prince  had  told  the  story,  the  way  in  which  she  expressed 
her  tenderness  on  the  occasion  was  to  say  immediately  that  she 
understood  it  was  all  the  Duke  of  York's  own  fault,  and  that, 
according  to  her  account  of  the  matter,  he  had  showed  more 
anxiety  to  fight  Mr.  Lenox  than  Mr.  Lenox  had  to  fight  him.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  on  this  answered  that  she  must  have  been  very 
much  misinformed,  and  that  if  she  considered  the  circumstances, 
he  was  sure  she  must  allow  her  account  was  extremely  improbable, 
because  if  a  man  was  very  desirous  of  fighting  another,  it  was  not 
likely  that  he  should  refrain  voluntarily  from  firing  at  him,  and 
that  nobody  was  very  anxious  to  go  out  merely  for  the  pleasure  of 
being  fired  at  himself. 

"  This  interview  ended  without  anything  being  said  by  the  King 
or  Queen,  either  of  approbation  of  his  conduct  or  joy  at  his  safety, 
or  any  other  expression  of  feeling,  or  any  notice  of  the  Duke  of 
Yorlv  at  all.  The  Duke  of  Clarence  was  not  admitted.  The  day 
before  yesterday  the  Duke  of  York  went  himself  to  the  King  and 
Queen.  He  saw  the  King  first  alone,  who  was  excessively  affected 
and  showed  the  strongest  marks  of  agitation  and  tenderness  for  him 
on  this  occasion;  but  what  is  remarkable  is,  that  the  door  being 
ajar,  and  the  Queen  in  the  next  room,  the  King  stole  gently  to  the 
door  and  shut  it  to,  that  he  might  not  be  seen  or  overheard  in  these 


212  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

expressions  of  natural  affection.     When  the  Queen  came  in  she 
took  no  notice  at  all  of  the  transaction,  good  or  bad." 

Later  he  had  the  whole  description  of  the  scene  from  the  Prince 
of  Wales  himself. 

"  June  2,  1789. 

"  The  account  I  had  from  Jack  Payne,  which  I  sent  you,  is  pretty 
right.  She  has  never  yet  said  once  that  she  was  glad  the  Duke  of 
York  was  not  killed;  not  once  so  much  as  that.  When  the  Duke  of 
York  went  to  the  King  the  first  time  after  the  duel,  I  told  you  of  the 
King  having  behaved  with  great  feeling  and  affection.  The  Queen, 
on  the  contrary,  did  not  say  one  word  to  him  on  the  subject;  and 
the  first  and  only  thing  she  said  was,  '  Did  you  think  Boodle's  ball 
full  last  night?  '  At  the  French  ambassador's  ball  she  not  only  re- 
ceived Mr.  Lenox  very  graciousl}^  but  afterwards,  when  there  was 
no  occasion  for  it,  kissed  her  fan  to  him  half  the  length  of  the  room 
two  or  three  times,  taking  pains  to  mark  her  favor  as  conspicuously 
as  she  could." 

On  May  the  31st,  when  the  Duke  and  Lady  Charlotte  Finch  were 
with  her,  she  did  nothing  but  inquire  about  Lord  Winchelsea,  and 
how  he  was  and  what  he  was  doing,  affecting  to  a  particular  interest 
in  him,  which,  considering  he  had  been  second  to  Colonel  Lenox, 
was  scarcely  an  agreeable  topic  for  her  son.  What  mflamed  this 
rage  was  the  fact  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  Colonel  Lenox's 
father,  had  deserted  the  Opposition  during  the  Regency  debates. 
The  son  of  Colonel  Lenox,  who  still  lives,  relates  that  the  Prince 
made  a  sneering  remark  to  the  effect  that  "  the  Lenoxes  don't  fight,"* 
which  was  of  course  repeated.  These  bitter  lines  are  found  in  the 
Rolliad: 

When  thy  rash  arm  desired  her  favorite  dead, 
The  Christian  triumphed  and  the  mother  fled. 
No  rage  indignant  shook  her  pious  frame. 
No  partial  doting  swayed  the  saintlike  dame; 
But  spurned  and  scorned  where  honor's  sons  resort, 
Her  friendship  soothed  thee  in  thy  mother's  court. 

That  this  account  of  the  mother's  behavior  was  no  partial  one 
will  be  seen  from  the  passages  in  the  letter  to  the  King,  in  which  her 
eldest  son  bitterly  complains  of  her  conduct,  f    A  more  extraordi 


♦  "Reminiscencps."  \.  7. 

t  Mrs,  Harcourt,  wliu  was  d  aecretis  at  the  Court,  wt 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  213 

nary  indictment  of  a  queen  by  her  son,  and  addressed  to  his  father, 
could  not  be  produced. 

"  The  very  extraordinary  and,  I  believe,  unparalleled  event  which 
has  lately  taken  place  between  my  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  and  a 
private  gentleman,  an  officer  in  his  regiment,  and  a  person  nearly 
connected  with  one  of  your  Majesty's  Cabinet  ministers,  furnishes 
me,  unfortunately,  with  too  much  matter  on  this  subject.  I  do  not 
wish  to  trouble  your  Majesty  with  a  particular  examination  of  all 
the  circumstances  which  conducted  my  brother  into  that  transaction, 
in  which,  however,  I  am  persuaded  your  Majesty  will  be  happy,  on 
consideration,  to  find  that  the  Duke  of  York  has  distinguished  him- 
self as  eminently  for  sound  judgment  and  an  honorable  character,  as 
for  the  spirit  and  personal  courage  which  belongs  to  your  Majesty's 
blood.  It  is  not  the  event  itself,  but  some  collateral  circumstances 
attending  it,  which  I  would  advert  to. 

"  Whatever  the  nature  of  Mr,  Lenox's  complaint  was,  it  must  be 
allowed  that  a  challenge  from  an  officer  to  his  colonel  is  an  unusual 
transaction,  and  one  which  is  extremely  opposite  to  the  general  no- 
tions of  discipline  and  subordination  in  the  army.  It  must  be 
allowed  that  a  challenge  from  a  private  man,  one  of  your  Majesty's 
subjects,  to  a  Prince  of  the  Blood,  and  especially  to  one  so  nearly 
allied  to  the  throne,  is  still  more  unusual ;  and  if  drawn  into  a  prac- 
tice, must  be  deemed  productive  of  very  important  consequences  to 
the  tranquillity  of  the  nation,  and  the  security  of  the  succession.  The 
circumstance  to  which  I  would  draw  your  Majesty's  attention  is, 
that  Mr.  Lenox  was  publicly  countenanced  by  your  Majesty's  minis- 
ter the  very  day  on  which  the  event  took  place ;  was  received  the 
next  day  in  a  very  public  assembly,  and  on  many  other  occasions 
since,  with  every  mark  of  graciousness  and  favor  by  the  Queen ;  and 
is  not  yet  known  to  have  received  any  signification  of  your  Majes- 
ty's displeasure.  I  must  also  entreat  your  Majesty's. attention  to 
another  most  remarkable  circumstance :  the  challenge  was  delivered 
to  your  son;  and  his  antagonist  was  attended  to  the  field  by  a  Lord 
of  your  Majesty's  Bedchamber — one  who  is  not  merely  a  poUtical 
servant,  but  belongs  to  your  Majesty's  family,  and  is  immediately 
attending  upon  your  person.  His  mother  is  in  the  family  of  the 
Queen;  and  he  and  his  family  have  dwelt  almost  the  whole  of  their 

taken  of  the  duel  there  when  she  says  "  it  was  owing  to  the  cruel  insult  offered 
to  Colonel  Lenox.  The  Duke  of  York's  whole  conduct  greatly  lowered  him 
among  his  friends."—"  Diary,"  p.  26. 


214  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

lives  at  your  Court,  in  your  Palace,  and  enjoying  eminentlj'-  your 
Majesty's  and  the  Queen's  constant  favor  and  bounty. 

"Thus  circumstanced.  Lord  Winchelsea  did  not  think  it  incum- 
bent on  him  to  resign  his  situation  in  your  Majesty's  family.  Lord 
"Winchelsea  has  not  been  dismissed  from  your  Majesty's  service,  nor 
has  he  received  any  reprimand  or  other  expressions  of  your  Majes- 
ty's disapprobation,  but  still  approaches  your  Majesty's  person,  and 
to  the  world  must  undoubtedly  appear  to  enjoy  at  Court  the  same 
grace  and  favor  as  before  this  extraordinary  transaction,  I  hope  your 
Majesty  will  not  believe  me  capable  of  insinuating  that  these  or  any 
other  circumstances  can  ever  convey  to  my  mind  the  most  remote 
suspicion  that  to  attempt  the  life  of  the  Duke  of  York,  or  to  be  vol- 
untarily accessory  in  putting  it  in  danger,  or  even  to  be  forward  in 
espousing  the  quarrels  of  his  enemies,  are  things  not  displeasing  to 
your  Majesty,  much  less  a  road  to  favor.  I  do  most  solemnly  pro- 
test that  neither  I  nor  any  of  my  brothers  have  ever  for  a  moment 
harbored  a  thought  so  undutiful,  so  monstrous,  and,  we  know,  so 
false  and  injurious  to  your  Majesty.  We  are,  on  the  contrary,  firmly 
convinced,  and  it  has  been  often  our  only  consolation  in  the  midst 
of  our  afflictions,  of  your  Majesty's  tender,  affectionate,  and  indul- 
gent love  for  us  and  all  your  children.  We  do  assure  your  Majesty 
that  this  is  our  frequent  theme,  and  that  our  hearts  overflow  with 
gratitude  and  duty  whenever  we  reflect  on  your  Majesty's  kind  and 
paternal  disposition,  which,  we  acknowledge  with  joy,  w^as  never 
manifested  more  signally  than  in  the  kindness  with  which  we  were 
happy  enough  to  be  received  by  your  Majesty,  when  we  were  re- 
stored to  your  Majesty's  presence  on  the  joyful  occasion  of  your  late 
recovery.  On  the  other  hand  we  humbly  and  earnestly  entreat  your 
Majesty  on  our  parts,  not  to  believe  those  who  tell  you  that  we  do 
not  love  you.  Whoever  they  may  be,  they  are  your  enemies  as  well 
as  ours.  But  it  is  in  proportion  to  our  own  affection  for  your  Maj- 
esty, to  our  own  confidence  in  your  love,  and  to  the  value  which 
we  set  upon  it,  that  we  may  contemplate  with  pain  and  anxiety 
every  circumstance  which  to  others  may  seem  to  render  those  bless- 
ings questionable.  Permit  me,  therefore,  to  observe  to  your  Majes- 
ty, that  the  world  is  so  framed,  and  judges  so  grossly  the  appear- 
ance of  things  such  as  they  strike  the  eye,  that  undoubtedly,  in  this 
late  transaction,  a  most  ungracious  impression  must  be  made  on  the 
minds  of  many.  They  will  not  fail  to  remark  that  Mr.  Lenox  could 
have  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  second  against  the  Duke  of  Tork  out 
of  his  father's  family. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  215 

"  As  soon  as  I  had  learnt  the  happy  account  of  my  brother's 
safety,  and  had  received  the  particulars  of  the  affair  from  himself, 
I  flew  to  Kew,  in  order  to  communicate  to  your  Majesty  the  fortu- 
nate issue  of  a  business  which  had  well-nigh  proved  so  fatal.  Your 
Majesty  received  the  account  with  all  the  tenderness,  affection,  and 
anxious  sensibility  which  belong  to  your  paternal  goodness,  and 
which  the  occasion  could  inspire  in  the  breast  of  the  kindest  father. 
It  is  a  matter,  then,  of  deep  affliction,  as  well,  I  am  sure,  as  a  cir- 
cumstance of  great  and  anxious  alann,  that  I  should  be  compelled 
to  contrast  the  deportment  of  the  Queen  on  this  occasion  with  that 
of  your  Majesty.  Your  Majesty  knows  that  I  had  requested  a  pri- 
vate audience,  and  that  my  wish  was  to  have  communicated  this 
event  to  your  Majesty's  ear  alone.  I  considered  the  transaction  as 
of  too  delicate  and  of  much  too  affecting  a  nature  to  be  broken 
abruptly  to  the  Queen ;  and  it  was  therefore  with  regret  that  I  found 
myself  under  the  necessity  of  relating  in  her  presence  an  affair,  the 
very  nature  of  which  was  agitating  to  a  mother,  and  in  which  some 
circumstances  were  sufficiently  critical  and  alarming  to  shake  even 
the  constancy  of  your  Majesty,  and  to  draw  from  you  expressions 
of  parental  solicitude  and  even  horror,  which,  while  they  did  honor 
to  your  Majesty's  feelings,  were  surely  to  be  more  naturally  looked 
for  in  a  mother  on  such  an  occasion.  Your  Majesty  is  my  witness, 
that  during  the  whole  relation  the  Queen  did  not  utter  a  syllable 
either  of  alarm  at  the  imminent  danger  which  had  threatened  the 
life  of  my  brother  but  an  hour  before,  of  joy  and  satisfaction  at  his 
safety,  or  of  general  tenderness  and  affection  towards  him,  which 
might  appear  natural  in  moments  thus  afflicting.  Nor  were  these  the 
only  testimonies  of  indifference  that  I  was  obliged  to  observe.  For 
your  Majesty  must  well  remember  that  the  first  word  the  Queen  pro- 
nounced, and  the  whole  tenor  of  the  only  conversation  she  after- 
wards held,  was  a  defence  of  Mr.  Lenox's  conduct,  strongly  imply- 
ing a  censure  on  that  of  my  brother. 

"The Duke  of  York  had  himself  the  happiness  of  seeing  your 
Majesty  the  next  day,  and  enjoyed  in  that  interview  the  inexpressi- 
ble satisfaction  of  receiving  from  your  Majesty  every  token  of  ten- 
derness and  sensibility  which  his  situation  could  draw  from  the  best 
and  most  affectionate  parent.  Your  Majesty's  kindness  has  been 
the  subject  of  our  admiration  and  gratitude  ever  since,  and  the  im- 
pression it  has  made  on  us  can  never  be  erased  from  our  hearts. 
Your  Majesty  is  again  our  witness  that  at  this  first  meeting  with  the 
Duke  of  York,  the  Queen  observed  a  total  silence  on  the  subject 


216  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

which  had  thus  affected  your  Majesty.  This  recent  and  interesting 
event  was  not  even  alluded  to,  and  on  such  a  day  her  Majesty  con- 
descended only  to  address  my  brother  on  the  most  indifferent  topics. 
Since  that  period  it  is  matter  of  public  notoriety,  and  has  no  doubt 
been  so  of  public  observation,  that  Mr.  Lenox  has  received  the  most 
distinguishing  marks  of  her  Majesty's  approbation  on  every  occa- 
sion on  which  they  could  be  bestowed,  and  has  been  permitted,  if 
not  invited,  to  mix  even  in  the  personal  society  and  amusements  of 
your  Majesty's  family.  This  conduct  I  am  confident  he  would  not 
have  dared  to  hold  if  your  Majesty  had  been  present,  nor  can  the 
world  suppose  him  to  have  hazarded  what  must  have  appeared  even 
to  himself,  at  least,  so  shocking  an  indecorum  without  being  well 
assured  that  it  would  not  have  been  disapproved  of  by  the  Queen."  * 

Nor  did  the  scandals  end  here.  A  ball  was  given  at  St.  James's 
Palace  on  the  King's  birthday.  Colonel  Lenox  was  invited,  and 
actually  danced  in  the  very  set  with  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  his 
brothers!  There  was,  at  least,  a  want  of  taste  in  this  proceeding, 
and  the  Prince,  no  doubt  glad  of  the  opportunity,  took  a  step  which 
was  a  surprise  for  the  company.  As  he  was  dancing  down  the 
country  dance  with  his  sister,  and  turning  each  couple,  he  came  to 
Colonel  Lenox  and  his  partner.  As  the  Princess  was  going  to 
"turn"  Colonel  Lenox,  the  Prince  stopped  short,  and,  seizing  her 
hand,  abruptly  led  her  out  of  the  dance.  The  Duke  of  York,  who 
came  next,  turned  Colonel  Lenox  and  danced  on;  but  his  brother, 
the  Duke  of  Clarence,  followed  the  example  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
The  Queen  asked  him — though  she  must  have  known  the  reason  of 
his  behavior — "was  he  tired?"  He  answered,  "Not  at  all."  She 
then  supposed  "he  found  it  too  hot."  Irritated  by  tiiis  hypocrisy 
— for  she  must  have  known  what  was  the  cause  of  offence — he 
broke  out  with  a  reply  that  "in  such  company  it  was  impossible 
not  to  find  it  too  hot."  "  Then,"  said  the  Queen,  "  I  suppose  you 
mean  that  I  should  break  up  the  ball?"  to  which  the  Prince  replied 
that  "it  was  the  very  best  thing  she  could  do."  And  accordingly 
she  gave  the  signal  for  retiring.f 

Some  odd  incidents  were  associated  with  this  affair.  Out  of 
this  rencontre  another  arose — between  Colonel  Lenox  and  Mr.  The- 
ophilus  Swift,  an  Irish  gentleman — occasioned  by  some  strong  lan- 


*  From  the  letter  to  the  King,  "  Correcpondence  of  Fox,"  ii.  346... 
t  The  Prince,  howevrr,  made  a  gracious  apology  to  Lady  Catherine  Barnard, 
who  was  Colonel  Lenox's  partner. 


ME  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  217 

guage  which  the  latter  had  thought  proper  to  make  use  of  respect- 
ing the  duel,  in  a  publication  addressed  to  the  King.  The  parties 
met  at  Bayswater,  and  Mr.  Swift  was  severely  wounded. 

The  Bishop  of  Llandaff  offered  "his  warmest  congratulations" 
to  the  Duke  on  a  late  event;  adding  that,  "As  a  Christian  bishop, 
I  cannot  approve  of  any  man's  exposing  his  life  on  such  an  occa- 
sion. As  a  citizen,  I  must  think  that  the  life  of  one  so  near  to  the 
crown  ought  not  to  be  hazarded  like  the  life  of  an  ordinary  man; 
but,  as  a  friend  to  the  house  of  Brunswick,  I  cannot  but  rejoice  in 
the  personal  safety,  and  in  the  personal  gallantry,  too,  of  so  dis- 
tinguished a  branch  of  it." 

Colonel  Lenox's  sister  was  so  touched  with  the  Duke's  magnani- 
mity that  she  begged  to  be  allowed  to  have  the  curl  that  had  been 
shot  away!  She  was  gratified;  and  from  this  period,  we  are  toldj 
"the  purest  friendship  "  between  the  parties  arose.  Even  on  his 
death-bed  the  royal  personage  bethought  him  of  his  early  associa-' 
tions,  and  directed  that  another  lock  of  his  hair  should  be  trans- 
mitted to  the  lady. 

Mr.  Kaikes  tells  us  that  the  Prince  never  forgave  Lord  Win- 
chelsea  for  his  share  in  the  transaction ;  and,  after  the  old  King's 
death,  he  seldom  or  never  appeared  at  Court.  His  duel  with 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  however,  shows  him  to  have  been  a  weak 
personage.  The  Duke  of  York,  in  this  transaction,  as  all  through 
his  life,  showed  himself  superior  to  little  resentments,  and,  Mr, 
Raikes  adds,  "had  always  a  great  esteem  for  his  character,  and 
though  from  their  different  modes  of  life  they  did  not  often 
meet,  he  never  failed  to  express  it.  In  those  days,  when  his 
royal  highness  was  in  the  habit  of  dining  with  me,  I  once  asked 
Lord  Winchelsea  to  meet  him,  and  I  was  struck  by  the  cordial- 
ity with  which  he  greeted  him."  * 

"  The  charming  manners,"  adds  Lady  Minto,  in  a  very  just  view 
of  the  Prince's  character,  "which  threw  a  glamour  over  the  utter 
worthlessness  of  his  moral  character,  were  combined  with  consid- 
erable talents  and  acquirements,  and  could  hardly  have  existed 
without  them,  for  perfect  good  breeding  would  seem  to  be  either 
the  result  of  a  combination  of  superior  moral  qualities — which 
we  know  the  Prince  had  not — or  of  certain  mental  qualities, 
such  as  quickness  of  perception,  readiness,  and  tact — and  these 
he  appears  to  have  possessed  in  no  ordinary  degree.     Sir  Walter 

*  Raikes,  "Journal,"  i.  468. 
10 


218  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Scott  remarked  that  it  was  impossible  to  form  a  fair  judgment 
of  llie  abilities  of  the  man  who  introduced  whatever  subject  he 
chose,  discussed  it  just  as  long  as  he  chose,  and  dismissed  it  when 
he  chose;  but  the  remark  is  only  just  if  abilities  of  a  high  order 
are  meant.  To  do  the  three  things  well  which  Scott  enumerated 
would  require,  in  the  society  of  the  men  the  Prince  lived  with, 
no  small  amount  of  general  information,  perception,  and  obser- 
vation." 

The  following  natural  and  affectionate  letter,  in  reference  to  the 
illness  of  his  brother,  shows  him  in  a  pleasing  light: 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO   LORD  LOUGHBOROUGH. 

"York  House,  half -past  12  o'clock  p.m.,  July  2nd,  1789.* 
"My  DEAR  Lord, 

"The  excessive  goodness  and  friendship  I  ever  have  experi- 
enced from  you,  makes  me  trespass,  I  assure  you  much  against 
my  wishes,  once  more  upon  you,  hoping  that  you  will  forgive 
my  absence  this  evening  from  a  party  which,  I  am  certain  from 
everything  I  have  hitherto  witnessed,  must  afford  the  greatest 
pleasure  and  delight  to  all  whose  minds  are  perfectly  at  ease, 
and  who  have  nothing  to  occupy  them  but  the  hospitable  and 
pleasing  reception  you  give  all  your  friends.  But  to  tell  you 
the  truth,  my  dear  Lord,  I  am  very  unfit  for  anything  so  gay  or 
so  agreeable.  The  anxiety  I  have  undergone  the  whole  of  this  day 
has  worried  me  to  death;  and*  though,  thank  God,  the  physicians 
assure  me  that  my  brother  is  as  well  as  can  be,  considering  his  com- 
plaint, yet  I  should  feel  miserable  to  leave  him.  Could  I  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  Bedford  Square  this  night,  I  should  wear 
the  same  countenance  of  pleasure  which  I  am  sensible  that  all  those, 
who  have  not  a  sick-bed  to  attend,  naturally  must  do  {tt  your  house. 
I  am  sure,  from  what  I  know  of  you,  that  you  will  feel  for  me,  and 
for  once  forgive  me  for  the  disappointment  I  occasion  myself. 
"  1  remain,  my  dear  Lord, 

*'Ever  most  sincerely  your  Friend, 

"George  P." 

Indeed,  as  we  follow  the  embarrassing  and  disagreeable  compli- 
cations in  which  the  Prince  was  now  involved,  and  consider  that 

♦  Lord  Campb«U,  vi  8ia 


r/f£?  LIFE  OF  OEOBOEi  IV.  ^19 

this  was  a  young  man,  barely  five-and-twenty,  it  is  impossible  not 
to  be  surprised  at  the  part  he  took,  and  the  position  he  maintained, 
among  men  like  Fox,  Sheridan,  Burke,  and  many  more.  Through 
all  his  follies  there  was  a  certain  character,  which  made  itself  felt. 

After  this  hostile  encounter,  it  was  felt  matters  could  not  rest 
there;  a  bitter  and  unkind  letter  addressed  by  the  King  to  his  third 
son,  in  which  he  accused  him  of  taking  part  with  his  brothers, 
brought  things  to  a  crisis.  It  was  determined  by  the  Princes  that 
a  formal  statement  of  their  grievances  should  be  drawn  up,  and 
with  it  a  complete  vindication  of  their  conduct,  and  laid  before  the 
King.  This  was  to  include  an  indictment  of  the  Queen.  The  task 
was  entrusted  to  Sir  G.  Elliot,  who  bestowed  immense  labor  and 
pains  upon  it;  and  during  its  progress  he  had  many  opportunities 
of  seeing  and  consulting  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  impressed  him 
in  the  most  favorable  manner. 

"He  was  excessively  pleased  with  it,  expressing  every  now  and 
then  his  approbation  in  a  very  warm  and  agreeable  way.  He  made, 
at  the  same  time,  several  very  sensible  observations,  and  suggested 
some  alterations  which  I  think  perfectly  judicious,  and  shall  cer- 
tainly adopt.  I  was  very  'much  struck  with  the  appearance  of 
judgment,  as  well  as  with  the  signs  of  good  disposition  and  proper 
feeling,  which  he  gave  in  this  interview,  and  I  will  venture  to  say 
that  few  princes  have  had  anything  like  the  good  or  considerable 
qualities  which  both  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of  York 
possess." 

When  the  letter  was  completed,  it  was  laid  before  a  sort  of  coun- 
cil at  Carlton  House,  and  the  question  was  formally  debated  whether 
it  should  be  sent  forward.  The  step  was  strongly  opposed  by  the 
Duke  of  Portland  and  Lord  Loughborough,  on  the  ground  that  it 
amounted  to  burning  their  ships;  that  it  forced  upon  the  King  the 
necessity  of  deciding  between  the  Queen  and  her  son;  and  there 
was  little  doubt  which  side  he  would  take,  under  her  inspiration  or 
compulsion.  The  result,  probably,  would  be  that  the  Prince  and 
his  party  would  be  forbidden  the  Court.  The  Prince  himself  and 
the  Duke  of  Clarence,  as  well  as  Burke,  were  eager  for  taking 
action.  Fox  doubted.  Before  anything  was  determined,  the  Prince 
set  off  for  Brighton,  hurrying  up  as  usual  in  a  spasm  and  proposing 
to  give  all  the  papers  to  the  Chancellor,  to  lay  them  before  the  King 
when  an  opportunity  offered.  It  would  seem  that  it  was  never  pre- 
sented, and  it  may  be  presumed  to  be  the  best  vindication  of  the 
Prince  that  could  be  offered. 


2^  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  TV. 

"Sir, 

"Thinking  it  probable  that  I  should  have  been  honored  with 
your  commands  to  attend  your  Majesty  on  Wednesday  last,  I  have 
unfortunately  lost  the  opportunity  of  paying  my  duty  to  your 
Majesty  before  your  departure  from  Weymouth.  The  accounts  I 
have  received  of  your  Majesty's  health  have  given  me  the  greatest 
satisfaction,  and  should  it  be  your  Majesty's  intention  to  return  to 
Weymouth,  I  trust.  Sir,  there  will  be  no  impropriety  in  my  then 
entreating  your  Majesty's  gracious  attention  to  a  point  of  the  great- 
est moment  to  the  peace  of  my  own  mind,  and  one  in  which  I  am 
convinced  your  Majesty's  feelings  are  equally  interested.  Your 
Majesty's  letter  to  my  brother,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  in  May  last, 
was  the  first  direct  intimation  I  had  ever  received  that  my  conduct 
and  that  of  my  brother  the  Duke  of.  York,  during  your  Majesty's 
late  lamented  illness,  had  brought  on  us  the  heavy  misfortune  of 
your  Majesty's  displeasure.  I  should  be  wholly  unworthy  the 
return  of  your  Majesty's  confidence  and  good  opinion,  which  will 
ever  be  the  first  objects  of  my  life,  if  I  could  have  read  the  passage 
I  referred  to  in  that  letter  without  the  deepest  sorrow  and  regret  for 
the  effect  produced  on  your  Majesty 's  mind;  though  at  the  same  time 
I  felt  the  firmest  persuasion  that  your  Majesty's  generosity  and  good- 
ness would  never  permit  that  effect  to  remain,  without  affording  us 
an  opportunity  of  knowing  what  had  been  urged  against  us,  of  repl}-^- 
ing  to  our  accusers,  and  of  justifying  ourselves,  if  the  means  of  jus- 
tification were  in  our  power. 

"Great,  however,  as  my  impatience  and  anxiety  were  on  this  sub- 
ject, I  felt  it  a  superior  consideration  not  to  intrude  any  unpleasing 
or  agitating  discussions  upon  your  Majesty's  attention,  during  an 
excursion  devoted  to  the  ease  and  amusement  necessary  for  the  re- 
establishment  of  your  Majesty's  health.  I  determined  to  sacrifice 
my  own  feelings,  and  to  wait  with  resignation  till  the  fortunate 
opportunity  should  arrive,  when  your  Majesty's  own  paternal  good- 
ness would,  I  was  convinced,  lead  you  even  to  invite  your  sons  to 
that  fair  hearing  which  your  justice  would  not  deny  to  the  meanest 
individual  of  your  subjects.  In  this  painful  interval  I  have  employ- 
ed myself  in  drawing  up  a  full  statement  and  account  of  my  con- 
duct during  the  period  alluded  to,  and  of  the  motives  and  circum- 
stances which  influenced  me.  When  these  shall  be  humbly  submit- 
ted to  your  Majesty's  consideration,  I  may  be  possibly  found  to  have 
erred  in  judgment,  and  to  have  actod  on  mistaken  principles,  but  I 
have  the  most  assured  conviction  lliat  1  sli;tll  not  Ik-  foiiiid  to  lia\(> 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  221 

been  deficient  in  that  duteous  affection  to  your  Majesty  which 
nothing  shall  ever  diminish.  Anxious  for  everything  that  may  con- 
tribute to  the  comfort  and  satisfaction  of  your  Majesty's  mind,  I 
cannot  omit  this  opportunity  of  lamenting  those  appearances  of  a 
less  gracious  disposition  in  the  Queen  towards  my  brothers  and  my- 
self  than  we  were  accustomed  to  experience;  and  to  assure  your 
Majesty,  that  if  by  your  affectionate  interposition  these  most  un- 
pleasant sensations  should  be  happily  removed,  it  would  be  an  event 
not  less  grateful  to  our  minds  than  satisfactory  to  your  Majesty's 
own  benign  disposition.     I  will  not  longer,  etc.  etc. 

"G.  P." 

The  most  important  portions  may  be  given  here: 

I  owe  to  your  Majesty  (it  begins)  at  all  times,  an  account  of  my 
actions ;  but  I  am  most  anxious  to  render  that  account  of  myself  and 
my  conduct  during  the  unhappy  period  of  your  Majesty's  illness ; 
because  while  it  was  full  of  delicacy,  embarrassment,  and  difficulty 
to  me,  it  has  been  exposed  in  the  same  proportion  to  the  malicious 
or  interested  misconstruction  of  others,  whom  I  have  reason  to  think 
enemies  of  my  honor  and  welfare,  as  well  as  wholly  indifferent  to 
those  of  your  Majesty. 

My  first  object  is  to  regain  for  myself,  and  my  brother  the  Duke 
of  York,  your  Majesty's  good  opinion  and  affection. 

Permit  me,  first,  to  relate  those  circumstances  which  are  of  a 
private  and  domestic  nature. 

The  severity  of  your  Majesty's  disorder  having  increased  to  an 
alarming  degree,  I  repaired  immediately  to  Windsor,  and,  disre- 
garding every  other  object,  applied  myself  wholly  to  the  care  of  a 
health  so  valuable,  and  to  the  alleviation  of  youv  Majesty's  suffer- 
ings. I  provided  what  appeared  to  me  the  best  means  for  your 
recovery ;  I  observed  the  conduct  of  those  who  were  intrusted  with 
the  immediate  attendance  on  your  Majesty;  I  referred  the  plan  of 
management  to  your  physicians,  and  superintended  the  due  and 
punctual  execution  of  their  directions.  In  these  anxious  offices,  I 
had  the  consolation  of  being  supported  by  the  constant,  unwearied, 
and  affectionate  attendance  and  counsel  of  my  brother,  the  Duke  of 
York.  It  is  with  satisfaction  I  inform  your  Majesty  that  we  desired 
and  received  the  advice  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  on  every  material 
step  that  we  took.  I  reflected  on  the  great  personal  confidence  with 
which  your  Majesty  had  distinguished  Lord  Thurlow;  and  the 
nature  as  well  as  eminence  of  his  office  seemed  to  point  him  out  ag 


222  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV, 

a  person  who  might  be  consulted  with  peculiar  propriety  in  this 
most  critical  and  delicate  posture  of  affairs.  In  what  manner  I  was 
able  to  discharge  these  weighty  duties,  it  is  not  fit  that  I  should  be 
called  upon  to  speak  myself;  I  choose  rather  to  refer  your  Majesty 
to  the  testimony  of  the  Chancellor,  and  to  that  of  your  Majesty's 
attendants  at  that  period,  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  our  conduct. 
This  only  I  think  it  right  to  say,  that  from  the  hour  on  which  the 
alarming  violence  of  your  Majesty's  illness  appeared  to  require  the 
care  which  I  have  described,  until  the  removal  of  your  Majesty  to 
Kew,  neither  myself  nor  the  Duke  of  York  was  absent  for  a  day 
from  Windsor,  nor  suffered  any  consideration,  even  of  health, 
much  less  any  lighter  avocation,  to  retain  us  an  hour  from  your 
Majesty's  chamber,  and  from  the  discharge  of  a  duty  so  dear  to  us 
both. 

Next  to  the  care  of  your  Majesty's  person,  that  of  your  private 
and  domestic  affairs  appeared  to  claim  my  attention.  While  your 
Majesty  and  the  Queen  continued  to  reside  at  Windsor,  the  money, 
jewels,  papers,  and  other  effects  belonging  to  your  Majesty,  did  not 
seem  to  require  any  particular  caution  for  their  security.  But  on 
the  removal  of  your  Majesty  to  Kew,  I  considered  it  as  my  duty  to 
provide  for  the  safety  of  those  effects ;  and  I  determined  at  the 
same  time  to  do  so  in  such  a  manner  as  should  be  consistent  with 
that  scrupulous  delicacy  which  suited  the  occasion,  and  which  I  felt 
to  be  becoming  in  a  voluntary,  although  highly  necessary^  interfer- 
ence with  the  affairs  of  your  Majesty  not  expressly  authorized  by 
your  Majesty's  orders. 

In  this  view,  after  mentioning  my  intentions  to  the  Lord  Chancel- 
lor and  receiving  his  approbation,  I  desired  the  attendance  of  Lord 
Brudenell,  who  is  keeper  of  your  Majesty's  privy-purse,  together 
with  that  of  Lord  Weymouth,  whom  I  judged  to  be  the  person 
whose  presence  your  Majesty  would  the  most  approve  upon  such  an 
occasion.  I  directed  them  to  take,  from  your  Majesty's  drawers  at 
Windsor,  the  jewels  and  the  money  which  were  deposited  there. 
An  account  of  each  was  taken  on  the  spot,  and  they  were  delivered 
to  the  custody  of  Lord  Brudenell,  whom  I  conceived  to  be  the 
proper  officer  for  that  purpose.  Lord  Brudenell's  receipt  was  taken 
at  the  same  time,  specifying  both  the  jewels  and  the  money  which 
were  committed  to  his  charge,  and  he  was  directed  to  deposit  these 
effects  in  his  office,  and  be  answerable  for  their  safe  custody,  and 
for  their  production  whenever  your  Majesty  shoukl  require  it. 

The  situation  of  the  apartments  at  Windsor  in  which  these  effects 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  223 

were  lodged  appeared  to  me  by  no  means  secure,  and  the  suspicion 
which  might  get  abroad  of  their  value  seemed  to  increase  the  risk. 
These  circumstances  determined  me  to  use  the  precaution  I  have 
described  for  their  security.  Yet  I  felt  it  to  be  a  duty  of  too  deli- 
cate a  nature  to  discharge  in  my  own  person,  and  I  selected,  to 
the  best  of  my  judgment  for  this  service,  those  who  I  tliought 
would  be  most  acceptable  to  your  Majesty  on  such  an  occasion. 
The  whole  was  done  in  my  own  presence,  but  was  performed 
solely  by  the  hands  of  Lord  Brudenell  and  Lord  Weymouth.  A 
difficulty  occurred  concerning  your  Majesty's  papers  which  were 
deposited  in  the  same  place.  It  had  been  the  opinion  of  the  Lord 
Chancellor  that,  for  greater  security,  they  should  be  removed,  and, 
after  being  properly  docketed,  should  be  deposited  in  some  other 
place.  But  observing  that  they  appeared  to  be  arranged  with  great 
regularity  and  method,  and  being  extremely  unwilling  that  any 
paper  of  your  Majesty's  should  undergo  the  slightest  inspection,  or 
that  your  Majesty  should  even  have  reason  to  suspect  that  they 
might  have  been  seen  by  any  one,  I  represented  these  circum- 
stances to  the  Chancellor,  and,  with  his  consent,  determined  to 
leave  them  untouched  by  any  hand  whatever,  exactly  in  the  places 
and  order  in  which  your  Majesty  had  deposited  them.  I  did  not 
conceive  that  papers  were  in  the  same  danger  as  money  or  jewels; 
and  I  judged  that  it  would  be  most  acceptable  to  your  Majesty  to 
find  your  papers  exactly  as  you  had  left  them.  Besides  which,  I 
felt  an  invincible  repugnance  to  permitting,  without  your  Majesty's 
order,  even  that  degree  of  inspection  which  was  necessary  for  pre- 
serving their  arrangement,  to  any  persons,  however  confidential 
I  might  know  them  to  be  with  your  Majesty.  These  were  my 
motives  for  taking  this  resolution.  The  drawers  were  accordingly 
locked  and  the  keys  enclosed  in  a  paper,  which  was  sealed  with 
Lord  Weymouth's  seal,  as  well  as  with  others;  and  continued  in 
this  manner  till  it  was  restored  to  your  Majesty  by  my  brother, 
the  Duke  of  York,  as  soon  as  your  Majesty's  recovery  gave  us 
reason  to  believe  that  you  would  wish  to  receive  it. 

I  have  not  troubled  your  Majesty  with  the  detail  of  these  ar- 
rangements in  order  to  claim  any  positive  merit  on  the  occasion.  I 
did  my  duty,  and  no  more.  But  as  this  has  been  the  only  occasion 
in  my  life  in  which  I  have  felt  an  obligation  to  take  on  myself  the 
direction  of  a  pecuniary  or  any  similar  concern  of  your  Majesty's, 
I  trust  only  that  my  conduct  in  this  instance  has  not  been  such  as 
to  deserve  the  reproach  of  personal  unkindness  towards  your  Ma- 


224  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

jesty,  mucli  less  such  as  to  expose  me  to  the  dishonorable  suspicion 
of  infidelity  in  trusts  of  that  nature,  or  to  render  any  degrading  and 
affronting  caution  more  necessary  against  me  than  any  other  person. 

With  whatever  consciousness  of  rectitude,  and,  therefore,  with 
whatever  satisfaction  I  may  reflect  on  the  discharge  of  my  duty  in 
this  instance,  yet  I  have  ever  since  had  strong  reasons  for  regretting 
the  necessity  I  was  under  to  act  in  it.  For  it  was  tlie  first  occasion 
on  w^hich  I  had  the  misfortune  to  feel  the  Queen's  displeasure,  and 
to  incur  her  anger. 

The  measures  which  I  have  described  for  securing  your  Majesty's 
effects  against  the  attempts  either  of  theft  or  curiosity,  were  no 
sooner  known  at  Kew  than  her  Majesty  expressed  the  most  marked 
disapprobation,  and,  to  my  extreme  astonishment,  condescended,  at 
my  next  interview,  to  a  species  and  warmth  of  reproaches,  into 
which  nothing  could  have  surprised  or  betrayed  her  Majesty  but  a 
degree  of  passion,  which,  as  I  had  never  witnessed  nor  believed  to 
exist  in  her  Majesty  before,  so  I  accounted  it  the  more  remarkable 
on  the  present  occasion,  not  conceiving  in  what  manner  the  circum- 
stances were  capable  of  producing  so  extraordinary  an  effect. 

Without  ascribing  to  this  cause  the  unfortunate  indisposition 
which  I  have  ever  since  experienced  in  the  Queen's  mind,  I  have 
to  lament  it,  however,  as  the  period  from  which  I  must  date  tlie 
first  open  demonstration  of  her  anger;  and  I  cannot  but  be  sensible 
that  I  have  never  since  recovered  with  her  Majesty  any  sliare  of 
that  confidence  or  affection  which  I  once  considered  it  my  principal 
happiness  to  possess  so  entirely. 

Your  Majesty's  removal  to  Kew  was  directed  by  a  Cabinet 
Council  of  your  Ministers,  who  previously  assembled  at  Windsor, 
and  examined  your  physicians  relative  to  that  measure.  As  soon 
as  that  event  had  taken  place,  the  care  of  your  IMajesty  fell  solely 
and  exclusively  into  the  hands  of  the  Queen.  From  this  period  I 
suddenly  found  my  access  to  your  Majesty  prohibited  in  such  a 
manner  that  I  was  immediately  excluded  from  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  your  Majesty,  and,  indeed,  almost  deprived  of  the  privilege 
to  receive  authentic  information  of  your  Majesty's  health  and  situa- 
tion. 

I  cannot  describe  to  your  Majesty,  nor  is  it,  indeed,  easy  to  ascer- 
tain the  precise  means  by  which  this  exclusion  of  myself  and  of  my 
brother — for  it  extended  to  us  both — from  all  personal  attendance  of 
dutiful  affection  on  your  Majesty,  was  brought  about.  We  had, 
indeed,  a  right,  as  your  sons,  and  we  felt  it  as  such,  to  !i<  free  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  225 

unreserved  personal  admission,  and  to  as  full,  particular,  and  confi- 
dential information  on  such  a  subject  as  any  other  person  whatever, 
until  some  provision  should  be  made  by  a  competent  authority  for 
our  exclusion.  But  your  Majesty  must  be  sensible  that  many  con- 
siderations, both  of  affectionate  caution  respecting  your  Majesty's 
health,  and  also  of  personal  delicacy,  belonging  to  the  peculiar  com- 
plexion of  the  times,  rendered  it  impossible  for  us  to  assert  and 
insist  on  this  right,  invaluable  as  we  deemed  it,  when  opposed  by 
the  various  devices  and  pretensions  with  which  the  possession  of 
your  Majesty's  person  so  abundantly  furnished  those  who  wished  to 
remove  us  from  your  presence.  The  consequence  was,  that  not- 
withstanding all  the  efforts  which  the  circumstances  would  allow  us 
to  make,  we  came  ultimately  to  be  considered  as  total  strangers  in 
your  Majesty's  palace,  and  not  only  to  be  debarred  from  your  pres- 
ence, but  from  a  knowledge  even  of  your  Majesty's  condition.  This 
exclusion  was  rendered  the  more  mortifying  and  irksome  to  us  by 
our  knowledge  that  while  we  were  debarred  from  your  presence, 
many  other  persons  who  are  neither  connected  with  your  Majesty  by 
blood,  nor,  as  we  believe,  attached  to  your  Majesty  by  sincere  affec- 
tion, as  we  are,  had  free  admission  whenever  they  desired  it. 

It  had  been  the  practice  of  your  physicians  to  send  me  every  day 
a  written  account  of  your  Majesty's  health,  and  this  conununication 
was  naturally-  somewhat  more  particular  than  the  public  account, 
communicated  at  St.  James's  to  all  the  word.  It  was,  in  fact,  the 
only  distinction  that  was  made  between  myself  and  the  rest  of  your 
Majesty's  subjects.  Your  Majesty  cannot  better  learn  the  degree  in 
which  it  was  intended  to  exclude  your  sons  from  intercourse  with 
your  Majesty,  and  knowledge  of  your  situation,  than  by  hearing 
that  an  express  order  was  delivered  by  authority  to  your  Majesty's 
physicians  to  refrain  from  communicating  to  me  any  other  account 
of  your  Majesty's  health  than  that  which  was  transmitted  daily  to 
the  lord-in- waiting  at  St.  James's  for  the  information  of  the  public. 

I  could  not,  Sir,  but  feel,  in  common  with  my  brother,  the  Duke  of 
York,  both  giief  and  mortification  at  being  thus  separated  and  severed, 
as  it  were,  from  your  Majesty's  person  and  family.  I  have  had  much 
reason  to  lament  it  since,  for  reasons  which  may  perhaps  throw  some 
light  on  the  motive  of  those  who  brought  it  about.  For,  from  the 
first  moment  of  your  Majesty's  joyful  recovery,  your  Majesty's  ear 
has,  by  the  banishment  of  your  sons,  been  exclusively  possessed  by 
those  who  have  unfortunately  felt  either  an  interest  or  inclination  to 
misrepresent  our  conduct,  and  hurt  us  in  your  opinion.    I  shall  for- 

OFTHt 

UNIVERSITY 

or 


226  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ever  account  it  the  greatest  calamity  of  my  life,  that  in  the  first 
period  of  returning  health,  when  your  Majesty's  mind  was  j^et  free 
from  prejudice,  your  ear  untainted  by  slander,  and  your  heart^ — as  it 
ever  is,  but  most  peculiarly  so  in  those  moments  of  softness  which 
succeed  affliction  and  disease — open  to  impressions  of  affection,  ten- 
derness, and  indulgence,  I  and  my  brother,  who  both  have  ever 
loved  you,  and  have  never  justly  forfeited  our  title  to  your  love, 
were  held  in  exile  from  your  presence,  and  condemned  to  silence, 
while  our  enemies  were  laboring,  with  every  advantage  of  constant 
intercourse  with  your  Majesty  and  the  impossibility  of  being  answered, 
to  ruin  us  in  your  esteem. 

In  laying  before  your  Majesty  an  account  of  those  transactions 
which  may  be  deemed  of  a  public  and  political  nature,  it  is  with  the 
utmost  pain  that  I  must  recall  to  my  own  memory,  and  perhaps 
wound  your  Majesty's  feelings,  by  alluding  to  the  unhappy  necessity 
which  appeared  to  arise  out  of  your  severe  malady  for  supplying, 
by  a  temporary  Government,  the  lamented  absence  of  your  Majesty 
during  the  continuance  of  your  illness.  But  I  rely  both  on  your 
Majesty's  fortitude,  and  on  the  ascendency  which  the  love  of  justice 
has  in  your  mind  over  every  wx'akness  of  ordinary  natures,  for  your 
generous  approbation  of  my  resolution  to  postpone  the  inferior  con- 
siderations of  sensibility  and  delicacy,  to  objects  which  I  know  your 
Majesty  rates  far  higher — the  honor  of  your  son,  the  dignity  of  your 
family,  and  the  true  interests  of  your  crown  and  people. 

Supported  by  this  reflection,  I  cannot  hesitate  to  set  before  you  a 
view  of  the  new,  anxious,  and  arduous  situation  in  which  your  Ma- 
jesty's ic  Jisposition  suddenly  placed  me,  as  well,  indeed,  as  the  legis- 
lature and  the  whole  nation. 

I  am  too  thoroughly  persuaded  of  the  magnanimity  as  well  as  the 
justice  of  your  Majesty's  character  to  feel  the  smallest  apprehension 
that  any  indisposition  can  arise  in  your  Majesty's  mind  towards  me, 
from  the  consideration  that  all  men  united,  without  a  single  excep- 
tion, in  the  opinion  that  the  temporary  government  ought  to  be 
placed  in  my  hands.  This  appeared  a  necessary  consequence  of  the 
relation  which  I  bear  to  your  Majesty,  and  I  am  sure  your  Majesty 
will  consider  it,  as  you  justly  may,  as  an  acknowledgment  made  to 
the  claim  of  your  Majesty's  blood ;  not  sought  by  me  nor  bestowed 
by  Parliament  as  a  thing  personal  to  myself,  or  as  a  claim  of  mine 
distinct  from,  much  less  adverse  to,  your  Majesty's  personal  interests, 
or  those  of  your  crown. 

Such  were  the  circumstances  which  compelled  me  to  take  any  part 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  227 

whatever  in  the  affairs  of  Government.  But  I  cannot  for  a  moment 
deny  myself  the  satisfaction  of  acquainting  your  Majesty,  and  I  hope 
it  will  remain  strongly  impressed  on  your  Majesty's  mind  through- 
out, that  this  necessity  was  not  declared  by  me,  but  was  first 
announced  to  the  world  by  your  Majesty's  ministers,  who  took  the 
lead  in  proposing  and  bringing  forward  every  step  that  has  been 
made  for  accomplishing  this  purpose.  While  I  was  permitted  to 
attend  on  your  Majesty,  my  whole  mind  was  engaged,  and  my  whole 
time  employed,  in  the  more  interesting  cares  of  private  and  domestic 
duty ;  I  refrained  altogether,  by  system  as  well  as  inclination,  from 
every  object  of  a  different  nature.  The  only  perfectly  true  and  cor- 
rect account  that  can  be  given  of  the  part  which  I  took  respecting 
public  measures  and  the  affairs  of  Government  is,  that  I  industriously 
avoided  taking  any  part  at  all ;  I  remained  from  the  beginning  wholly 
passive  and  neutral,  until  the  steps  taken  by  your  Majesty's  ministers 
called  me  unavoidably  from  this  retirement  into  action;  and  ren- 
dered it  my  indispensable  duty  to  your  Majesty,  your  people,  and 
myself,  to  direct  my  most  serious  attention  to  the  consideration  of 
public  affairs. 

I  must  once  more  implore  your  Majesty  to  reflect  attentively  on 
this  circumstance,  and  allow  to  it  its  due  weight  in  the  judgment  you 
are  to  form  of  my  conduct.  It  is  far  from  my  object  in  this  address 
to  defend  the  wisdom  of  all  I  did,  or  omitted  to  do,  in  this  trying 
situation. 

He  then  vindicates  his  share  in  the  late  political  transactions: 

I  must  be  perinitted  to  claim,  with  the  greater  contidence,  the  full 
effect  of  this  determination  on  your  Majesty's  mind,  as  it  was  not 
adopted  without  opposition  from  one  in  whose  opinion  I  might  have 
been  justified  for  acquiescing,  and  under  the  authority  of  which  I 
might  have  sheltered  an  opposite  conduct  if  I  had  been  disposed  to 
adopt  it.  I  was  urged,  from  an  honorable  opinion,  I  am  sure,  and 
one  which  was  sincerely  entertained  by  the  person  to  whom  I  allude, 
to  come  forward  much  earlier  in  my  own  person  to  claim  the  Gov- 
ernment, as  falling  to  me  of  right  during  your  Majesty's  illness,  and 
to  take  the  lead  out  of  the  hands  of  your  Majesty's  ministers  into  my 
own.  Such  was  the  opinion  of  my  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
and  he  pressed  it  on  me  with  all  the  earnestness  which  belonged  to  a 
sincere  and  fixed  opinion  on  a  subject  of  such  moment. 

The  first  public  act  in  which  I  had  any  share  was  a  declaration. 


228  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

made  at  my  request  by  my  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  to  the  House 
of  Lords,  speaking  in  his  place  as  a  peer  of  Parliament,  on  the  loth 
of  December. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  state  in  a  very  few  words  the  subject  which 
was  then  under  consideration.  Instead  of  proceeding  to  settle  the 
mode  in  which  the  Government  was  to  be  exercised  in  your  Ma 
jesty's  name,  your  Majesty's  ministers  thought  proper  to  propose 
that  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  should  first  vote  an  abstract 
proposition  declaratory  of  their  rights  on  that  occasion.  This  pro- 
ceeding appearing  to  us  both  unnecessary  and  dangerous  in  itself, 
we  could  not  help  considering  it,  in  the  intention  of  those  by  whom 
it  was  proposed,  as  a  measure  of  pure  hostility  to  rae.  We  were 
sure  at  least  that  its  tendency  was  necessarily  injurious,  in  the  high- 
est degree,  to  my  reputation  in  the  country.  I  was  informed  that  it 
was  not  usual  for  Parliament  to  come  to  verbal  declarations  of  their 
rights  previous  to  exercising  them,  and  that  such  a  measure  has  only 
been  resorted  to  in  cases  where  the  jealousy  of  Parliament  has  been 
excited  by  attempts  from  some  adequate  authority  to  dispute  or  to 
defeat  the  privilege  which  they  have  asserted.  The  declaration  of 
the  rights  of  Parliament  on  this  occasion  did  undoubtedly  convey  to 
the  world  an  insinuation  that  they  had  been  attacked;  and  as  there 
existed  at  the  time  no  authority  which  could  give  weight  or  impor- 
tance to  such  an  attack  but  mine,  the  eyes  of  the  world  were  natu- 
rally drawn  towards  me,  and  the  nation  was  taught  to  believe  that  I 
had  begun  the  public  career  to  which  I  was  unfortunately  called,  by 
some  attempt  or  some  claim  inimical  to  the  constitution  and  liberties 
of  the  country.  I  have,  however,  the  satisfaction  to  assure  your 
Majesty  that  the  contrary  was  the  case,  and  that  I  had  never  made, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  any  claim  whatever.  I  know  with  cer- 
tainty that  no  claim  was  ever  offered  to  either  House  of  Parliament 
by  my  authority,  and  I  will  venture  to  assure  your  Majesty  that  none 
was  ever  made  or  hinted  at,  in  my  name,  without  my  authority. 
Much  pains  Indeed  were  taken  to  misinteipret  some  sentiments 
expressed  in  debate  by  persons  in  whom  I  avow  that  I  place  confi- 
dence, and  to  treat  them  as  propositions  dangerous  to  the  rights  of 
Parliament.  I  cannot  in  general  be  supposed  to  know  correctly 
what  passes  in  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons,  but  I  have  reasons 
on  which  I  can  depend,  and  which  enable  me  confidently  to  assure 
your  Majesty,  not  only  that  the  sentiments  alluded  to  were  not  such 
as  they  were,  for  obvious  purposes,  grossly  misrepresented  over  the 
whole  nation  to  be,  but  that  they  were  rendered  so  clear  and  explicit 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  229 

by  frequent  ample  and  satisfactory  explanation  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble even  to  misapprehend  them;  and  that  the  scandalous  and 
libellous  perversion  of  detached  words  in  debate,  which  were  so 
diligently  dispersed  from  one  end  of  the  kingdom  to  the  other,  could 
be  the  work  only  of  a  policy  equally  indifferent  to  truth,  and  adverse 
to  your  Majesty,  your  family,  and  the  welfare  and  tranquillity  of  the 
nation. 

In  this  view,  and  in  this  view  alone,  I  authorized  my  brother,  the 
Duke  of  York,  to  declare  in  my  name  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  sub- 
stance that  * '  I  had  never  declared  any  opinion  whatever  concerning 
this  important  question,  and  that,  so  far  from  urging  any  claim  on 
that  occasion,  I  was  too  well  acquainted  with  and  revered  too  much 
those  principles  which  had  seated  the  house  of  Brunswick  on  the 
throne  of  these  kingdoms,  to  form  a  wish  for  the  exercise  of  any 
power  which  should  not  be  sanctioned  by  that  House,  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  in  Parliament  assembled. " 

But  I  am  well  assured  that  your  Majesty  would  not  condemn  the 
caution  which  led  us  to  deprecate  the  agitation  of  that  delicate  ques- 
tion, and  would  surely  not  charge  us  on  that  account  with  any  dis- 
regard for  your  Majesty's  personal  interests,  or  those  which  are  most 
nearly  personal  to  your  Majesty — those  of  your  family — if  your 
Majesty  had  had  an  opportunity  of  being  acquainted  with  the  nature 
and  tendency  of  propositions  entertained,  and  even  tendered  to  the 
nation,  though  unsuccessfully,  indeed,  at  that  critical  and  speculating 
period,  by  a  person  who  stood  the  highest  in  authority  and  in  your 
Majesty's  confidence.  These  propositions  were  indeed  neither 
adopted  by  the  two  Houses  nor  countenanced  by  the  concurrence  of 
any  one  opinion  besides. 

The  sincere  respect  which  I  entertain  for  the  acts  of  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament  does  not,  therefore,  preclude  me  from  sub- 
mitting to  your  Majesty  whether  some  danger  might  not  be  reason- 
ably and  sincerely  apprehended,  both  to  the  monarchy  and  to  the 
constitution  in  all  its  points,  from  a  discussion  which  could  furnish 
an  opportunity  for  promulgating  from  such  a  quarter  an  opinion 
which  went  to  the  total  extinction,  for  the  time  being,  of  every 
existing  principle  of  our  Government;  throwing  open  to  arbitrary 
and  undefined  discretion  everj'-  point  of  our  constitution,  both  as 
to  persons  or  powers;  and  well  calculated,  undoubtedly,  to  prepare 
— if  such  a  project  could  anywhere  have  existed — a  competition  for 
the  sovereign  authority,  throughout  the  British  empire,  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  every  one  of  your  Majesty's  blood. 


230  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT. 

In  this  light  did  the  opinions,  distinctly  and  repeatedly  delivered 
by  your  Majesty's  minister,  Mr.  Pitt,  on  tliis  question  of  right 
appear  to  me,  and  I  am  not  without  grounds  for  supposing  that 
they  must  have  conveyed  a  similar  impression  to  most  other  men; 
since  all  the  support  which  Mi*.  Pitt  is  accustomed  to  find,  and 
actually  obtained  throughout  the  strongest  measures  which  he 
ventured  to  propose  in  this  extraordinary  crisis,  could  not,  how- 
ever, procure  for  him  one  assenting  voice  to  the  sentiments  I  have 
alluded  to;  and  your  Majesty's  Attorney-General,  who  must  no 
doubt  be  supposed  in  general  to  act  in  concurrence  with  your 
Majesty's  minister,  delivered,  however,  on  this  occasion,  an  opinion 
diametrically  opposite  to  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Pitt. 

I  owed  it  to  your  Majesty  to  preserve  entire  for  your  Majesty, 
when  you  should  resume  your  government,  the  rights,  powers,  and 
dignity  of  your  crown  such  as  you  had  before  enjoyed  them;  and 
I  owed  it  also  to  your  Majesty  to  fulfil  the  objects  of  your  royal 
power  by  protecting  your  people  from  foreign  danger,  and  provid- 
ing for  its  internal  tranquillity,  prosperit}',  and  happiness. 

If  these  reasons  might  justify  my  apprehensions  at  being  entrusted 
with  the  whole  duties,  but  with  only  a  portion  of  the  power  belong- 
ing to  royal  authority,  your  Majesty  will  see  that  it  follows  neces- 
sarily from  the  same  principle  that  my  difficulties,  and  therefore 
my  uneasiness  and  alarm,  should  be  still  greater  when  I  saw  not 
only  many  powers  cut  off  from  the  authority  which  I  was  to  admin- 
ister, but  some  of  those  very  powers  of  which  I  was  deprived 
erected  into  a  distinct,  separate,  independent,  and  perhaps,  there- 
fore, adverse  authority  in  the  state;  and  those  very  arms  which  are 
intended  for  the  defence  of  the  crown  and  the  service  of  regular 
government,  disposed  of  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  capable  of  being 
employed  in  defeating  and  destroying  them. 

I  could  not,  at  the  same  time,  but  lament  one  consequence  which 
appeared  too  likely  to  follow  from  the  proposed  arrangement,  of 
placing  a  considerable  department  of  power  and  influence  in  the 
hands  of  the  Queen. 

I  had  been  accustomed  to  see  her  Majesty  engaged  solely  in 
domestic  cares  and  occupations,  and  while  her  Majesty's  mind  had 
been  thus  employed,  I  had  experienced  at  her  hands  from  my 
infancy  the  strongest  and  most  invariable  marks  of  parental  tender- 
ness and  even  of  personal  partiality  and  fondness.  Her  affection 
had  always  been  one  of  the  first  joys  and  the  principal  pride  of  my 
life.    It  was  not,  therefore,  without  much  solicitude  and  pain  that 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  231 

I  perceived  a  scheme  formed  for  creating  between  us  a  rival  and 
separate  interest,  and  endangering  domestic  liarmony  by  political 
competition.  I  confess,  Sir,  it  was  with  the  most  acute  pain  that  I 
saw  her  Majesty  set  up  by  designing  men  as  the  head  of  a  system, 
which  I  must  frankly  and  without  reserve  say  I  could  not  ascribe 
to  any  solicitude  for  your  Majesty's  happiness,  or  connect  by  any 
rational  principle  with  your  substantial  interest,  to  every  one  of 
which  I  thought  it  dangerous  and  adverse  in  the  extreme ;  but  which 
I  considered  as  a  device  of  private  ambition,  which  aimed  at  the 
accomplishment  of  its  own  projects  by  contention  with  me  and 
opposition  to  the  very  power  it  was  constrained  to  establish  in  one 
degree  or  other  in  my  hands. 

I  cannot,  however,  quit  this  subject  without  expressing  to  your 
Majesty  the  resentment  I  felt  at  seeing  a  system,  which  appeared  to 
me  destructive  of  every  object  which  I  know  your  Majesty,  as  a 
wise  and  good  sovereign,  as  well  as  a  father  and  chief  of  a  family, 
must  hold  most  dear  and  valuable,  justified  by  a  reference  to  the 
meanest  and  most  unworthy  feelings  which  were  supposed  to  exist 
in  your  Majesty's  mind,  and  which  I  felt  to  be  a  cruel  slander  on 
your  Majesty's  character.  The  separation  of  the  whole  of  your 
Majesty's  household,  to  an  extent  even  which  could  not  be  at  first 
avowed,  but  was  covered  under  the  equivocal  and  undefined  sense 
of  that  word,  from  the  dignity,  the  patronage,  and  influence  of  your 
Majesty's  representative,  was  defended  on  a  ground  which  I  am  sure 
your  Majesty  will  feel  to  be  injurious  to  your  magnanimity  and 
public  spirit.  It  was  contended  that  your  Majesty's  private  and 
personal  feelings  might  be  wounded  by  the  aiTangements  which, 
without  a  color  of  autliority  or  probability,  were  assumed  as  a  thing 
intended  by  me,  if  I  had  had  the  control  of  that  department. 

"With  this  memorial  (says  Earl  Russell)  was  written  an  introduc- 
tory^ letter  for  the  King's  perusal,  complaining  in  bitter  terms  of  the 
Queen's  treatment  of  her  sons.  This  was  also  the  composition  of 
Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  but  was  not  transmitted  to  the  King.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  introductory  letter  should  be  suppressed,  and  that  a 
short  letter,  expressing  in  general  terms  the  Prince's  uneasiness  under 
his  father's  displeasure,  and  stating  that  he  had  prepared  a  justifica- 
tion of  his  conduct  to  be  submitted  to  the  King,  should  be  substi- 
tuted for  it.  It  seems  not  improbable  that  a  letter  published  by  Mr. 
Moore  in  his  "Life  of  Sheridan,"  from  a  rough  copy  of  Mr.  Sheri- 
dan's, was  the  letter  written  on  that  occasion.     It  answers  to  the 


232  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

description  of  the  letter  ordered  to  be  written;  but  if  so,  it  was  not 
finished  or  transmitted  to  the  King  before  the  middle  of  August. 


THE  PBXNCE  OF  WALES  TO  THE  KING 

"Sm, 

"  I  find  myself  at  last  not  only  at  liberty,  but  I  think,  invited 
by  your  Majesty  to  throw  myself  at  your  feet  and  implore  of  your 
justice  and  paternal  goodness,  at  least  an  equitable,  if  not  a  partial 
and  indulgent  hearing  to  the  most  solemn  and  anxious  address  that 
was  ever  made  by  a  son  to  a  father. 

"During  the  calamitous  period  of  your  Majesty's  late  illness,  I 
waited  with  impatience  for  that  happy  time  when  the  recovery  of 
your  health  might  afford  me  an  opportunity  of  appealing  to  your 
justice  and  affection,  against  the  misrepresentations  of  those  whose 
situations  might  enable  them  to  preoccupy  your  Majesty's  first  opin- 
ions. 

"  I  had  reason  to  believe  that  attempts  would  be  made  to  prejudice 
me  in  your  esteem,  and  God  knows  my  apprehensions  have  been  too 
well  justified  by  the  event.  Urgent,  however,  as  I  felt  this  concern 
to  be,  I  was  unwilling  to  disturb  the  first  hours  of  your  returning 
health  by  any  matter  however  important  to  myself,  which  might 
eitlier  fatigue  your  attention  or  agitate  your  spirits;  I  refrained 
accordingly  from  pressing  any  application  on  the  subject,  till  I  was 
given  to  understand,  with  a  joy  which  was  shared  indeed  by  the 
whole  nation,  but  chiefly  felt  by  me,  that  your  health  was  perfectly 
confirmed.  Since  that  period  I  have  sought  every  opportunity  of 
engaging  your  Majesty's  attention  to  a  subject  which  weighed  so 
heavily  on  my  mind.  But  in  vain!  Your  Majesty  has  either  been 
surrounded  by  persons  whose  presence  rendered  it  improper  to 
explain  myself  on  delicate  and  confidential  points;  or  if  ever  I  have 
had  the  happiness  to  enjoy  a  few  moments  of  your  presence  alone, 
I  have  on  such  occasions  been  expressly  enjoined  either  by  your 
Majesty  or  the  Queen  to  abstain  from  all  points  of  business  whatever. 

"  I  was  not  satisfied  with  seeking  every  opportunity  to  make  a 
verbal  explanation  at  your  Majesty's  feet;  the  difficulties  which 
opposed  my  personal  communication  with  your  Majesty  induced  me, 
amongst  other  reasons,  to  have  recourse  also  to  my  pen ;  and  I  flat- 
tered myself  tliat  some  moments  of  leisure  and  some  periods  of 
strength  would  be  found  for  perusing  the  justification  of  a  son  whose 
accusers,  I  too  well  knew,  had  procured,  or  rather  constantly  pos- 
sessed, the  means  to  be  hotird.    When  I  considered  the  interesting 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  233 

nature  ot  the  subject,  and  still  more  the  awe  which  I  never  fail  to 
experience  in  your  Majesty's  presence,  it  was  my  wish  to  address 
your  Majesty  in  writing,  because  it  would  both  enable  me  to  lay  the 
matter  before  your  Majesty  in  a  more  correct  and  satisfactory  form, 
and  would  afford  your  Majesty  an  opportunity  of  bestowing  on  it  a 
more  deliberate  consideration  than  any  verbal  conference  could  do 
alone. 

"  In  this  view  I  collected  some  papers,  which  I  thought  important 
toward  informing  your  Majesty  of  the  transactions  in  which  the 
course  of  events  had  involved  me,  and  I  proposed  to  annex  some 
observations  explanatory  of  my  conduct.  I  delivered  the  papers  to 
the  Queen,  requesting  her  to  communicate  them  to  your  Majesty 
when  she  should  find  a  convenient  opportunity.  I  was  constrained 
to  trouble  her  Majesty  with  this  application,  partly  by  the  fear  of 
intruding  unseasonably  on  your  Majesty  after  your  long  illness,  and 
partly  by  the  obstacles  which  I  found  perpetually  in  the  way  of  a 
personal  interview;  as  well  indeed  as  the  express  injunctions  I  had 
received  to  refrain  from  addressing  your  Majesty  on  business. 

"  Having  waited  for  some  time  with  great  anxiety  the  effect  of 
this  communication,  and  a  public  intimation  having  been  given  to 
Parliament  of  the  joyful  event  of  your  Majesty's  recovery,  I 
addressed  to  the  Queen  the  following  letter: 

"'Dear  Madam, 

"  *  I  have  this  moment  learned  that  Mr.  Pitt  has  announced  to 
the  House  of  Commons  that  a  communication  is  to  be  made  to  Par- 
liament from  his  Majesty  on  Tuesday  next. 

"  'Your  Majesty  will,  I  am  sure,  have  observed  that,  notwith- 
standing the  impatience  I  must  naturally  feel  to  have  a  fit  oppor- 
tunity of  submitting  to  his  Majesty  a  faithful  statement  of  my 
conduct  and  my  sentiments  on  the  conduct  of  others,  I  have 
abstained  from  every  idea  of  intruding  on  his  Majesty's  attention 
until  the  opinion  of  those  who  can  best  judge  shall  point  out  the 
proper  time  for  submitting  matters  of  business  and  public  impor- 
tance to  his  consideration. 

"  '  The  notice  given  to-day  I  conceive  to  ascertain  this  point;  and 
as  your  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  assure  me  that  the  papers 
I  lodged  in  your  Majesty's  hands  should  be  communicated  to  his 
Majesty  the  moment  it  was  fit  for  him  to  attend  to  public  business, 
I  request  from  your  Majesty  to  be  informed  whether  the  present  is 
the  proper  time  to  make  that  communication,  and  when  in  conse- 


234  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

quence  my  brother  and  myself  may  attend  his  Majesty  upon  a 
subject  so  interesting  to  our  feelings,  and  the  duty  we  owe  to  his 
Majesty  and  the  public.' 

"This  letter  was  written  on  the  5th  of  March;  and  the  next  day 
I  received  an  answer  from  her  Majesty,  acquainting  me,  *  that  she 
had  taken  an  opportunity  of  mentioning  to  your  Majesty  that  she 
was  m  possession  of  those  papers,  and  must  now  leave  it  to  your 
Majesty's  own  judgment  when  you  would  think  it  proper  to  peruse 
them.' 

"  On  the  day  following  I  received  another  letter  from  the  Queen, 
enclosing  one  from  your  Majesty  to  her,  both  of  which  I  take  the 
liberty  of  copying  in  this  place : 

THE  QUEEN  TO  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

"' Kew,  March  7th,  1789. 
"  '  My  dearest  Son, 

*"  I  have  found  an  opportunity  of  communicating  to  the  King 

your  letter  of  the  day  before  yesterday,  to  which  he  has  given  me 

the  enclosed  in  answer;  and  as  this  paper  contains  his  Majesty's 

sentiments  upon  the  subject,  I  have  nothing  further  to  say,  but  hope 

that  you  are  convinced  of  my  having  fulfilled  your  wishes,  and  that 

you  will  believe  me  sincerely, 

"'My dearest  Son, 

"  '  Your  very  affectionate  Mother  and  Friend, 

"  '  Charlotte.' 

"This  letter  enclosed  the  following  from  your  Majesty  to  the 
Queen: 

THE  KING  TO   THE  QUEEN. 

'"Kew,  March  6th,  1789,  Friday  evenin;?. 
*'  'My  dearest  Charlotte, 

"  •  As  I  cannot  but  be  deeply  impressed  by  the  consideration 
of  how  much  you  must  have  been  afflicted  by  tlie  long  continuance 
of  my  illness,  and  the  events  that  attended  it,  I  cannot  but  wish 
to  prevent  your  having  any  further  trouble  concerning  it;  and 
therefore  desire  you  will  acquaint  both  the  Prince  of  Wales  and 
Frederick,  that,  though  I  do  not  mean  to  decline  giving  that  atten- 
tion to  public  business  which  may  be  necessary,  yet  that  I  propose 
^voiding  all  discussions  that  may  in  their  nature  agitate  me,  an4 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT.  335 

consequently  must  for  the  present  decline  entering  on  any  subjects 
that  are  not  necessarily  before  me. 

"  *  I  shall  ever  remain,  my  dearest  Charlotte, 

"  *  Your  most  affectionate  Husband, 

"■'George  R* 

"I  found  myself  unhappily  constrained  to  submit  to  this  decla- 
ration of  your  Majesty's  pleasure,  and  I  saw  with  grief  every  means 
of  setting  mj'self  right  in  your  opinion  denied  me.  In  this  situa- 
tion I  could  only  resort  to  one  sentiment  capable  of  affording  me 
either  hope  or  consolation.  I  reflected  on  your  Majesty's  habitual 
love  and  practice  of  justice,  and  on  the  tenderness  and  affection 
which  I  had  experienced  on  many  occasions  at  the  hand  of  an 
indulgent  father.  I  judged  that  the  attempts  of  my  enemies  to  deprive 
me  of  your  love  and  good  opinion  must  probably  have  been  abor- 
tive; for  I  could  not  believe  that  your  Majesty  would  either  reject 
a  reply  to  any  accusation  which  you  deemed  worthy  of  attention,  or 
would  condemn  your  sons  unheard  on  any  charge,  whether  grave 
or  frivolous.  I  confess,  however,  that  the  implicit  confidence  I 
should  naturally  have  placed  in  this  affection  was  much  diminished, 
and  very  painful  alarms  were  raised  in  my  mind  by  many  circum- 
stances which  I  could  not  help  observing.  These  w^ere  by  degrees 
multiplied  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  me  little  doubt;  and  I  now 
see  at  length  my  worst  fears  verified,  and  my  misfortune  too  fully 
authenticated  under  your  Majesty's  hand,  by  a  clear  declaration  of 
displeasure,  and  an  explicit  condemnation  of  my  conduct  on  the 
tenderest  point,  conveyed  in  writing  to  one  of  my  brothers.  Many 
of  the  circumstances  which  gave  me  reason  to  apprehend  some 
prejudice  in  your  Majesty's  mind  against  me,  are  of  a  nature  which 
it  is  difficult  or  impossible  to  describe  in  words,  or  to  render  sensible 
to  others  by  relation. 

"I  am  sure  your  Majesty  will  not  think  it  unnatural  that  these 
circumstances  should  sensibly  afflict  and  alarm  your  sons,  and  we 
shall  not  be  censured  for  drawing  a  rash  conclusion,  if  we  believe 
that  her  Majesty's  behavior  could  not  have  been  such  as  I  have 
described,  unless  there  had  existed  in  her  mind  some  previous  dis- 
satisfaction and  some  general  indisposition  towards  us,  independent 
of  this  transaction,  and  sufficient  to  extinguish  entirely  the  natural 
affection  and  tenderness  of  a  mother.  If  we  observe  the  common 
course  of  nature  and  consult  the  happy  experience  of  all  other 
families,  we  cannot  help  acknowledging  that  Providence  seems  to 


236  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

have  designed  it  as  the  part  of  a  mother  to  feel  and  to  express  solici- 
tude for  the  safety  of  her  children ;  to  absorb  all  other  considerations 
in  those  of  anxiety  and  tenderness  at  critical  periods  of  a  son's  life ; 
to  plead  his  cause,  even  if  it  be  doubtful;  to  heal  all  family  differ- 
ences, if  such  exist;  to  soften  and  conciliate  toward  her  children 
the  mind  and  opinion  of  their  father,  if  it  is  in  danger  of  being 
estranged:  in  examining  their  conduct  to  leave  to  others  even  the 
impartiality  of  a  judge,  but  much  more,  the  severe  scrutiny  of  an 
adverse  party,  and  above  all,  to  leave  to  their  rivals  and  enemies  the 
care  of  fomenting  the  anger  of  their  father,  together  with  that  of 
anticipating,  and  by  that  means,  perhaps,  procuring  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  world — an  effect  of  her  Majesty's  unfortunate  displeasure, 
which  we  have  had  too  manj^  occasions  to  feel  and  to  lament. 

"It  is  quite  impossible,  Sir,  that  w^e  should  behold  with  indif- 
ference a  departure  in  our  house  alone,  from  that  first  and  best  law 
of  nature  which  protects  the  harmony  of  other  families,  and  which, 
reserving  at  least  one  indissoluble  relation  and  one  bond  of  affection 
exempt  from  decay,  seems  to  have  appointed  maternal  tenderness 
as  the  stronghold  and  the  last  sanctuary  for  domestic  happiness, 
against  those  storms  of  adverse  interests  and  rival  passions  which 
drive  it  from  every  other  post. 

"It  is  not,  Sir,  without  a  severe  conflict,  nor  without  the  most 
acute  pain,  that  we  find  at  length  power  to  express  these  sorrows  to 
your  Majesty.  We  are  sensible  of  the  sacred  character  and  the 
religion  as  it  were  that  surrounds  and  covers  the  subject  of  our 
complaint.  Since  we  do  not,  and  in  our  hearts  cannot,  acknowledge 
that  we  have  merited,  either  by  any  part  of  our  conduct,  or  by  our 
most  secret  thoughts,  the  loss  of  the  Queen's  love,  we  feel  that  in 
lamenting  that  dreadful  calamity  we  appear  to  be  her  accusers,  and 
her  accusers  before  your  Majesty.  We  entreat  you  therefore  to  cast 
your  eye  for  a  moment  on  the  afflicting  alternative  which  is  left  to 
us.  We  cannot  disguise  to  ourselves  our  true  situation.  The 
Queen's  affection  is  estranged  from  us.  We  can  neither  be  ignorant 
of  nor  forget  a  misfortune  which  we  feel  every  day  in  a  tliousand 
shapes,  both  wounding  our  feelings  and  working  our  ruin.  Her 
Majesty  is  alone  possessed  of  your  ear,  and  from  the  endearing  rela- 
tion which  she  bears  to  your  Majesty,  is  naturally  entitled  to  your 
confidence.  In  the  Queen's  indisposition  toward  us  we  see  there- 
fore the  loss  also  of  your  Majesty's  opinion  and  regard.  Our  char- 
acters and  reputation  in  the  world  are  not  less  endangered.  Those 
who  are  known  to  approach  most  constantly  her  Majesty's  person, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  237 

and  to  enjoy  the  greatest  share  of  her  confidence  and  favor,  seem 
to  have  no  other  language  in  which  to  express  their  zeal  and  attach- 
ment for  her  Majesty,  than  the  bitterest  invectives  against  us,  and 
no  other  business  or  occupation  than  to  invent  and  circulate  from 
one  extremity  of  your  dominions  to  the  other,  the  most  gross,  false, 
and  scandalous  slanders  on  her  sons.  In  the  meanwhile  we  find 
ourselves  constrained  to  a  silence  which  our  enemies  and  even  the 
impartial  part  of  the  world  may  well  enough  attribute  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  guilt.  What  choice  therefore  is  left  to  us,  but  either 
to  forego  voluntarily  your  Majesty's  love  and  the  good  opinion  of 
the  world,  or  to  tell  your  Majesty  and  the  world,  that  without 
blame  on  our  parts  we  are  unhappy  enough  to  have  been  deprived 
of  a  mother's  affection,  and  to  tender  to  your  Majesty  and  the 
world  the  documents  which  we  possess  of  our  innocence? 

"Yet,  Sir,  we  might  still  be  silent  if  even  these  reasons,  power- 
ful as  they  are,  were  the  only  grounds  for  our  alarm,  and  if  our 
fears  were  not  at  length  too  surely  verified  by  the  event.  For  if 
the  occurences  which  I  have  alluded  to  could  leave  us  without 
anxiety  concerning  the  unfortunate  impressions  which  may  too 
probably  have  been  made  on  your  Majesty's  mind  to  our  disadvan- 
tage, your  Majesty  must  appear  to  have  deprived  us  of  hope  on  that 
subject  by  a  letter  which  your  Majesty  has  written  to  my  brother 
the  Duke  of  Clarence.  I  trust  your  Majesty  does  not  yet  think  us 
capable  of  perusing  that  unequivocal  and  severe  declaration  of  your 
displeasure,  without  the  most  poignant  grief  and  the  deepest  morti- 
fication. The  love  which  we  bear  to  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  the 
happiness  which  we  enjoy  in  our  mutual  affection  and  harmony,  is 
our  sole  consolation  under  the  many  humiliating  and  afflicting 
circumstances  which  we  experience  in  other  branches  of  our  family. 
The  loss  of  that  blessing  would  be  a  heavy  blow  indeed;  but  how 
much  would  its  severity  be  increased,  by  reflecting  that  it  comes 
from  the  hand  of  a  parent!  We  see,  therefore,  with  anguish,  and 
we  confess,  with  wonder,  your  Majesty,  under  the  persuasion  of 
others,  and  contrary  to  your  own  nature,  laboring  to  hurt  us  in  the 
opinion  of  our  brother,  and  to  deprive  us  both  of  his  affection  and 
society.  It  is  with  inexpressible  grief  we  perceive  the  imputation 
of  some  monstrous  but  undefined  guilt  in  us  made  a  ground  for 
harshness  and  rebuke  even  to  him.  I  trust  your  Majesty  will  not 
be  offended  at  seeing  us  sensible  to  such  afflictions,  and  that  you 
will  allow,  at  least,  that  we  are  distinctly  called  upon  to  vindicate 
our  conduct  by  one  passage  in   your  Majesty's   letter.     You  are 


238  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

pleased  to  say,  '  Though  I  choose  to  cast  a  veil  over  the  tinkindness 
I  met  with  during  my  illness  from  the  ill-advised  conduct  of  my 
sons,  yet  I  cannot  but  feel  it,  as  well  as  the  Parliament,  and,  indeed, 
the  whole  nation.* 

"  This,  Sir,  is  the  first  explicit  declaration  you  have  made  of  these 
unfortunate  and,  I  must  presume  to  say  on  our  parts,  unmerited  sen- 
timents. Till  now,  we  might  flatter  ourselves  that,  however  preva- 
lent in  your  palace  such  opinions  might  be,  they  had  not  yet 
reached  your  Majesty.  Indeed,  Sir,  we  cannot  yet  consent  to  ban- 
ish entirely  a  hope,  which  is  so  indispensable  to  our  happiness,  and 
we  would  yet  cling  to  a  fond  conjecture  that  your  Majesty  has  rather 
yielded  to  the  importunity  of  others,  and  condescended  to  adopt 
their  suggestions,  than  spoken  your  own  opinions,  or  consulted  your 
own  heart  on  this  occasion.  "We  have  ever  found  your  Majesty  per- 
sonally kind  and  good  to  us.  We  most  solemnly  and  seriously  call 
God  to  witness,  that  we  have  ever  felt  your  goodness  with  gratitude, 
and  repaid  it  with  affection  and  reverence.  We  cannot,  therefore, 
easily  and  rashly  believe  that  your  Majesty  should  become  at  once 
cruel  and  unjust.  Yet  your  Majesty  will  admit,  that  so  express  a 
declaration  of  your  displeasure  leaves  us  no  choice,  and  that  if  any 
consideration  on  earth  should  induce  us  to  withhold  a  full  and  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  our  conduct  in  that  critical  and  important 
period  of  our  lives  to  which  your  censure  is  applied,  we  should 
subscribe  to  our  own  condemnation,  and  should  merit  indeed  the 
pain,  heavy  as  it  is,  of  your  auger  and  reproaches.  Your  Majesty 
cannot  be  offended  if  we  do  not  account  your  present  judgment 
final  and  irrevocable ;  for  your  Majesty  knows  that  we  have  not 
been  heard,  and  that  an  opportunity  to  defend  ourselves,  although 
it  has  been  often  sought  by  us,  has  hitherto  been  denied.  It  would 
be,  therefore,  injurious  to  your  Majesty's  character,  as  a  just 
sovereign,  to  believe  that  your  mind  is  not  still  open  at  least  to  a 
fair  and  equitable  consideration  of  the  subject.  With  this  view,  we 
humbly  lay  the  following  relation  at  your  Majesty's  feet. 

"  It  is  submitted  first,  as  it  ought,  to  your  Majesty.  But  we  are 
taught  by  your  Majesty's  words  not  to  neglect  the  opinion  of  our 
country;  and  to  that  country  which  we  love  and  honor,  and  whose 
good  opinion  is  essential  to  our  comfort  and  happiness,  we  consider 
ourselves  bound  also  to  address  ourselves. 

"I  will  not  detain  your  Majesty  longer  from  the  perusal  of  a 
paper  which  I  hope  will  restore  us  to  your  esteem,  and  regain  for 
us  the  blessings  of  your  wonted  affection  and  confidence." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  23^ 


CHAPTER  XX 

1789. 

The  most  natural  expression  of  the  Prince's  feelings  at  this  time 
will  be  found  in  his  letters  to  Lord  Cornwallis,  then  in  India.  Here 
he  delivers  himself  with  a  true  empressement,  and  his  utterances 
throw  some  light  on  the  Duke  of  York's  duel,  as  well  as  on  the 
summary  proceedings  of  the  Court,  The  style  of  these  curious 
productions  will  be  noticed — the  superabundance  of  assertion  as 
well  as  of  qualification:  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this  genial  Prince 
loved  a  kind  of  florid  exaggeration  almost  grotesque.  Allusion  has 
been  before  made  to  this  Treves's  father,  a  money-lender,  whose 
definition  of  a  gentleman,  in  answer  to  the  Prince,  was  significant 
of  his  character  as  well  as  of  the  familiarity  which  the  Prince  toler- 
ated— "  A  man  with  money  in  his  pocket  and  that  does  not  care  a 
d n  for  you  or  your  father." 

THE  PRINCE  OF   WALE^   TO  LORD  CORNWALLIS. 

"  Carlton  House,  May  30th,  1789. 
"  My  dear  Lord, 

"I  must  begin  by  thanking  you  for  the  very  kind  and 

friendly  letter  I  received  from  you  by  the  last  ship  from  the  East 

Indies.     It  was  so  long  since  I  had  heard  from  you  y*  I  began  to 

think  you  had  forgot  all  y  old  friends  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

How  things  are  changed,  and  what  a  checquered  scene  of  Life  I 

have  been  obliged  to  go  thro'  for  the  last  six  months!    Ere  this,  I 

suppose,  you  will  have  heard  of  the  King's  Indisposition,  and  how 

the  Minister  not  only  attempted  to  destroy  'my  Rights,'   but  to 

deprive  every  other  individual  of  our  family  of  the  common  liberties 

&  rights  of  Englishmen.     Supported  I  have  been  by  some  *  real  and 

true  friends,'  at  the  head  of  whom  your  Friend,  my  Brother,  stood 

foremost,  w^  has  gained  immortal  Honor.     Had  you  been  here,  my 

dear  Lord,  I  doubt  not  y*  we  sh<^  have  had  the  happiness  of  meeting 

with  a  similar  support  from  you,  tho'  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  your 

members  consulted  the  interests  of  the  '  cause  '  of  Pitt  instead  of  i«ue 


240  T^E  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Rights  and  Independence  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Countiy,  as 
well  as  of  the  House  of  Brunswick.  '  Everything  has  fallen  into 
very  different  hands.  The  King  is  convalescent,  that  is  to  say,  he 
certainly  is  better.  Everything  is  thrown  into  the  hands  of  the 
Queen.  Every  Friend  y*  supported  me  &  the  common  cause  of 
succession  of  the  Family,  if  they  had  any  place,  have  been  dismissed, 
such  as  the  Duke  of  Queensberry;  and  our  little  friend  Lothian 
Queensberry  has  been  dismissed  by  order  of  the  Queen  &  Mr.  Pitt 
from  the  Bedchamber.  Lothian  has  left  his  regiment  of  Horse 
Guards;  &  they  have  had  the  Insolence  to  threaten  the  Duke  of 
York  with  taking  his  Regiment  of  Foot  Guards,  and  when  they,  at 
last,  did  not  dare  do  that,  they  have  brought  officers  into  his  Regi- 
ment, and  committed  towards  him  every  species  of  Indignity  to 
force  him  to  resign,  w^  he  has  had  prudence  &  coolness  sufficient, 
as  well  as  firmness  enough,  to  resist.  Not  only  these  great  officers, 
but  numbers  of  a  lower  class,  whose  sole  dependence  in  life  and  sus- 
tenance depended  upon  their  places,  have  been  disgracefully  dis- 
missed from  their  offices  for  the  disinterested  support  of  me  &  our 
Family,  You  will  forgive  me,  my  dear  Lord,  for  thus  expatiating 
upon  a  subject  w**  I  w^  not  have  done  but  to  such  a  friend,  as  I  con- 
sider you.  I  cannot  but  confess  y*  I  feel  for  the  dangerous  situation 
in  w^  the  Rights  &  Liberties  of  this  Nation  are  at  present,  as  well  as 
the  very  critical  position  in  w^  every  member  of  Our  Family  stands 
at  present.  Even  the  very  precarious  state  of  the  King's  health  ren- 
ders some  People  a  little  upon  their  guard,  who  are  not  driven  to  a 
state  of  Dispair,  such  as  not  only  pervades  the  Minister  himself,  but 
his  Adherents  in  General.  I  will  not  bore  you  any  further  at  pres- 
ent, as  I  suppose  you  will  have  heard  by  many  Letters  of  our  criti- 
cal situation  in  this  country  at  the  present  Period,  but  trust  you 
will  attribute  my  prolixity  to  the  intimacy  of  an  old  Friend. 

"Before  I  conclude,  I  must  thank  you  for  the  kind  expressions 
you  have  made  use  of  to  me  respecting  my  protege,  Mr.  Treves.  I 
confess  I  feel  myself  much  interested  in  his  welfare  and  success  in 
Life,  «&  nothing  can  make  me  more  happy  than  thinking  y*  he  will 
owe  y*  Success  to  you.  I  have  just  heard  from  a  Friend  at  the 
India  House  y*  the  object  of  Treves'  ambition,  at  present,  is  to  be 
appointed  to  the  Adaulet  of  Benares,  w**  is  now  held  by  a  Black 
named  Alll  Carrow.  Understanding  that  most  of  the  Adaulets  are 
now  held  by  Europeans,  and  as  I  am  informed  it  is  the  intention 
that  the  Europeans  are  to  be  so  placed  in  future,  in  preference  to 
the  natives,  I   sh**   be  vastly  happy  if— without  committing  any 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  241 

injustice — you  c^  place  young  Treves  in  y*  situation,  as  I  shall  feel 
personally  obliged  to  you  for  his  promotion. 

"I  will  not  trespass  any  further  upon  you,  but  conclude  with 
desiring  you  to  believe  me,  my  dear  lord, 

"  Ever  sincerely  your  Friend,  . 

"George  P." 

It  may  have  been  suspected  that  what  lent  acrimony  to  this 
struggle  of  the  Prince's,  which  had  now  terminated  in  his  complete 
defeat,  was  the  sense  of  his  situation,  now  well-nigh  desperate. 
Though  an  arrangement  had  been  so  recently  made  for  the  settle- 
ment of  his  debts,  he  had  now  become  once  more  frightfully 
involved,  and  on  this  occasion,  at  least,  without  hope  of  extrication 
by  the  Parliament.  A  sum  of  £20,000  had  been  granted  for  Carl- 
ton House;  but  an  estimate  was  sent  in  for  £55,200  for  building 
and  furniture,  which,  during  the  course  of  the  next  two  years,  had 
been  paid.  What  greed  the  Prince  and  his  friends  showed  in  this 
matter  will  be  evident  from  the  furniture  estimate,  which  in  1787 
was  fixed  at  £5500.  Within  two  years  a  demand  was  sent  in  "  for 
furniture  and  decorations  ordered  for  the  state  apartments,  to 
replace  some  of  that  for  which  the  sums  voted  by  Parliament  in 
1787  had  hardly  been  expended;  and  he  had  contrived  that  a  much 
larger  sum  should  be  laid  out  on  that  costly  'Folly'  of  Carlton 
House ;  while  a  large  sum  had  just  been  paid,  not  for  the  com- 
pletion, but  for  the  progress  of  the  building,  which  was  intended 
at  the  time  of  the  application  to  the  House,  and  to  furnish  other 
apartments  not  then  projected,"  and  this  was  modestly  placed  at 
a  sum  of  £56,950.*  This,  however,  was  summarily  rejected  by  the 
Board.  It  certainly  showed  an  incurable  recklessness  and  even 
effrontery,  and  not  the  least  prospect  of  reform. 

Sunk,  therefore,  in  debt  and  difficulties,  and  without  prospect  of 
extrication,  in  his  desperation  he  resorted  to  the  old  favorite  scheme 
for  raising  money  abroad,  from  which  he  had  been  prudently  dis- 
suaded by  his  friends.  This  was  the  issuing  bonds  in  the  nature 
of  "post-obits,"  which  were  to  be  negotiated  in  foreign  countries. 
This  scandal  was  now  to  be  talked  of.  In  July  this  year  Mr. 
Wilberforce  had  a  very  agreeable  dinner  with  Lord  Chatham, 
whom  he  found  "very  chatty  and  good-humored."    Among  other 

*  His  creditors  seemed  to  have  lost  all  respect  for  him,  and  stopped  him  in 
the  street  with  their  demands.  The  workmen  employed  at  Carlton  House 
addressed  a  petition  for  payment  to  the  Prime  Minister. 

u 


242  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

curious  gossip,  he  told  him  that  "a  wretched  dependant"  of  the 
Prince's  had  applied  to  a  certain  person— so  confidential  was  his 
talk  that  the  names  are  designated  by  numbers — to  lend  money  on 
the  joint  bond  of  the  Prince  and  his  two  brothers,  double  the  sura 
to  be  paid  when  the  King  should  die  and  any  of  the  brothers  come 
to  the  throne.  This  matter  (says  Huish)  was  perfected  on  the  16th 
of  December,  1788,  witnessed  by  Andrew  Robinson  and  Charles 
Bicknell,  and  on  the  same  day  the  money  was  paid.* 

This  transaction  had  been  set  on  foot  during  the  King's  illness, 
under  the  management  of  the  cook  Weltjie,  "the  wretched  de- 
dependant,"  and  a  large  operation  was  at  first  proposed  to  be 
carried  out  in  Scotland  and  Ireland,  under  the  direction  of  brokers. 
Weltjie  introduced  a  Mr.  Cator,  of  the  Adelphi,  and  Mr.  Jones, 
of  Soho.  The  first  provided  £10,000,  on  the  condition  of  his 
being  paid  treble  the  amount.  About  £30,000  was  said  to  have 
been  obtained  in  £100  bonds,  repayable  in  twelve  years.  It  was 
stated  that  no  interest  was  ever  obtained  from  the  Princes,  which 
is  not  improbable,  as  they  never  had  money  to  pay  it  with,  the 

*  The  form  of  these  bonds  runs  as  follows : 

"Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  We,  George  Prince  of  Wales,  Fred- 
erick Duke  of  York,  and  William  Duke  of  Clarence,  all  living  in  the  City  of 
Westminster,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  are  jointly  and  severally,  justly  and 
truly  indebted  to  John  Cator,  of  Beckenham,  in  the  County  of  Kent,  Esquire, 
and  his  executors,  administrators,  and  assigns,  in  the  penal  sum  of  Sixty 
Thousand  Pounds  of  good  and  lawful  money  of  Great  Britain,  well  and  truly 
paid  to  us  at  or  before  the  sealing  of  these  presents.  Sealed  with  our  seals 
this  16th  day  of  December,  in  the  29th  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord 
George  III.,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  Anno  Domini 
1788. 

"The  condition  of  the  above-named  obligation  is  such,  that  if  the  above 
bounden  George  Prince  of  Wales,  Frederick  Duke  of  York,  and  William 
Henry  Duke  of  Clarence,  or  any  or  either  of  them,  or  any  other  of  their  heirs, 
executors,  or  administrators,  shall  well  and  truly  pay  unto  the  above-named 
John  Cator,  his  executors,  administrators,  or  assigns,  the  full  sum  of  Thirty 
Thousand  Pounds  of  lawful  money  of  Great  Britain,  within  the  space  or  time 
of  six  calendar  months  next  after  any  one  or  either  of  us,  the  said  George 
Prince  of  Wales,  Frederick  Duke  of  York,  and  William  Heniy  Duke  of  Clar- 
ence, shall  come  to  and  ascend  the  throne  of  England,  together  with  lawful 
interest  on  the  same,  to  be  computed  from  the  day  that  siich  event  shall  hap- 
pen, up  and  home  to  the  time  of  paying  off  this  obligation,  then,  and  in  such 
case,  the  same  shall  become  niiU  and  void;  otherwise  to  be  and  remain  in  full 
force  and  virtue. 

"  Gkorok  Prince  of  Wales,  L.  S. 
"Frederick,  L.  S.  i 

—  "  WiLUAM  Hbnby,  I*  a " 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  243 

lenders  paying  it  for  a  couple  of  years,  when  they  became  bank- 
rupt.* But  little  relief,  however,  was  obtained  in  this  direction; 
for  as  the  King  recovered  the  security  grew  less  and  less  valuable. 
It  was  then  conceived  that  money  might  be  raised  abroad,  and  a 
sort  of  financial  operation  was  accordingly  set  on  foot  in  Holland. 
Mr.  Abraham  Goldsraidt,  a  financier,  undertook  the  speculation, 
which  was  arranged  at  the  Hague;  though  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  started  under  the  auspices  of  the  Dukes  of  Portland  and 
Northumberland,  who  at  all  times  took  an  interest  in  settling  his 
affairs.  They  had  heard  of  the  first  loan,  and  the  "usurious 
terms "  which  were  offered.  They  had,  no  doubt,  felt  that  he 
should  be  saved  from  the  unbecoming  proceedings  of  the  "post- 
obits,"  and  determined  to  arrange  for  his  extrication  on  the  usual 
and  legitimate  terms  of  good  security  and  fair  interest.  Accord- 
ingly it  was  determined  to  raise  a  sum  of  about  £350,000  on  the 
security  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall  and  Bishopric  of  Osnaburg, 
with  payments  by  drawings  and  a  sinking  fund,  and  the  whole  to 
be  paid  off  in  twenty-five  years.  The  two  Dukes,  Lords  South- 
ampton, Rawdon,  and  others,  were  to  be  trustees  to  receive  the 
interest.  The  Duke  of  Portland  had  interviews  with  one  Van  der 
Meulen,  who  came  from  Holland,  and  the  loan  seems  to  have 
been  regularly  subscribed  at  Antwerp  by  the  house  of  Werbrouck 
and  De  Wolf,  and  a  Frenchman,  De  Beaume,  the  three  royal 
brothers  being  joined  in  the  security. 

This  affair,  like  most  of  the  transactions  in  which  the  Prince  was 
concerned,  was  unfortunately  *o  be  attended  with  accusation  of 
breach  of  faith,  repudiation,  etc.  Over  £100,000  is  said  to  have 
been  received  in  cash  and  jewels,  but  no  interest  was  paid.  The 
King  presently  heard  of  it,  and  was  indignant  at  the  unworthy 
mode  in  which  his  third  son — a  mere  youth — had  been  drawn  into 
such  serious  obligations.  The  whole  was  treated  as  an  attempt  to 
extort  money;  pleas  were  set  up  of  "  no  value  "  being  received,  and 
the  law  officers  discovered,  or  affected  to  discover,  that  the  security 
of  the  Duchy  could  not  be  pledged.  Though  this  matter  has  been 
hotly  controverted  on  both  sides,  it  seems  that  the  events  that  fol- 
lowed this  loan  were  of  the  most  disastrous  kind,  and  at  least  led 


*  Lord  Kingsborough  told  Mrs.  Harcourt  one  night  at  the  Queen's  Lodge, 
that  the  Prince  had  been  offering  £10,000  and  an  Irish  peerage,  after  the 
King's  death,  for  every  £5000,  though  even  on  these  terms  he  could  get  little, 
— "  Mrs.  Harcourt's  Diary,"  p.  46. 


244  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

to  unpleasant  suspicions,  the  reckless  Princes,  like  other  spend- 
thrifts, seeming  to  look  on  those  that  lent  to  them  as  enemies,  to 
whom  any  fate,  for  treatment,  was  good  enough.  That  industrious 
chiffonnier,  Huish,  whose  garbage  seems  always  to  contain  a  certain 
amount  of  facts,  has  collected  much  about  this  curious  affair. 

"The  plan,"  he  says,  "proposed  by  De  Beaurae,  to  raise  a  sum 
of  money  on  the  Continent  for  the  use  of  the  Princes,  was  very 
similar  to  that  which  was  negotiated  by  the  Boas  in  Holland.  Mr, 
Bicknell  was  directed  to  prepare  a  bond  for  their  execution  for 
£100,000,  payable  to  De  Beaume,  and  vesting  in  him  the  power  to 
divide  it  into  £1000  each  by  printed  copies  of  the  bond,  which, 
under  the  signature  of  De  Beaume,  with  the  amount  and  number 
certified  by  a  notary  public,  should  be  as  binding  on  the  Princes 
as  if  executed  by  themselves.  The  original  bond  was  deposited,  in 
trust,  in  the  bank  of  Ransom,  Morlands,  and  Hammersley;  while 
an  attested  copy  was  immediately  delivered  to  De  Beaume,  and 
the  bankers'  acknowledgment  of  holding  such  a  security  was  given 
as  De  Beaume's  authority  and  credentials,  as  the  agent  of  the  three 
illustrious  Princes,  who,  in  this  instance,  seem  to  have  taken  every 
precaution  to  secure  themselves  against  imposition. 

"De  Beaume  went  to  Paris  as  the  agent  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  established  himself  there  in  that  capacity.  The  French  Revo- 
lution then  wore  a  very  serious  aspect,  and  many  of  tlie  French 
wished  to  leave  their  country  till  better  times.  As  by  remitting 
bills  to  England  they  sustained  a  very  heavy  loss,  the  securities  of 
the  British  Princes  were  eagerly  purchased  from  De  Beaume  by 
those  who  wished  to  emigrate,  because  those  securities  were  not 
only  more  portable  than  specie,  but  they  were  purchased  without 
being  subject  to  the  fluctuations  of  the  course  of  exchange,  and  at 
the  time  were  considered  as  the  best  negotiable  securities  in  the 
market.  The  unfortunate  French  who  purchased  them  and  came 
hither,  thought  themselves  perfectly  safe  in  this  country;  but  as 
they  could  not  get  any  money  paid  on  them,  they  were  involved  in 
great  difficulty,  and  consequently  became  very  urgent  and  clam- 
orous. 

"The  Duke  of  Portland  was  then  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Home  Department,  and  to  him  came  many  complaints  from  Carl- 
ton House  against  such  of  the  emigrants  as  were  most  troublesome 
and  unjust  in  demanding  tlieir  money.  They  were  sent  out  of  the 
country,  as  in  the  former  instance,  and  landed  on  the  Continent. 
Twenty-six  foreigners,  who  were  creditors  of  the  Princes,  and  who 


TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  245 

had  placed  the  utmost  reliance  on  the  honor  and  faith  of  a  British 
Prince,  were  sent  out  of  England,  though  no  charge  was  preferred 
against  them.  It  is,  however,  an  accredited  fact,  that  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  on  several  occasions  and  to  various  persons,  did  deny 
the  receipt  of  any  consideration  for  the  bond  of  De  Beaume. 

"The  trustees  delivered  up  the  bond,  which  was  cancelled  at 
Burlington  House,  in  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  Portland,  on  the 
16th  of  November,  1790.  This  remittance  had  been  made  by  De 
Beaume  in  diamonds,  through  the  bank  of  Perregaux  at  Paris,  to 
the  bank  of  Ransom,  Morland,  and  Hammersley,  on  account  of  the 
Princes.  The  diamonds  thus  remitted  were  to  the  amount  of 
£38,653  10s.  We  have  the  bills  of  parcels  of  these  diamonds  now 
before  us — they  were  disposed  of  by  his  bankers  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Prince:  on  what  ground  of  common  justice,  then,  could  the 
Prince  declare  that  he  had  received  no  consideration  whatever  for 
the  bond? 

"De  Beaume  and  his  confederates  were  denounced  as  treasonable 
in  the  face  of  it  for  declaring  George  III.  to  be  King  of  Great 
Britain,  France,  and  Ireland.  The  prisoners  were  tried,  con- 
demned, and  executed  within  twenty-four  hours. 

"Thus,  in  one  day,  perished  Richard,  Chaudot,  Mestrirer,  Niette, 
De  Beaume,  and  Aubert,  either  for  negotiating  the  Prince's  securi- 
ties or  for  purchasing  shares  of  them,  as  was  also  the  case  with 
Viette,  a  rich  jeweller,  who  had  purchased  a  hundred  shares  of  the 
bond  from  De  Beaume. 

"The  next  victim  who  bled  on  the  scaffold  for  having  been  the 
purchaser  of  twenty  shares  of  the  Prince's  bond,  was  Charles  Vau- 
cher,  a  banker  in  Paris,  who  quitted  France  with  a  large  fortune 
in  1792.  He  fixed  his  residence  in  England,  where  he  married  an 
English  lady.  Having  demanded  payment  of  the  interest  on  his 
shares  of  the  Prince's  bond,  he  was  referred  to  the  bank  of  Ransom 
&  Co.,  when  he  was  advised,  if  he  wished  to  remain  in  England, 
never  again  to  apply  for  his  money ;  for,  if  he  did,  he  would  be 
sent  out  of  the  country,  as  many  in  his  situation  had  already  been. 
This  threat  did  not  deter  him;  he  repeated  his  application,  and  was 
equally  unsuccessful.  He  laid  his  case  before  Mr.  Shepherd  (after- 
wards Sir  S.  Shepherd),  Solicitor-General,  who  decided  that  his 
claim  upon  the  Prince  was  just  and  legal;  and  at  the  close  of  the 
opinion  which  that  eminent  lawyer  gave  are  the  following  remark- 
able words :  '  If  any  action  is  brought  with  this  case,  it  will  require 
the  clearest  proof  of  the  facts,  and  that  there  is  no  coUusiou 


246  TEE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  lY 

between  De  Beaume  and  Vaucher,  because,  as  a  bill  has  been 
passed  for  the  payment  of  his  royal  highness's  debts,  subjecting 
them  to  the  examination  of  commissioners,  it  will  be  a  strong  argu- 
ment against  the  justice  of  a  demand  that  has  been  withheld  fron* 
such  examination :  however,  there  is  nothing  in  the  bill  which  pre- 
vents a  creditor  of  his  royal  highness  from  suing,  if  he  chooses,  in 
preference  to  going  before  the  commissioners.' 

"In  this  opinion  the  learned  counsel  seems  to  have  anticipated 
the  very  objection  that  was  raised  by  the  commissioners,  and  the 
grounds  on  which  they  contested  the  validity  of  the  claim.  The 
Prince  inserted  it  not  in  his  schedule  of  debts,  he  disclaimed  it  in 
toto;  and,  therefore,  as  the  Prince  disavowed  it,  the  commissioners 
could  not  be  called  upon  to  allow  it;  and  the  only  redress  which 
Vaucher  could  hope  to  obtain  was  by  an  appeal  to  the  laws  of  the 
country.  A  copy  of  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Shepherd  was  sent,  with 
a  polite  note,  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  hoping  his  royal  highness 
would  render  all  legal  measures  unnecessary,  by  ordering  the  inter- 
est to  be  paid.  The  interest  was  not  paid:  the  application  was 
renewed  to  his  royal  highness,  adding  that,  if  no  satisfactory 
answer  were  returned,  such  measures  would  be  adopted  as  would 
compel  his  royal  highness  to  pay  the  amount.  On  the  6th  of  Octo- 
ber an  official  order  was  given  for  him  to  quit  England  in  four 
days.  Having  other  pecuniary  matters  to  arrange,  he  petitioned  the 
Duke  of  Portland  to  allow  him  to  remain  until  the  issue  of  his 
claims  had  been  determined.  On  the  11th  of  October  a  warrant 
was  signed  by  the  Duke  of  Portland,  directing  William  Ross  and 
George  Higgins,  two  of  the  King's  messengers,  to  take  Mr.  Vaucher 
into  custody  till  he  should  be  sent  out  of  the  country.  On  the  15th 
he  was  taken  into  custody,  and  on  the  20th  he  was  carried  to  Har- 
wich, to  be  sent  thence  to  Rotterdam,  where  he  arrived  on  the  23rd 
of  the  same  month.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  on  the  Continent, 
he  was  apprehended,  taken  to  Paris,  and  thrown  into  prison,  where 
he  remained  until  the  22nd  of  December,  1795,  on  which  day  he  was 
tried  on  the  same  charges  as  De  Beaume,  was  found  guilty,  and 
guillotined. 

"  Our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  enter  at  full  into  the  cases  of 
Mr.  D.  Lovell,  the  editor  of  Tfie  Statesman,  and  that  of  Mr.  Auriol ; 
but  proof  is  on  record  that,  with  the  diamonds  remitted  by  De 
Beaume,  and  the  money  advanced  by  Auriol,  the  sum  received  by 
the  Prince  amounted  to  between  £00.000  and  £70,000  sterling." 

The  transaction,  indeed,  caused  a  great  sensation  abroad;  and  a 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV.  247 

number  of  pamphlets,  setting  out  the  grievances  of  the  bondhold- 
ers and  those  interested,  were  published  on  the  Continent.* 

From  this  account  f  has  been  omitted  all  speculations  or  libellous 
insinuations  and  statements.  But,  after  making  due  allowance,  it 
seems  but  too  probable  that  high-handed  proceedings  were  adopted 
towards  the  unfortunate  foreign  bondholders.  The  defence  urged 
for  the  Princes  was — that  spurious  bonds  had  got  into  circulation ; 
that  "  no  consideration  "  had  passed.  The  scandal  caused  by  these 
transactions  was  great. 

So  late  as  1829  claims  were  being  made  under  this  loan,  and  some 
of  the  mysterious  journeys  to  the  Continent  of  Sir  William 
Knighton  were  connected  with  the  arrangement  of  this  affair. 


*  The  following  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Dutch  papers  of  1796:  "  Sep- 
tember 2.  Notice.  The  bearers  of  shares  in  the  following  loans,  negotiated 
by  Abraham  and  Simeon  Boas,  at  the  Hague,  to  wit,  &c.,  350,000  florins  for 
the  three  English  princes,  namely,  George  Prince  of  Wales,  Frederick  Duke 
of  York,  and  William  Henry  Duke  of  Clarence,  made  in  1789,  &c.,are  entreated 
to  apply  before  the  1st  of  September  next,  from  nine  in  the  morning  till  one 
in  the  afternoon,  to  the  notary,  Comeille  van  Homrich  at  Amsterdam;  the 
notaries,  Huggen  en  Tendall,  at  the  Hague;  where  are  deposited,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  signed,  the  respective  acts  of  procuration  and  qualification  upon 
Messrs.  Wills  and  Company,  merchants,  at  Amsterdam,  appointed  to  with- 
draw from  the  hands  of  the  registrar  of  the  Court  of  Holland  the  original  let- 
ters of  mortgage  in  the  said  negotiations  (which  letters  were  removed  from 
the  custody  of  Abraham  and  Simon  Boas,  to  be  there  kept),  to  deposit  them 
with  the  notary,  Van  Homrich,  and  to  prevent,  by  this  measure,  any  loss  upon 
the  said  negotiations,  to  attend  to  the  concerns  of  the  subscribers,  and  to  pro- 
mote the  payment  of  their  interest,  and  the  reimbursement  of  their  capitals." 
—Wallace,  "  Life  and  Reign,"  i.  224. 

t  Two  pamphlets  were  published  at  Antwerp  in  1791,  describing  the  negoti- 
ations, giving  the  names  of  trustees'  security,  etc.  The  amount  was  over 
three  millions  and  a  half  of  guelders.  It  gives  the  date  of  the  Prince's  sign- 
ing the  power  of  attorney,  his  two  bonds,  an  accoimt  of  Van  der  Meulen's 
interviews  with  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the  counsel's  opinion  as  to  the  power  of 
mortgage,  which  was  signed  by  Lowten,  Adam,  and  Baldwin.  The  unfortu- 
nate Colonel  Frederick,  son  of  Theodore,  King  of  Corsica,  was  employed  as 
an  agent  in  this  transaction.  Mr.  Cyrus  Redding  investigated  the  whole  tran- 
saction, and  found  in  the  Moniteur  of  the  time  the  debates^on  the  unfortunate 
bondholders. 


24S  ^SE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
1790—1791. 

Through  all  these  affairs,  the  King's  illness,  the  debates  on  the 
Regency,  and  the  quarrels  with  the  Queen,  there  was  one  name 
often  mentioned,  and  which  exercised  an  important  influence — that 
of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  at  whose  house  we  hear  of  many  secret  con- 
sultations being  held,  "Jack  Payne  "  and  Sheridan  being  the  chief 
councillors.  She  would  have  been  less  than  woman  had  she  not 
been  excited  by  the  prospect  now  opening,  and  it  was  currently 
reported  that,  had  the  Prince  succeeded  to  the  Regency,  she  was 
to  have  been  created  a  Duchess.  But  the  hold  any  adviser  had  over 
the  Prince's  mind  was  at  all  times  uncertain,  and  it  seems  extra- 
ordinary how  she  contrived  to  retain  her  influence  on  one  so  un- 
steady. We  may  fairly  impute  it  to  respect  for  her  and  the  honesty 
of  her  motives.  One  of  his  friends  wrote:  "I  fear  there  is  in  the 
Prince  this  feature  of  his  father — that  he  loves  closets  within  cabi- 
nets, and  cupboards  within  closets;  that  he  will  have  secret  advisers 
besides  his  ostensible  ones,  and  still  more  invisible  ones  behind  his 
secret  advisers — that  he  will  be  faithful  to  none  of  them,  and  a 
most  uncomfortable  master  to  those  ministers  who  would  really 
serve  him."  These  are  the  words  of  the  sagacious  and  amiable  Sir 
Gilbert  Elliot,  and  severe  as  is  the  character  it  is  not  overdrawn. 
The  reader  will  keep  it  before  him  during  the  course  of  this  history, 
and  find  that  it  explains  many  of  his  proceedings. 

Nor  was  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  without  her  troubles  during  this  critical 
period.  All  this  time  the  irrepressible  Rolle  was  struggling  to 
bring  forward  the  question  of  her  marriage.  Home  Tooke  had 
also  some  time  before  published  his  remarkable  pamphlet,  in  which 
he  had  persistently  styled  her  "Your  Royal  Highness."  But  she 
still  maintained  her  hostility  to  Mr.  Fox.  Sir  Philip  Francis,  in- 
deed, tells  us  that  she  often  told  him  that  she  so  abhorred  Fox,  and 
never  would  be  reconciled  to  hira,  "notwithstanding  many  ad- 
vances and  earnest  submissions  on  his  part,  of  which,  at  his  request, 
I  was  more  than  once  the  bearer.     She  said  that  by  his  unauthor- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOttOE  IV.  249 

ized  declarations  in  the  House  of  Commons  he  had  rolled  her  in 
the  kennel  like  a  street- walker;  that  he  knew  that  every  word  he 
said  was  a  lie,  and  so  on,  in  a  torrent  of  virulence  which  it  was  in 
vain  for  me  to  encounter,  so  I  gave  the  point  up  and  made  my  re- 
treat as  well  and  as  fast  as  I  could.  On  the  other  hand.  Home 
Tooke  flattered  her  in  his  own  way— but  whether  by  direct  access 
to  her  or  not  I  cannot  say — that  she  was  Princess  of  Wales,  tliat 
she  must  be  acknowledged.  All  this  he  maintained  for  the  mere 
purpose  of  doing  mischief,  and  to  gratify  his  own  rancors.  The 
Prince  ought  to  have  sent  to  the  House  this  message,  supposing  the 
thing  to  have  been  absolutely  necessary,  by  his  own  Chancellor,  or 
some  principal  officer  of  his  household ;  or,  at  all  events.  Fox,  if  he 
would  or  must  be  the  carrier  of  such  a  declaration,  ought  to  have 
taken  it  in  writing,  on  no  other  condition,  and  answering  for  noth- 
ing himself.  All  that  can  be  said  for  his  imprudence  is,  that  at 
that  time  he  did  not  know  the  Prince,  who  soon  after  disavowed 
him,  at  least  to  the  lady.  At  that  time  there  was  not  a  well- 
informed  man  in  London  who  was  not  convinced  that,  in  1785,  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  marriage  between  the  Prince  and  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert  had  taken  place  according  to  the  rules  established  in  both 
Ciiurches,  and  I  am  as  sure  of  the  fact  as  if  I  had  been  present." 

It  was,  however,  now  so  fully  understood  that  the  statement 
made  in  the  House  was  a  fiction,  that  her  position  had  not  been 
affected  by  it.  It  was  remarked  that  certain  great  and  exclusive 
ladies  received  her,  not  merely  with  friendliness,  but  with  formal 
honors.  Testimony  to  this  belief  of  the  marriage  is  found  in  a  con- 
versation held  between  Mrs.  Harcourt  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
in  this  very  year  of  the  King's  recovery,  when  he  told  her  that 
''the  7narriage  between  the  P.  and  Mrs.  Fitz.  was  without  much 
love  on  either  side.  He  had  his  amusements  elsewhere,  but  he  had 
much  consideration  for  her.  She  was  sometimes  jealous  and  dis- 
contented; her  temper  violent,  though  apparently  so  quiet.  He 
hoped,"  he  went  on  to  say,  "  the  Prince  would  remain  in  her  hands, 
as  she  was  no  political  intriguer,  and  probably,  if  they  parted,  he 
would  fall  into  worse  hands."*  This,  the  tone  of  the  Court,  seems 
to  define  her  situation,  which  was  looked  on  as  analogous  to  that  of 
a  German  "left-handed"  marriage. f 

*"  Diary,"  p.  41. 

t  A  pamphleteering  parson  named  Withers  assailed  her  in  a  series  of  libels, 
from  which  she  had  to  seek  the  protection  of  the  law.  Her  assailant  was 
punished  with  fine  and  imprisonment. 

11* 


250  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV, 

The  Prince  at  this  time  found  himself  obliged  to  prosecute  the 
proprietor  of  Tlie  Times  newspaper — then  not  nearly  so  important 
an  organ  as  it  has  become — Mr.  Walter,  for  writing  that  he  and  his 
brother  had  entered  the  King's  apartment  and  purposely  disturbed 
him,  and  for  libellous  reflections.  The  offender  was  sentenced  to 
two  years'  imprisonment  and  the  pillory.  This  part  of  his  punish- 
ment was  remitted,  and  his  term  of  imprisonment  reduced  to  six- 
teen months.* 

It  may  be  conceived  that  if  the  Prince  were  in  such  straits,  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert  had  her  share  of  difficulties.  She  herself  had  expen- 
sive tastes,  and  had  brought  her  jointure  into  the  common  stock. 
It  must  be  said,  the  Prince  in  many  of  his  straits  came  to  her  rescue 
■with  due  loyalty  and  generosity.  Thus,  one  morning  at  her  house 
in  Park  Lane,  when  he  was  with  her,  the  bailiff  arrived  with  a 
warrant  for  her  arrest  for  a  sum  of  £1825.  There  were  no  means 
of  discharging  this  debt,  though  the  Prince  tried  every  resource. 
He  at  last  sent  for  Parker,  a  well-known  pawnbroker  of  Fleet 
Street,  the  same  who  was  connected  with  the  transaction  in  which 
the  Duchess  of  Devonshire's  jewels  were  concerned,  and  tried  to 
raise  the  money  on  some  of  the  lady's  jewels.  Owing  to  some  diffi- 
culties this  could  not  be  contrived,  and  the  Prince- sent  for  his  own 
jewels  from  Carlton  House,  which  were  pledged  for  the  day,  until 
the  Prince  could  raise  the  sum  from  some  Jews  in  St.  Mary  Axe.  f 
Jewellers,  indeed,  figure  largely  in  these  transactions. 

About  this  time  he  had  made  a  most  important  change,  as  it 
seemed  to  him,  viz.,  in  selecting  a  new  jeweller.  Gray,  of  Sackville 
Street,  having  presumed  to  require  "a  settlement,"  had  been  dis- 
carded, and  now  Jefferey,  of  Piccadilly,  was  selected  for  the  profit- 
less, or  certainly  precarious,  office  of  purveying  ornaments  to  his 
roj'al  highness.  How  important  the  function  may  be  conceived, 
when  this  tradesman  solemnly  states  that  for  many  years  not  a 
single  day  passed  without  his  spending  some  time  at  Carlton  House, 
when  articles  of  his  profession  were  offered  for  selection. 

One  morning  Jefferey  received  a  visit  from  Mr.  Weltjic,  begging 
for  a  loan  of  £1600  on  the  part  of  the  Prince  to  extricate  Mrs.  Fitz- 


♦  '*  Yet  the  statement  was  quite  true,"  says  Mrs.  Harcourt,  "  and  the  remis- 
sion was  against  the  Duke  of  York's  wishes,  who  was  very  violent.  Jack 
Payne  was  Walter's  greatest  enemy." 

t  Huish  states  that  he  had  this  story  from  the  pawnbroker  himself.  The 
substance,  though  vulgarly  dres.sed  up  with  additional  "facts"  from  the 
writer's  imagination,  seems  to  be  true. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  251 

lierbert,  desiring  to  have  it  placed  to  the  Prince's  account.  Mr. 
Jefferey  found  the  cash,  and  attended  on  the  following  morning  to 
announce  that  the  debt  was  paid.  Full  of  gratitude  the  Prince 
brought  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  to  his  shop,  to  return  her  thanks  in  per- 
son. The  money  was  repaid  in  three  months.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  many  such  transactions  with  this  accommodating  jeweller, 
and  also,  as  will  be  seen  later,  of  much  discreditable  disputes. 

We  next  find  the  Prince  at  Frogmore,  where  he  was  "hardly 
civil  to  any  one,  tho'  he  seemed  to  pay  more  court  to  the  King. 
He  did  not  speak  to  L"^  Harcourt,  to  whom  he  had  been  very  civil 
always  during  the  King's  late  illness,  until  he  was  the  first  tell  to 
him  that  the  King  w<^  certainly  recover — a  characteristic  touch. 
The  Queen  &  Princesses  this  evening  (that  of  September  20)  were 
evidently  afraid  of  him."*  In  October,  at  the  Hunt,  "the  King 
made  General  Harcourt  converse  the,  whole  time,  as  if  to  keep  off 
the  Prince,  who  does  not  speak  to  the  General  since  the  illness."  f 
A  general  reconciliation  with  his  family  seemed  therefore  hopeless, 
and,  indeed,  the  tone  adopted  by  the  Prince  even  in  indifferent 
matters  was  not  likely  to  encourage  harmony.  Thus  the  King, 
ever  partial  to  music,  was  fond  of  giving  Sunday  evening  parties, 
where  he  offered  his  guests  the  rational  entertainment  of  good 
music  and  conversation.  The  Bishops,  however,  conceiving  that 
this  was  "contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  Sabbath,"  respectfully 
remonstrated,  and  with  success.  But  it  becoming  known  that  his 
son  also  celebrated  the  Sunday  with  music  and  with  more  joviality 
than  was  becoming  the  day,  he  took  the  injudicious  step  not  of 
speaking  to  the  Prince,  but  of  warning  the  nobility  that  he  dis- 
approved of  their  attendance  at  such  performances.  As  was  to  be 
expected,  the  command  was  laughed  at  by  all  those  who  were  not 
of  the  royal  household,  or  not  dependent  on  royalty  for  a  pension; 
but  at  Carlton  House  and  other  places  it  became  a  standing  joke, 
and  with  some  of  the  party  it  was  their  regular  custom  to  send  to 
the  Bishops  who  might  be  resident  in  London  a  polite  invitation  to 
a  Sunday  evening  conversazione.  There  was,  as  usual,  an  edifying 
state  of  things  and  in  the  worst  taste,  and  the  blame  must  be  not  a 
little  distributed. 

It  was  during  this  year,  too,  that  the  Prince  paid  a  visit  to  one 
who,  without  injustice,  might  be  styled  a  notorious  "rake,"  viz., 
Lord  Sandwich.     "Jemmy  Twitcher,"  as  he  was  called,  belonged 

*  *•  Mrs.  Harcoxirt's  Diary,"  p.  36.  +  Ibid. 


252  .    THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV 

to  an  old  generation  of  rakes,  and  had  been  little  heard  of  since 
Miss  Ray's  tragic  end.  The  attraction  would  seem  to  have  been  the 
musical  tastes  of  his  host  and  the  harmonious  fare  offered.  His 
lordship  had  the  odd  taste  to  choose  for  his  favorite  instrument  the 
drum;  and  at  his  own  concerts,  when  a  full  band  w^as  engaged,  he 
always  performed  on  that  instrument.  As  Peter  Pindar  wrote: 
"He  beats  old  Ashbridge  on  the  kettledrum. '\ 

On  this  occasion,  Madame  Mara  sang,  and  his  royal  highness 
"assisted  on  the  violoncello."  Generally  there  was  a  theatrical 
performance — "Fool  d  la  Mode,"  "High  Life  Below  Stairs,"  or 
some  favorite  piece ;  while  the  evening  wound  up  with  catches  and 
glees,  in  all  of  which  the  Prince  was  fond  of  taking  a  part.  He 
had  an  excellent  and  a  cultured  voice,  a  greater  distinction  then 
than  in  our  own  time,  when  the  study  of  music  has  been  so  diffused. 
He  remained  a  week  at  this  agreeable  house,  and  on  going  away 
expressed  his  delight  at  the  way  he  had  been  entertained. 

In  a  glee,  his  royal  highness  could  supply  "  the  basso"  with  more 
good  will  than  delicacy.  On  one  of  the  evenings  at  the  Pavilion 
(one  of  Sir  P.  Francis's  daughters  reports)  his  royal  highness,  after 
dinner,  having  proposed  music,  and  being  actively  engaged  in  per- 
forming, with  Mrs.  Francis  and  some  other  persons,  the  pretty 
hunting  trio  of  "  Azioli,"  of  which  the  burden  is  *'  Ritarneremo  a 

Clori" But  the  story  is  amusing,  and  bears  such  a  favorable, 

testimony  to  the  Prince's  good  humor,  that  the  lady  must  be 
allowed  to  tell  it  herself. 

"It  is  well  known  that,  to  an  excessive  love  of  music,  he  added 
much  real  taste  as  an  amateur,  and  some  power  as  a  performer; 
but  his  execution  was  not  particularly  good,  and  Mr.  Francis,  Sir 
Philip's  son,  with  whom  he  frequently  sang,  was  sometimes  comci. 
ally  struck  by  the  loudness  of  his  voice,  and  his  peculiar  manner- 
On  one  of  the  above-mentioned  evenings  at  the  Pavilion,  his  royal 
highness,  after  dinner,  having  proposed  music,  and  being  actually 
engaged  in  performing  with  Mr.  Francis  and  some  other  person  the 
pretty  hunting  trio  of  '  Azioli,'  of  which  the  burden  is,  '  Ritonuremo 
a  Clori,  al  tramontar  del  dl/  Mr.  Francis  suddenly  found  the  full 
face  of  the  Prince,  somewhat  heated  by  the  eagerness  of  his  per- 
formance, in  immediate  contact  with  his  own;  and  this  circum- 
stance, combined  with  that  of  the  loud  bass  tones  in  which  his  royal 
highness  was  singing  the  words  '  Ritomeremo  a  Clori,'  striking  him 
in  some  ludicrous  point  of  view,  he  became  absolutely  unable  to 
resist  the  effect  on  his  nerves,  and  burst  out  laughing.     The  Prince 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  253 

evidently  perceived  tliat  his  own  singing  had  produced  the  unsea- 
sonable laughter,  but  instead  of  showing  displeasure  at  a  rudeness 
which,  however  involuntary,  would  have  been  resented  by  many 
far  less  illustrious  persons,  he  only  called  the  offender  to  order  with 
the  words,  'Come,  come,  Philip!'  his  countenance  betraying  at  the 
same  time  a  strong  inclination  to  join  in  the  laugh  himself;  and  the 
trio  proceeded  to  a  conclusion.  Sir  Philip  (adds  his  daughter),  by  his 
original  humor  and  great  powers  of  conversation,  was  often  the  life  of 
the  Pavilion,  though  his  temperate  habits  made  the  excesses  occasion- 
ally committed  at  the  Prince's  table  distasteful  to  him ;  and  his  royal 
host,  perceiving  him  ready  to  drop  asleep  when  the  revels  were  long 
protracted,  would  say,  'We  must  carry  grandpapa  away  to  bed.'" 

The  same  ready  good  humor  is  shown  in  a  pleasant  scene  which 
took  place  at  the  Pavilion.  Cricket  w^as  often  played  on  the  lawn, 
and  the  dinner  which  followed  was  served  in  a  marquee.  On  one 
of  those  occasions,  the  Duke  of  York  and  Sheridan  fell  into  dispute 
on  some  point  of  the  game.  Sheridan  at  length  angrily  told  the 
Duke  "that  he  was  not  to  be  talked  out  of  his  opinion  there  or 
anywhere  else,  and  that  at  play  all  men  were  on  a  par."  The  Duke 
was  evidently  about  to  make  some  peculiarly  indignant  reply,  when 
the  Prince  stood  up  and  addressed  them  both. 

"The  narrator  of  the  circumstance,  a  person  of  rank,  who  was 
present,  himself  one  of  the  most  attractive  public  speakers  of  the 
day,  has  often  declared  that  he  never,  on  any  occasion,  saw  any 
individual  under  the  circumstances  acquit  himself  with  more  ability. 
The  speech  was  of  some  length — ten  or  fifteen  minutes;  it  was 
alternately  playful  and  grave,  expressed  with  perfect  self-possession, 
and  touching  on  the  occurrences  of  the  game,  the  characters  of 
both  disputants,  and  the  conversation  at  the  table,  with  the  hap- 
piest delicacy  and  dexterity.  Among  other  points  the  Prince  made 
ji  laughing  apology  for  Sheridan's  unlucky  use  of  the  phrase  '  on  a 
par,'  by  bidding  his  brother  remember  that  the  impressions  of 
school  were  not  easily  effaced,  that  Dr.  Parr  had  inflicted  learning 
upon  Sheridan,  and  that,  like  the  lover  in  'The  Wonder,'  who 
mixes  his  mistress's  name  with,  everything,  and  calls  to  his  valet, 
'Roast  me  these  Yiolantes,' the  name  of  Parr  was  uppermost  in 
Sheridan's  sleep :  he  then  ran  into  a  succession  of  sportive  quota- 
tions of  the  word  par,  in  the  style  of  Ludere  par  impar,  equitare  in 
arundine  longd,  until  the  speech  was  concluded  in  general  gayety, 
and  the  dispute  w^as  thought  of  no  more. "  * 

*  Dr.  Croly,  "  Life  of  George  IV." 


S54  TSE  LIFS  OF  OEOROE  TV, 

During  this  season,  too,  he  had  witnessed  some  more  private 
theatricals,  performed  before  him  at  Richmond  House,  with  the 
following  distinguished  caste.  The  piece  was  Murphy's  "Way  to 
Keep  Him:" 

Lovemore Lord  Derby. 

Sir  Brilliant  Fashion Hon.  Mr.  Edgecumbb. 

Sir  Bashful  Constant Major  Arabin. 

William Sir  Harry  Englefield. 

Sideboard Mr.  Campbell. 

Widow  Belmour Hon.  Mrs.  Hobabt. 

Mrs.  Lovemore Hon.  Mrs.  Damer. 

Lady  Constant Miss  Campbell. 

Muslin Mrs.  Bruce. 

The  prologue  was  written  by  Mr.  Conway,  and  spoken  by  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Hobart.* 

In  February,  1788,  the  Prince  had  been  initiated  into  Free- 
masonry, at  the  Star  and  Garter,  Pall  Mall.  His  Royal  Highness  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  as  Grand  Master,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the 
Duke  of  Manchester,  and  several  other  noblemen  attended  the 
ceremony. 

Meanwhile  the  King's  condition  seemed  to  improve,  and  the  f^tes 
still  given  in  honor  of  his  restoration  continued  to  testify  the  affec- 
tion borne  him.  The  Spanish  Ambassador's  f^te,  given  at  Rane- 
lagh,  was  one  of  the  most  magnificent  of  those  galas,  and  was  said 
to  have  cost  £12,000.  It  was  a  fair  specimen  of  all  that  money  and 
labor  could  do  in  those  days.     A  description  may  be  quoted. 

"  The  entrance  into  the  rotunda  (we  are  told)  was  formed  into  a 
shrubbery;  the  lower  boxes  represented  a  Spanish  camp,  and  the 
gallery  formed  a  temple  of  Flora.  The  Queen's  box  was  of  crim- 
son satin,  lined  with  white  satin  hung  in  festoons,  and  richly 
fringed  with  gold,  at  the  top  of  which  was  a  regal  crown.  The 
orchestra  was  a  magnificent  pavilion  of  white  and  gold,  lined  with 
green  embroidered  satin,  in  which  was  a  table  of  eighteen  covers 
for  the  royal  family.  Opposite  the  Queen's  box  was  a  small  stage, 
on  Avhifli  a  Spanish  dance  was  performed  by  children,  which  had  a 
pleasing  effect.     In  another  arch  of  the  centre  were  beautiful  mov- 

*  '*  Afterwards  Countess  of  Berkshire,  who,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the 
times,  presided  at  a  faro-table  which  was  frequented  by  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  where  on  some  evenings  she  gave  her  dramatic  readings,  in  which  she 
was  assisted  by  that  sprightly  and  witty  barrister,  the  present  Mr.  Jekyll."— 

Huish. 


TSE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV.  255 

ing  transparencies;  and  in  a  third  was  a  lottery  of  watches,  gold 
trinkets,  medals,  etc.,  consisting  of  six  hundred  prizes,  the  number 
of  ladies  invited.  The  great  prize,  a  gold  watch  richly  ornamented 
with  diamonds,  fell  to  the  lot  of  Miss  Eliza  Sturt.  Her  Majesty  drew 
an  etwee-case,  with  a  beautiful  medallion  of  the  King.  An  Ode,  the 
words  by  Colonel  Arabin,  was  sung;  after  which  a  red  curtain 
drew  up,  and  about  thirty  girls  and  boys,  in  Spanish  dresses,  enter- 
tained the  company  with  Spanish  dances.  Her  Majesty  and  the 
royal  family  then  retired  to  the  back  part  of  their  box,  to  view  the 
fireworks  from  the  garden.  There  were  about  twenty  sailing-boats 
on  the  water,  illuminated  with  lamps,  which  moved  backwards  and 
forwards,  letting  off  sky-rockets.  The  fireworks  were  very  grand, 
and  well  conducted." 

All  these  entertainments  were  so  many  affronts  to  the  Princes. 
At  the  Spanish  minister's  f^te  members  of  the  party  were  said  to 
have  been  excluded;  and  the  Princes  showed  their  feelings  by  quit- 
ting the  room  almost  as  soon  as  they  entered  it.  At  the  French 
Ambassador's  f^te  they  noticed  that  the  Queen  "bowed  graciously 
to  Colonel  Lenox,"  on  which  the  royal  brethren  at  once  took  their 
departure.  The  Princesses,  whose  position  at  such  places  must 
have  been  awkward,  merely  made  their  appearance  and  then  went 
away,  and  during  the  dance  the  Princesses  had  to  be  led  out  by 
noblemen.  A  journey  to  the  seaside,  with  visits  to  various  great 
houses,  was  prescribed  for  the  King,  as  well  as  some  stay  at  his 
favorite  Weymouth.  The  Princes  set  out  on  a  progress  of  their 
own  into  Yorkshire  and  other  places.  It  was  hoped  that  the  Prince 
of  Wales  would  have  waited  on  his  father;  but  he  despatched  the 
Duke  of  York  in  his  place  with  a  letter,  in  the  composition  of 
which  Sheridan  and  Fox,  then  staying  at  Brighton,  had  been  con- 
cerned. 

The  Prince,  as  usual,  preferred  to  hurry  post  from  Brighton 
without  stop,  had  stayed  only  a  single  day,  and  thence  returned, 
sleeping  in  his  chaise.  He  played  a  match  of  cricket  there,  then 
set  off  with  his  brother  for  the  York  races,  where  both  were 
received  by  Lord  Fitzwilliam  at  Wentworth.  It  was  hardly  sur- 
prising that  the  Duke,  who  had  only  just  recovered  from  the 
measles,  should  have  fallen  sick  again  at  York.  For  these  wild 
courses  a  heavy  price  was  to  be  paid  later,  in  the  sufferings  that 
attend  a  life  of  excess.* 

*  On  this  tour  or  progress  he  was  attended  in  all  state  by  the  Dukes  of  Bed- 
ford, Ancaster,  and  Queensberry,  Lords  Carlisle,  Derby,  Rawdon,  and  others, 


256  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

At  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  a  unique  and  truly  magnificent  display  was 
contrived.  The  whole  county  round  was  bidden  to  the  park, 
where  all  were  entertained,  and  it  was  calculated  that  no  less  than 
twenty  thousand  persons  were  feasted :  two  hundred  of  the  York- 
shire belles  and  Yorkshire  "quality"  sat  at  the  table  with  the 
Prince. 

As  if  to  encourage  him  further  in  his  reckless  course  of  life, 
there  now  arrived  in  town  his  friend,  the  Duke  of  Orleans — having 
left  Paris  on  the  eve  of  the  Revolution.  At  Boulogne  he  had  been 
seized  and  detained  by  the  fishermen,  and  was  only  allowed  to 
depart  after  infinite  difficulty,  A  house  had  been  taken  for  him 
in  town.  The  Prince  put  off  a  visit  he  was  about  paying  to  Holk- 
ham  to  "Coke  of  Norfolk,"  to  entertain  the  Duke.  The  Prince 
and  his  brother  were  at  their  favorite  jeweller's,  when  they  en- 
countered their  French  friends.  But  there  presently  arose  a  cold- 
ness between  them,  when  the  behavior  of  the  French  Prince  to 
King  Louis  XYI.  became  known;  the  Duke  of  York  declined 
meeting  him  at  entertainments;  while  it  was  remarked  that  at  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  ball  given  to  Prince  Galitzin  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
was  not  present. 

The  summer  had  been  spent  at  Brigliton  with  more  than  usual 
frivolity.  Mr.  Fox  was  on  a  visit  with  him,  and  both  repaired  to 
Lewes  races,  where  the  Prince  was  welcomed  by  the  High  Sheriff, 


He  won  a  stake  at  the  York  races,  and  received  the  freedom  of  the  city.  No 
wonder  that  Mr.  Burke  wrote  to  Fox— this  was  in  August,  1789— "Things  went 
off  well  in  Yorkshire.  I  wish  the  Prince  had  staid  a  few  days  longer,  to  show 
himself  to  the  manufacturing  towns,  wliich  are  the  headquarters  of  the 
enemy.  It  is  very  probable  that  he  might  have  dislodged  them.  However, 
as  it  was,  the  Northern  excursion  has  been  of  use." 

In  returning  to  town  he  met  with  an  accident:  "About  two  miles  north  ol 
Newark,  a  cart  crossing  the  road  struck  the  axle  of  the  Prince's  coach  and 
overturned  it.  It  was  on  the  verge  of  a  slope,  and  the  carriage  fell  a  consid- 
erable way,  turned  over  twice,  and  was  shivered  to  pieces.  There  were  in  tho 
coach  along  with  him,  Lord  Clermont,  Colonel  St,  Leger,  and  Colonel  Lake. 
The  Prince  suffered  a  slight  contusion  in  the  shoulder,  and  his  wrist  was 
sprained.  Being  undermost  in  the  first  fall,  by  the  next  roll  of  the  carriage 
he  was  brought  uppermost,  when,  with  great  presence  of  mind,  he  disengaged 
himself,  and  was  the  first  to  rescue  and  disengage  his  fellow-travellers.  Lord 
Clermont  was  the  most  hurt.  The  accident  happened  at  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
and  it  was  clear  moonlight.  The  carriage  was  his  royal  highness's  own  trav- 
elling-coach, with  hired  horses  and  postilions;  and  the  mischance  was  occa- 
sioned by  the  wilfulness  of  the  postilions,  who  drove  to  clear  the  cart  with 
their  common  precipitation." 


THE  LIFil  OF  GEORGE  IV.  257 

attended  by." the  whole  population  as  javelin  men;"  a  most  gro- 
tesque spectacle.  Here,  too,  were  seen  three  ladies,  distinguished 
by  their  rather  eccentric  equipages — the  Duchess  of  Rutland,  Lady 
Lade,  and  Mrs.  Fitzherbert — each  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  four  gray 
ponies.* 

In  January,  1790,  we  find  the  gay  Prince,  as  previously  stated, 
at  Lord  Barrymore's,  at  Wargrave,  where  he  remained  three  days, 
and  was  entertained  with  plays  and  a  masked  ball.  But  this  dis- 
orderly celebration  was  to  be  further  marked  by  accident,  an  unfor- 
tunate coachman  being  flung  from  his  box  in  a  collision  and 
killed  on  the  spot.  Then  followed  in  the  same  month  a  magnifi- 
cent ball  at  Carlton  House,  to  about  two  hundred  of  the  chief  per- 
sonages. It  was  a  private  entertainment,  being  given  in  honor  of 
Prince  Galitzin,  who  "wished  to  see  an  English  country  dance." 
At  the  close  of  the  night  he  was  introduced  to  English  gaming. 
Captain  Payne  was  said  to  have  won  a  thousand  guineas  at  faro. 
But  presently  the  public  must  have  been  a  little  surprised  to  learn 
that,  after  the  bitter  animosity  that  reigned  between  the  Prince  and 
his  father,  a  reconciliation  had  taken  place  between  them.  This 
was  believed  to  have  been  brought  about  by  Lord  Thurlow,  with 
whom  the  Prince  had  continued  to  be  exceedingly  intimate,  taking 
delight  in  his  rough  jests  and  coarse  abuse  of  the  people  they  both 
disliked.  "  You,  sir,"  Lord  Thurlow  would  tell  him  in  his  rough 
way,  "will  never  be  popular;  your  father  is,  because  he  is  faithful 
to  that  ugly  woman,  your  naother."  It  was  noted  that  the  Prince 
now  received  and  invited  persons  without  distinction  of  party. 
Reconciliation  with  the  Queen  presently  followed,  brought  about, 
it  was  said,  through  the  agency  of  the  Dukes  of  Leeds  and  Rich- 
mond, though  the  Princess  Royal  had  been  unwearied  in  her 
efforts  to  attain  this  end.  This  happy  event  took  place  in  March, 
1791.  "A  gentleman,  who  lives  at  the  east  end  of  St.  James's 
Park,"  wrote  Mr.  Walpole,  "has  been  sent  by  a  lady  who  has  a 
large  house  at  the  west  end,  and  they  have  kissed  and  are  friends, 
which  he  notified  by  toasting  her  health  in  a  bumper  at  a  club  the 
other  day."  f    It  would  seem  that  the  feelings  of  the  Prince  had  not 


*  Lady  Lade  was  scarcely  company  for  the  other  ladies,  but  she  enjoyed  the 
Prince's  patronage,  which,  however,  did  not  avail  to  protect  her.  For  when 
on  the  night  of  the  race  ball  she  stood  up  for  the  dance,  her  appearance  was 
greeted  with  loud  murmurs,  and  a  voice  from  the  crowd  called  out,  "  Lady 
Lade's  carriage  stops  the  way  I"  on  which  she  retired. 

t  "  Letters,"  ix.  299. 


258  TBE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV, 

gone  with  this  becoming  act,  and  that  he  still  nourished  a  sense  of 
injury. 

He  was  still  carrying  on  a  correspondence  with  his  friend,  Lord 
Cornwallis,  in  an  effusive  vein,  and  which  that  nobleman  received 
in  almost  dry  fashion,  as  some  unreasonable  request  for  a  place  or 
patronage  was  always  presented.     The  style  should  be  noted. 

THE  PRINCE   OP  WALES  TO   LORD   CORNWALLIS. 

"  Carlton  House,  April  16th,  1790. 
"My  DEAR  Lord, 

"It  is  so  long  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  You 
y^  I  am  quite  afraid  You  have  forgot  Your  old  Friends  on  this  side 
of  the  Water,  therefore  think  it  high  time  to  assure  You  y*  there 
are  a  few  of  us  who  have  had  the  pleasure  of  passing  many  pleasant 
&  happy  Hours  in  y  Society,  whoever  are  most  happy  in  hearing, 
be  it  ever  such  short  Letters,  y*  You  are  well  and  situated  to  y 
Satisfaction.  By  this  time  You  must  have  heard  of  the  treatment 
— the  shameful,  unjust  treatment — our  little  worthy  Friend  Lothian 
has  experienced  from  the  Minister,  I  would  expatiate  more  upon 
this  subject,  was  it  not  so  perfectly  of  a  piece  with  everything  y 
had  been  inflicted,  not  only  upon  other  individuals,  but  upon  every 
relative  and  relation  of  the  King's  Family  who  acted  from  princi- 
ples of  disinterested  honor,  y*  had  it  not  happened,  one  might  have 
been  astonished  y*  for  once,  the  natuml  mean,  paltry,  and  revengeful 
disposition  of  the  Minister  did  not  demonstrate  itself  in  the  odious 
and  impressive  light,  which  now  it  has  in  every  instance  in  w** 
either  could  or  dared  give  it  vent.  I  will  not,  my  dear  Lord,  intrude 
further  upon  y  time,  as  I  know  how  much  it  must  naturally,  from 
y  situation,  be  taken  up  ;  however,  before  I  conclude,  I  must  just 
mention  to  You  how  much  I  wish  to  recommend  to  y  protection 
Young  Mr.  Watts,  who  is,  I  believe,  in  the  Company's  service.  I 
understood  y*  his  wish  is,  if  possible,  to  get  equal  Rank  in  the 
Regulars,  to  y*  which  he  has  in  the  Company's  troops.  I  do  not 
know  whether  this  is  an  easy  matter  to  be  done  or  not.  I  must 
leave  it  entirely  to  you,  my  dear  Lord,  to  y  better  judgment  and 
knowledge  of  the  possibility  of  effecting  these  matters  ;  however, 
I  only  hope  y^  sM  this  plan  not  be  possible  to  be  arranged,  you 
will  employ  the  Young  Man  in  some  other  line  to  w**  You  may 
deem  he  has  abilities.    Pray  excuse  hurry  and  scrawl,  and  believe 

me,  mj  dear  Lord, 

"Ever  most  truly  Y'  Friend, 

"Q.  P." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  259 

"  Carlton  House,  May  11th,  1791. 

"Mt  DEAR  Lord, 

"Allow  me  to  return  you  my  thanks  for  the  Letter  I  last 
week  received  from  you.  We  had,  about  a  fortnight  before,  re- 
ceived the  accounts  of  Colonel  Floyd's  affair,  &  regretted  much 
that  so  much  bravery  had  not  been  crowned  with  more  success, 
at  least  with  a  more  signal  victory.  My  Brother  is  gone,  upon  the 
report  of  War,  to  attend  the  Prussian  Army,  in  case  there  sh*^  be 
any  service  to  be  seen,  and  sh"^  there  not,  then  to  return  to  England 
when  the  grand  Reviews  are  over.  As  to  Topics,  there  are  so  few 
except  the  French  Revolution  and  the  prospect  of  a  War  with 
Russia,  with  both  of  w'^  you  must  be  so  much  better  informed 
about  by  other  persons  than  I  can  pretend  to  do  with  mine,  y*  I 
will  not  even  take  up  your  time  with  mentioning  the  subject.  I 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  lately  a  great  deal  of  my  old  friend 
Singleton,  whom  I  had  not  seen  hardly  since  he  has  had  the  honor 
of  being  related  to  your  Lordship  ;  &  having  taken  a  house  in 
Hampshire  about  fifteen  miles  from  mine,  he  now  &  then  rides 
over  in  order  to  meet  my  Hounds,  when  they  throw  off  within  a  dis- 
tance of  ten  or  a  dozen  miles  from  him  ;  &  all  I  can  say  is,  I  flatter 
myself,  when  he  has  the  honor  to  be  as  well  known  by  your  Lord- 
ship as  he  is  by  me,  he  will  gain  the  same  place  in  y*  esteem  y*  I 
confess  he  long  has  done  in  mine.  Before  I  conclude,  allow  me  to 
mention  y*  the  Young  Man  who  will  have  the  honor  of  delivering 
this  Letter  to  y  L^*'^^?  is  a  young  man  whose  Brother,  thro'  the 
interest  of  my  friend  Lushington,  I  have  got  the  permission  of  the 
Company  to  be  a  Free  Merchant.  I  formerly  recommended  him  to 
You,  &  his  name  is  Coleman,  and  I  flatter  my'self  he  will  always 
merit  y  support  &  approbation  by  his  industry  and  diligence.  The 
young  man  himself  is  coming  out  as  a  Cadet,  &  I  can  only  add  y* 
any  attention  &  assistance  you  are  so  good  as  to  show  him  on  my 
account,  I  shall  attribute  to  the  source  of  that  friendship  w^  I  hope 
I  shall  always  experience  from  you. 

"  I  am,  My  Dear  Lord,  Most  Sincerely  Yours, 

"G.  P." 

Lord  Cornwallis's  answers  to  this  and  other  rambling  effusions 
offer  a  curious  contrast.  They  are  rather  cold  and  stiff,  and  even 
seem  to  rebuke  the  want  of  propriety  in  abusing  the  King  to  the 
King's  officer.  He  wrote  "that  he  felt  the  strongest  disinclination 
to  enter  on  that  unpleasant  topic  of  the  Regency."    No  one  could 


^60  THE  LIF^  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

love  or  admire  his  royal  highness  more,  but  "he  was  a  determined 
friend  to  the  liberties  of  his  country  and  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Crown,"  and  had  he  been  in  the  country  he  would  have  felt  it  his 
duty  to  have  opposed  the  Duke  of  York.  For  one  of  the  Prince's 
irroteges  he  would  have  to  displace  an  old  judge.  This  could  not  be 
done.  Neither  could  he  say  whether,  during  his  term  of  oflSce,  he 
would  be  able  to  do  anything  for  him.  He  complained  to  Lord 
Southampton  of  persons  actually  not  in  the  Company  being  sent 
out  by  the  Prince.  Mr.  Colebrook  had  arrived  in  this  way  with 
all  his  family  "on  the  chance."  Lord  Cornwallis  plainly  told  him 
he  could  do  nothing  for  him.  He  said  that  he  had  been  advised  to 
come  by  Sir  T.  Macpherson,  the  Prince's  friend.* 


*  "  Cornwallis  Cor.,"  passim,. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  261 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
1791. 

It  can  scarcely  be  understood  how  passionate  and  successful  a 
follower  of  racing  was  the  Prince  of  Wales.  Nothing,  indeed, 
more  completely  disposes  of  the  conventional  idea  of  his  character 
that  he  was  a  frivolous  being  without  talents  and  engrossed  in 
pleasure.  To  be  successful  in  this  sport  requires,  as  is  well  known, 
qualities  of  judgment,  sagacity,  and  calculation,  with  the  power 
of  analyzing  experience  and  turning  it  to  profit.  No  one  of  his 
time  had  so  genuine  a  love  for  horses,  and  no  one  had  "a  finer 
eye  for  them,"  says  the  author  of  "Post  and  Paddocli."  Hacks 
and  hunters  he  never  seemed  tired  of  trying,  and  the  dealers,  like 
the  jewellers,  were  always  welcome.  At  Carlton  House,  Mat 
Milton's  refrain,  "Throw  your  thigh  over  him,  your  Highness, 
and  you'll  find  him  to  be  the  sweetest  goer  you  ever  mounted," 
was  invariably  responded  to.  Hunting  to  a  man  who  latterly 
weighed  more  than  twenty-three  stone  was,  of  course,  out  of  the 
question,  but  when  he  was  able  to  don  his  blue  coat  with  gilt 
buttons  and  top-boots  and  buckskins,  he  cared  very  little  what 
Milton  or  any  other  dealer  chose  to  ask  for  a  clever  hack.  It  used 
to  be  a  saying  at  Brighton  that,  heavy  as  he  was,  he  rode  so  well 
that  he  never  soiled  his  nankeens.*  He  used  to  hunt  with  Mr. 
Villebois's  hounds  in  Hampshire,  and  the  plumes  still  appear  on 
the  Club  button. 

It  was  during  this  period  (1788  to  1791)  that  he  was  most  partial 
to  hunting,  though  it  was  admitted  that  he  was  never  what  was 
called  a  forward  rider.  As  we  have  seen,  he  had  hunted  in  Hamp- 
shire. We  are  told  "Colonel  Leigh  was  then  in  high  favor  ;  and 
George  Sharpe  was  for  some  short  time  his  huntsman,  although 
before  long  superseded  by  a  man  named  Granston,  who  was  dis- 
missed only  by  death  from  the  service  of  the  Prince.  His  hounds 
showed  as  fair  a  proportion  of  sport  as  could  be  expected  from  the 

*  "Post  and  Paddock,"  p.  108. 


262  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

flints  and  woods  of  Hampshire  ;  the  country,  however,  does  not, 
and  never  did,  rank  high  even  in' the  list  of  provincials  ;  and  otlier 
agremens,  besides  the  facility  of  hunting,  had  no  doubt  their  weight 
in  detaining  his  royal  master  as  a  resident.  No  party  bickerings, 
no  sporting  squabbles  were  at  any  time  heard ;  and  the  whole  coun- 
try resembled  one  large  and  happily  united  family,  of  which  their 
distinguished  visitor  was  looked  up  to  and  adored  as  the  august  and 
beloved  head.  Often,  no  doubt,  amidst  the  domestic  troubles  of 
his  after-days,  did  the  Prince  look  back  with  a  sad  satisfaction  and 
sorrow  on  the  quiet  privacy  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  regretted 
sojourn  [at  the  Grange,  which,  then  or  later,  belonged  to  Lord 
Ashburton.  His  hounds  came  from  Goodwood,  where  they  had 
long  formed  the  kennel  of  the  grandfather  of  the  present  Duke  of 
Richmond;  and  amongst  his  horses  were  not  a  few  thorough-bred 
ones,  who  had  distinguished  themselves  on  the  turf,  yet  were 
notwithstanding  equal  to  his  weight.  Amongst  these  were  Curricle, 
Asparagus,  Totteridge,  and  Torbay."  In  1790,  however,  we  find 
him  at  Critchill,  the  seat  of  Mr.  Sturt,  and  where  recently  the 
present  heir-apparent  was  entertained.  Here  he  entered  thoroughly 
into  the  enjoyment  of  rustic  life,  and  kept  himself  rather  secluded. 

Mr.  Chafin — a  quaint  hunting  divine — describes  in  an  admirable 
sporting  book,  now  forgotten,  but  which  has  the  flavor  of  the 
"  History  of  Selborne,"  how  the  Prince  called  on  him.  One  morn- 
ing he  was  surprised  to  receive  a  visit  from  his  royal  highness,  who 
was  in  great  excitement,  desiring  an  information  to  be  taken  for 
robbery,  and  that  a  search-warrant  be  granted  to  him.  "He  in- 
sisted," says  the  clergyman,  naively,  "on  my  administering  the 
oath  to  him,  which  I  reluctantly  did;  and  then  described  how  his 
groom's  box  had  been  broken  open  and  a  watch  and  other  valuables 
stolen."  He  suspected  certain  persons,  and  chose  to  come  himself 
lest  the  alarm  should  be  taken.  He  sat  by  Mr.  Chafin  while  the 
warrant  was  being  filled  up,  and  it  was  a  circumstance  of  great 
satisfaction  to  him  that  the  goods  were  found  where  he  had  sus- 
pected them  to  be."  * 

Another  hunting  parson,  the  Rev.  W.  Butler,  and  a  friend  of  Mr. 
Chafin's,  used  to  describe  a  rencontre  with  the  Prince.  Returning 
home  after  a  blank  day  in  the  Vale  he  was  joined  by  a  gentleman 
who,  entering  into  conversation,  began  to  ask  questions  about  the 

•  "Cranboume  Chace."  A  book  after  Lamb's  own  heart  which  should  bo 
reprinted. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK 

neighbors,  and  more  particularly  about  one  gentleman,  who,  he  had 
heard,  could  despatch  three  bottles  of  port  at  a  sitting.  This  the 
clergyman  thought  little  of,  and  declared  he  could  be  "  as  drunk  as 
a  Prince."  As  he  rode  away  the  Prince  declared  that  this  was  the 
first  time  he  had  learned  that  a  person  of  that  rank  was  to  be  taken 
as  the  standard  of  inebriety.  Mr.  Butler  presently  discovered  who 
his  companion  had  been.  Many  years  afterwards,  when  the  Prince 
was  Regent,  he  was  advised  to  go  to  Court,  and  wlien  his  name  was 
announced  the  Prince  was  heard  to  mutter;  "I  shan't  forget  the 
Rev.  William  Butler  I"  Some  time  afterwards  he,  unsolicited,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  Crown  living. 

"  Jack  "  Radford  was  his  groom,  having  come  to  him  from  "  Old 
Q.,"  in  whose  service  he  had  filled  the  curious  function  of  waiting 
in  Piccadilly,  mounted  on  a  fleet  pony,  to  ride  after  any  one  whom 
the  decayed  old  Duke  espied  passing  by.  This  familiar  was  often 
heard  to  declare,  that  horses  were  the  sole  subject  of  the  Prince's 
thoughts,  even  of  his  dreams.  If  he  fancied  a  racer  he  would  buy 
him  at  any  price,  as  when  Lord  Darlington  had  bid  1100  guineas 
for  an  animal  at  Lord  H,  Fitzroy's  sale,  he  was  told  it  was  no  use 
going  on,  as  the  King  had  instructed  Mr.  Delme  Ratcliffe  to  secure 
the  mare  at  any  price.  "  Indeed  he  was  most  liberal  with  money, 
as  long  as  he  did  not  see  it.  Cheques  he  would  sign  away  to  any 
amount;  even  £300  for  'Pea-green  Haynes's  dressing-box.  But 
when  he  had  a  fifty-pound  note  in  his  pocket  it  was  a  bitter  pang 
to  him  to  spend  £5  of  it."  * 

To  Newmarket  he  was  particularly  partial,  and  his  colors  were 
always  to  be  found  there.  The  scene  at  the  races,  when  the  Prince 
and  the  men  on  the  turf  visited,  is  pleasantly  described  by  a  lively, 
witty  lady  (Miss  Berry),  and  reveals  more  the  idea  of  a  foreign 
race-course  than  the  crowded  tumultuous  scene  an  English  race  now 
presents. 

* '  Newmarket  Heath  is  entered  by  a  turnpike  at  what  is  called 
the  Devil's  Ditch,  a  high  mound,  with  a  deep  ditch  of  turf  below, 
extending  for  several  miles,  of  which  no  account  is  given,  and 
which  is  in  fact  a  curious  antiquity.  The  inn  is  almost  opposite 
what  are  called  the  Rooms,  where  men  only  meet,  and  which  have 
rather  a  handsome  entrance  of  three  arcades  from  the  street,  and 
in  this  street  Tattersall  was  selling  horses  by  auction,  and  all  the 
young  men  whose  faces  one  knows  in  London  were  walking  about, 

*  "  Post  and  Paddock,"  p.  109. 


264  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV. 

as  well  as  all  the  fathers  of  the  turf,  such  as  Sir  Frank  Standish, 
Sir  Charles  Bunbury,  etc.,  etc.  It  had  the  oddest  effect  possible 
to  see  so  many  figures  one  hardly  ever  sees  out  of  London  walking 
about  in  a  sort  of  village-town,  for  Newmarket  is  no  more,  with  the 
exception  of  some  good  houses.  About  one  o'clock  all  these  men 
mounted  their  horses,  and  proceeded  towards  the  Heath,  half  a 
mile  from  the  town.  We  followed  them  in  the  carnage,  with  many 
other  carriages,  and  Lord  Hardwicke  on  horseback.  The  scene  of 
so  many  horsemen  and  a  good  many  people  on  foot,  all  trooping 
tlie  same  way,  very  gay  and  pretty.  When  they  got  upon  the 
Heath,  it  is  so  vast  that  they  seemed  only  like  small  groups  upon 
it.  It  was  said  to  be  a  day  of  little  sport.  But  four  races  were  run : 
two  subscriptions,  for  each  of  which  six  horses  started ;  and  two 
matches.  But  the  style  in  which  all  this  is  managed  here,  the 
rapidity  with  which  one  race  follows  another,  though  on  different 
courses — that  is,  on  different  parts  of  the  Heath — the  scene  at  the 
betting-post,  one  of  which  belongs  to  each  course,  and  is  the  only 
permanent  thing  upon  it,  for  the  ropes  are  immediately  moved,  and 
the  winning-post  (a  little  machine  upon  wheels)  is  moved  from  one 
to  the  other.  All  this  was  new  and  entertaining  to  me.  Between 
each  race  all  the  men  and  all  the  carriages  are  collected  at  the  bet- 
ting-posts. Just  before  the  horses  start,  the  carriages  take  their 
places  near  the  ropes,  and  the  crowd  on  horseback  disperse  from 
the  post.  As  soon  as  the  horses  are  past,  all  the  men  follow  them 
to  the  rubbing-house  to  see  them  rubbed  down,  and  their  clothes 
put  on.  The  rubbing-house,  stables,  etc.,  etc.,  are  little  insignificant 
buildings,  which  occupy  no  space  and  take  off  nothing  from  the 
extreme  bareness  of  the  Heath.  Stand  there  is  none.  The  ladies 
are  all  in  their  carriages.  There  were  more  than  I  expected  to  see 
there.  The  fashionable  custom  of  Newmarket  is,  to  have  the  plain- 
est carriage  and  liveries  possible,  and  the  gentlemen  all  to  be  mounted 
upon  shabby-looking  rips  of  horses.  The  races  were  over  between 
three  and  four." 

At  the  very  outset  of  his  career,  in  1788,  he  had  won  the  Derby. 
From  this  time  until  1793,  when  he  first  retired  from  the  turf,  he 
was  so  fortunate.  Lord  William  Lennox  tells  us,  as  to  win  a  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  races,  including  eighteen  King's  Plate,  with  a 
valuable  stake  now  and  then  of  three  or  four  thousand  guineas. 
Adding  the  prizes  together  he  will  be  found  to  have  won  about 
£30,000;  but  the  cost  of  his  stud  was  stated  to  have  been  some 
£30,000  a  year. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  265 

"  His  first  race  was  won  at  Newmarket,  with  Anvil,  for  a  stake 
of  £60 ;  and  his  stud,  which  then  consisted  of  four  or  five  horses, 
gradually  amounted  to  forty-one  in  1791.  From  1800  to  1807  he 
won  a  hundred  and  seven  races,  and  in  the  latter  year  he  was  most 
fortunate,  winning  twenty-six  races.  According  to  Lord  W.  Len- 
nox's calculations,  he  won  altogether  about  three  hundred  and  thir- 
teen races  in  twenty  years. "  * 

His  favorite  jockey  was  "  Sam  Chifney,"  of  whom  and  of  whose 
family  many  traditions  linger  at  Newmarket,  but  who  is  best  known 
from  his  connection  with  the  Escape  transaction.  This  unfortunate 
incident  we  shall  now  describe. 

"  This  well-known  horse  was  bred  by  the  Prince  himself,  and, 
when  his  stud  was  sold  off  in  1787,  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Francis,  f 
In  1789  the  Prince  bought  him  back  for  the  sum  of  £1500. 

"  On  the  20th  of  October,  1791,  Escape,  then  reckoned  the  best 
horse  upon  the  turf,  was  beaten  at  Newmarket  by  two  horses  of 
inferior  reputation.  The  odds  now  changed  against  him,  and  it 
was  the  general  opinion  of  the  sporting  world  that  he  would  lose 
the  match  he  had  to  run  the  next  day.   Accordingly  bets  were  made 

*  "  In  order,"  says  Mr.  Huish,  "  that  a  correct  opinion  may  be  formed  of  the 
success  of  his  royal  highness  during  the  year  1791,  we  subjoin  the  following 
list  of  winners  belonging  to  him : 

"  Mademoiselle,  by  Diomed,  660  guineas  at  Newmarket, 

"Devi  Sing,  by  Eclipse,  150  guineas  and  £50  at  Lewes. 

"  Don  Quixote,  by  Eclipse,  100  guineas  and  £50  at  Newmarket. 

"Pegasus,  by  Eclipse,  the  King's  Plate  at  Newmarket,  and  140  guineas  at 
Stockbridge. 

"  Serpent,  by  Eclipse,  80  guineas  at  Brighton,  60  guineas  and  the  Ladies' 
Plate  at  Lewes. 

"Amelia,  by  Highflyer,  the  Third  Class  of  the  Filly  Stakes,  1000  guineas, 
and  300  guineas  at  Newmarket  and  the  Prince's  Stakes  at  Ascot. 

"  Escape,  by  Highflyer,  250  guineas,  1000  guineas,  140  guineas,  and  55  guineas 
at  Newmarket. 

"  Traveller,  by  Highflyer,  400  guineas  at  Newmarket. 

"St.  David,  by  Saltram,  the  Second  Class  of  the  Prince's  Stakes,  at  New- 
market. 

"  Creeper,  by  Tandem,  50  guineas  at  Newmarket,  60  guineas  at  Burford,  and 
the  King's  Plates  at  Lichfield  and  Burford. 

"Baronet,  by  Vertumnus,  the  Oatlands  Stakes  at  Ascot,  and  the  King's 
Plates  at  Winchester,  Lewes,  Canterbury,  and  Newmarket, 

"Clementina,  by  Vertumnus,  £50  at  Swaffham,  and  200  guineas  at  New* 
market." 

t  One  night  the  horse  thrust  his  foot  through  the  woodwork  of  his  stall,  and 
was  extricated  without  injury,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  the  trainer,  who 
could  only  exclaim,  "  What  an  escape  I"  which  at  once  suggested  the  name. 
13 


266  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

to  a  large  amount,  and  with  great  odds,  that  Escape  would  lose ; 
but  contrary  to  the  opinion,  and  much  to  the  disappointment  of  the 
knowing  ones,  Escape  won  his  race." 

Chif ney,  who  rode  Escape  on  these  two  days,  published  a  pam- 
phlet, a  short  time  before  his  death,  entitled,  "  Genius  Genuine,  by 
Samuel  Chif  ney,  of  Newmarket;  containing  a  full  account  of  the 
Prince's  horse  Escape,  running  at  Newmarket  on  the  20th  and  21st 
days  of  October,  1791" — in  which  he  very  satisfactorily  accounted 
for  Escape's  losing  his  first  and  winning  his  second  race.  On  the 
first  day's  race,  Escape,  he  said,  for  want  of  proper  exercise,  was 
not  in  a  fit  condition  to  run;  that  the  exercise  had  opened  his 
pores,  and  enabled  him  to  perform  better  on  the  second  day.  But 
this  was  far  from  satisfactory  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  turf,  and  a 
rumor  was  propagated  that  Escape  had  ruD  unfairly  on  the  first 
day's  race.  It  was  reported  that  his  royal  highness  got  the  grooms 
out  of  the  way,  and  had  given  the  hoi-se  a  pail  of  water  just  before 
he  had  to  run,  and  of  course  the  horse  was  winded  and  easily 
beaten. 

"As  I  came  from  scale,"  says  Chif  ney,  "  I  was  told  that  Mr.  W. 
Lake  (brother  to  Lord  Viscount  Lake,  and  the  gentleman  who  had 
the  management  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  running  horses)  had 
been  saying  something  improper  to  his  royal  highness  concerning 
Escape's  winning;  I  made  it,  therefore,  my  business  to  go  immedi- 
ately to  his  royal  highness,  who  was  ridiug  with  a  gentleman  near 
to  the  Great  Stand  House,  and  he  immediately  accosted  me  in  the 
following  words :  *  Sam  Chif  ney,  as  soon  as  Escape's  race  was 
over,  Mr.  Lake  came  up  to  me,  and  said,  "I  give  your  Royal 
Highness  joy;  but  I  am  sorry  the  horse  has  won.  I  would  sooner 
have  given  a  hundred  guineas."  I  told  Mr.  Lake  that  I  did  not 
understand  him — that  he  must  explain  himself.'  I  then  answered 
his  royal  highness,  saying,  'Yes,  your  Royal  Highness;  it  is  very 
necessary  that  he  should  explain  himself.'  This  is  all  that  passed 
on  the  subject  to-day. 

"On  the  morning  after  the  race,  liis  royal  highness  sent  for  uk; 
into  his  dressing-room,  and  then  ordered  me  to  be  shown  into  an 
adjoining  room,  where  he  thus  accosted  me:  'Sam  Chifney,  I  have 
sent  for  you  on  some  very  unpleasant  business.  I  am  told,  Sam 
Chifney,  that  you  won  six  or  seven  hundred  pounds  upon  the  race 
on  the  day  before  yesterday,  when  you  rode  Escape,  and  were 
beaten  upon  him.'  I  replied,  that  I  believed  his  royal  highness 
bad  not  such  an  opinion  of  me. 


ms  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  267 

"His  royal  highness  continued:  'I  am  told,  Sam  Chifney,  that 
you  won  six  or  seven  hundred  pounds  upon  the  race  yesterday, 
when  you  rode  Escape,  and  won  upon  him ;  and  I  am  told  that 
Yauxhall  Clark ' — clerk  of  the  stables  to  the  Prince  of  Wales — 
'won  all  the  money  for  you.'  I  answered,  ' May  I  not  offend  by 
asking  who  it  was  that  dared  to  tell  your  Royal  Highness  so?  * 

"His  royal  highness  replied,  'Sam  Chifney,  I  wish  to  know 
whether  you  have  any  objection  to  take  your  affidavit,  naming  all 
the  bets  you  had  upon  the  race,  every  way,  when  you  rode  Escape, 
and  was  beaten  upon  him  on  the  day  before  yesterday  ? '  I  acknowl- 
edged my  readiness  to  do  it,  if  it  would  give  his  royal  highness 
any  satisfaction. 

"  His  royal  highness  said,  '  Sam  Chifney,  your  doing  it  will  give 
yourself  satisfaction,  it  will  give  the  public  satisfaction,  it  will 
give  me  satisfaction.  You  will  specify  in  your  affidavit  all  the 
bets  you  had  upon  both  days'  races,  when  that  you  rode  Escape 
on  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  was  beaten  upon  him;  and  yester- 
day w^hen  that  you  rode  Escape  and  won  upon  him;  naming  all 
the  bets  you  had  upon  both  those  races,  and  to  take  your  affidavit 
as  such.  I  hope,  Sam  Chifney,  you  do  not  misunderstand  me.' 
I  answered  that  I  did  perfectly  understand,  and  that  I  would  take 
care  to  do  as  his  royal  highness  had  ordered  me. 

"His  royal  highness  said,  'Sam  Chifney,  I  wish  to  know  if  you 
have  any  objection  against  being  examined  by  the  Jockey  Club, 
and  in  any  way  that  they  are  pleased  to  think  proper.'  To  which 
I  most  fully  and  freely  consented.  His  royal  highness  said :  *  I  am 
told,  Sam  Chifney,  that  you  were  arrested  at  Ascot  Heath  for  three 
hundred  pounds,  and  that  Vauxhall  Clark  paid  the  money  for  you.' 
I  replied  that  this  was  the  tlrst  word  I  had  ever  heard  upon  the 
subject.  His  royal  highness  said:  '  Sam  Chifney,  I  wish  to  know 
if  you  have  any  objection  to  make  an  affidavit  that  you  were  not 
arrested  at  Ascot  Heath,  and  that  Vauxhall  Clark  did  not  pay 
three  hundred  pounds  for  you?'  I  replied  to  his  royal  highness: 
'  I  am  very  willing  to  do  it.' 

"On  the  same  morning  (23nd  of  October,  1791),  his  royal  high- 
ness called  me  across  the  betting-ring.  I  instantly  obeyed  his 
commands,  and  his  royal  highness  put  me  between  himself  and  Sir 
Charles  Bunbury,  and  then  rode  out  upon  the  Heath.  After  his 
royal  highness  and  Sir  Charles  had  talked  upon  the  subject,  his 
royal  highness  said,  '  Sam  Chifney,  I  think  you  told  me  that  you 
were  willing  to  be  examined  by  the  stewards  of  the  Jockey  Club 


268  tM  Life!  oP  geoUoe!  iv. 

ill  any  way  tliey  should  think  proper? '  I  said,  '  Your  Royal 
Highness,  I  am  proud  to  meet  any  man  upon  the  subject.'  His 
royal  highness  then  addressed  himself  to  Sir  Charles  Bunbury. 
'  There,  Sir  Charles,  you  hear  him  say  that  he  is  proud  to  meet 
any  man  upon  the  subject.  Now,  Sir  Charles,  I  beg  of  you  to 
take  every  pains  you  possibly  can  so  as  to  make  yourself  perfectly 
satisfied;  and  then  enclose  me  Sam  Chifney's  afliidavits,  and  apprise 
me  how  the  business  ends,  as  I  am  going  to  Brighton  to-night.' 
His  royal  highness  left  Sir  Charles  and  rode  near  the  betting-ring, 
where,  after  he  had  stood  a  little  while,  he  said,  *  Sam  Chifney, 
this  business  should  be  explained,'  I  answered,  'Your  Royal 
Highness,  I  don't  know  how  to  explain  it,'  His  royal  highness 
then  rode  off  the  turf  to  town,  before  the  day's  sport  was  finished, 
and  I  immediately  went  home.  Soon  after  this  I  received  from 
Mr.  Weatherby,  clerk  to  the  Jockey  Club,  copies  of  affidavits 
which  I  swore  before  the  Rev.  Dr.  Frampton,  naming  that  I  had 
no  bet  upon  the  race  when  I  rode  Escape  on  the  20th  of  October, 
1791,  and  that  I  had  twenty  guineas,  and  no  more,  betted  upon 
Escape  on  the  following  day,  when  I  rode  him  on  the  21st  of 
October,  1791,  and  that  I  had  the  same  desire  of  winning  upon 
Escape  when  I  rode  him  on  the  20th  of  October,  1791,  as  I  had 
when  I  rode  him  on  the  following  day,  the  21st  of  October,  1791 ; 
and  further,  that  I  had  never  been  arrested  on  Ascot  Heath,  and 
that  Mr,  Vauxhall  Clark  never  did  pay  any  money  for  me.  When 
I  had  sworn  these  affidavits,  they  were  signed  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Frampton,  and  I  immediately  returned  them  to  Mr.  Weatherby. 

"  I  was  then  had  up  before  the  stewards  of  the  Jockey  Club,  who 
were  Sir  Charles  Bunbury,  Bart,,  Ralph  Dutton,  Esq,,  and  Thomas 
Pan  ton,  Esq. 

"Sir  Charles  Bunbury  asked  me  some  few  questions:  What  bets 
I  had  upon  the  first  day's  race  when  I  rode  Escape  on  the  20th 
of  October,  1791;  and  what  bets  I  had  upon  the  race  when  I  rode 
Escape  on  the  following  day,  when  he  won,  and  who  made  my  bets 
for  me?  I  answered  that  I  had  no  bets  upon  the  first  day's  race; 
that  I  betted  twenty  guineas  upon  Escape  the  next  day,  and  no 
more;  and  that  Vauxhall  Clark  betted  for  me.  Sir  Charles  Bun- 
bury then  proceeded  to  ask  me  what  was  my  motive  for  waiting 
with  Escape  on  the  first  day. 

' '  I  told  Sir  Charles  Bunbury  that  he  was  a  wrong  judge  of  his  man. 

"Sir  Charles  Bunbury  now  stopped,  and  looked  about  appar- 
ently dissatisfied. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  269 

"Mr.  Dutton  said,  '  I  think  Cliifney  spoke  very  fairly.' 
"Mr.  Panton  immediately  said,  'Yes,  very  fairly.' 
"  Sir  Charles  Bunbury  did  not  ask  me  any  more  questions. 
"I  then  said  to  Sir  Cliarles  and  the  two  other  gentlemen  that  my 
motive  for  waiting  with  Escape  was  because  I  knew  he  could  run 
very  fast;  I  likewise  knew  Skylark  could  run  fast,  though  a  jade, 
for  I  had  ridden  against  him  most  of  the  races  he  had  run.     I  was 
now  dismissed,  and  this  is  everything  that  passed  with  me  from  and 
to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  Mr.  W.  Lake,  and  the  Jockey  Club,  on 
this  subject  at  Newmarket. 

"Some  weeks  after  this,  and  I  well  remember  that  it  was  after 
the  Duke  of  York's  coming  from  abroad  with  the  duchess.  Sir  John 
Lade  wrote  to  me  at  Newmarket  for  me  to  attend  on  the  Prince 
immediately.  I  went  to  Carlton  House  directly,  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales  told  me  that  Sir  Charles  Bunbury  came  to  him  and  told  him 
that  if  he  suffered  Chifney  to  ride  his  horses  no  gentleman  would 
start  against  him.  His  royal  highness  said,  he  told  Sir  Charles 
Bunbury  that  if  he  or  any  other  person  could  make  it  appear  that 
Sam  Chifney  had  done  wrong,  then  he  would  never  speak  to  him 
again;  and  without  that  he  would  not  sacrifice  him  to  any  person. 
His  royal  highness  then  said  he  should  leave  the  turf,  as  he  could 
not  be  guilty  of  that  ingratitude  to  let  his  horses  go  over  for  the 
forfeits,  after  being  told  that  no  gentleman  would  start  against  him, 
but  that  he  should  pay  the  forfeits,  and  leave  the  turf.  His  royal 
highness  then  said  he  could  see  the  meaning  of  it.  '  They  think 
you,  Sam  Chifney,  a  good  rider,  and  they  think  you  have  won  a 
race  or  two  for  me  that  you  had  no  business  to  have  won ;  and  that 
there  are  others  who  wish  to  have  you,  and  others  who  think  you 
too  good  for  me,  as  they  know  you  will  not  see  me  robbed.'  His 
royal  highness  then  told  me  he  should  always  be  glad  to  see  me,  and 
for  my  own  sake  to  let  him  see  me  often ;  and  that  if  he  ever  kept 
horses  again,  I  should  train  and  manage  them.  After  this  I  was 
ordered  to  attend  on  his  royal  highness  at  Sir  John  Lade's,  in  Pic- 
cadilly, which  I  did;  and  in  the  presence  of  Sir  John  Lade  and  Mr. 
Phillips,  his  royal  highness  put  his  hand  upon  his  bosom  and  said 
that  he  believed  Sam  Chifney  had  been  to  him  very  honest,  and 
wished  me  to  understand  that  the  two  hundred  guineas  a  year  he 
gave  me  was  for  his  life,  saying,  '  I  cannot  give  it  for  your  life,  I 
can  only  give  it  for  my  own  life.'  I  bowed  to  his  royal  highness, 
and  said  I  was  well  satisfied." 
In  1803,  Chifney  adds,  that  at  the  Brighton  and  Lewes  race  time. 


270  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

as  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  walking  on  the  Steyne,  having  hold  of 
a  gentleman's  arm,  he  approached  and  told  his  royal  highness  that 
they  cried  out  very  much  for  him  at  Newmarket.  His  royal  high- 
ness said:  "  Sam  Chifney,  there  has  never  been  a  proper  apology 
made;  and  they  used  me  and  you  very  ill;  they  are  a  bad  people; 
I'll  not  set  my  foot  on  the  ground  any  more."  * 

This  unpleasant  affair  seems  to  have  arisen  from  the  disappoint- 
ment of  Lake,  one  of  his  own  suite,  who  behaved  very  faithlessly  to 
his  master.  Having  lost  on  the  race  he  started  the  objection.  In 
another  account  the  Prince  is  described  as  being  deeply  wounded 
by  the  speech,  and  replied:  "I  did  not  expect  this  from  you."f 
Colonel  St,  Leger  told  Lord  Malmesbury  that  Lake  was  the  whole 
cause  of  the  Newmarket  affair,  and  that  he  had  behaved  very  ill 
towards  the  Prince.:}:  This,  however,  terminated  his  connection 
with  Newmarket,  which  nothing  would  ever  induce  him  to  visit 
again.  In  1805  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Jockey  Club  was 
held  at  Brighton  during  the  races.  The  result  was  the  following 
resolution,  unanimously  carried:  "May  it  please  your  Royal  High- 
ness, the  members  of  the  Jockey  Club,  deeply  regretting  your 
absence  from  Newmarket,  earnestly  entreat  the  affair  may  be  buried 
in  oblivion,  and  sincerely  hope  that  the  different  meetings  may 
again  be  honored  by  your  Royal  Highness's  condescending  attend- 
ance." This  document  was  submitted  to  the  Prince,  who  received 
it  graciously,  and,  in  his  reply,  signified  his  intention  of  assenting 
to  it,  but  never  carried  his  intention  into  effect.  To  Ascot,  how- 
ever, he  was  to  the  last  partial.  When  in  later  years  lie  was  induced 
by  an  earnest  and  affectionate  appeal  from  his  racing  friends  to 
renew  his  connection  with  them,  he  gave  a  Jockey  Club  dinner, 
which  was  marked  by  graceful  freedom,  speechifying,  and  conviv- 
iality. 


♦  Huish,  i.  275,  t  "  Life  and  Times  of  George  IV,,"  i.  22G, 

1:  "Diaries,"  ii,  452, 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  271 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 
1790—1793. 

During  this  time  the  wild  Duke  of  York  kept  pace  with  his 
brother — gambling,  playing  tennis  with  blacklegs,  and  squander- 
ing recklessly.  "  We  are  not  popular,"  wrote  Lord  Southampton, 
"less  so  than  our  elder  brother;  yet  there  is  always  a  stronghold 
with  the  father."  His  state  was  truly  pitiable,  and  the  only  re- 
source that  offered  for  extrication  was  marriage. 

It  was  unfortunate  that  the  King  and  his  family  should  have 
always  pressed  this  notable  remedy  on  all  their  dissipated  children, 
making  it  take  the  odious  shape  of  a  condition  precedent  to  any 
relief  from  their  difficulties.  During  the  Duke's  long  absence  in 
Germany  he  had  opportunities  of  seeing  the  Princess  Frederica, 
Princess  Royal  of  Prussia,  and  since  his  return  had  corresponded 
with  her.  An  alliance  was  now  arranged ;  his  brother,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  entered  very  cordially  into  the  idea,  and  was  considered 
to  have  "behaved  very  well."  "He  has  put  in,"  says  Sir  G. 
Elliot,  "a  saving  clause  for  himself,  in  case  he  chooses  to  marry, 
which  he  thinks  probable,  if  he  sees  his  brother  happy  with  his 
wife,  and  told  the  King  that  had  he  permitted  him  to  go  abroad 
at  the  time  he  asked  leave  to  do  so,  he  meant  to  have  looked  out 
for  a  princess  who  would  have  suited  him,  as  he  was  too  domestic 
to  bear  the  thoughts  of  marrying  a  woman  he  did  not  like."  * 

We  who  have  heard  his  conversation  with  Lord  Malmesbury  at 
the  time  alluded,  know  how  far  this  was  from  the  truth,  though  it 
was  no  doubt  spoken  in  good  faith;  an  instance  of  that  self-delusion 
in  which  he  was  wont  to  indulge. 

It  would  appear  he  formed  a  plan  of  meeting  his  brother  abroad 
at  Coblentz,  but  this  was  given  up.  Like  all  his  schemes,  it  seems 
to  have  been  an  incoherent  idea  arising  out  of  his  difficulties.  He 
had  actually  dispatclied  Lord  Malmesbury  to  his  brother  with  a 
proposal  that  he  should  raise  a  loan  at  Berlin.  The  spectacle  of  a 
prince  coming  to  wed  a  foreign  bride,  and  using  the  opportunity 


*  "  Life  and  Letters  of  Sir  G.  Elliot,"  i. 


272  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  his  visit  to  raise  money  among  her  countrymen,  was  not  a  dig- 
nified one ;  and  in  this  view  Lord  Malmesbury  was  employed  on  a 
sort  of  mission  of  which  he  gave  an  account  to  the  Duke  of  Port- 
land, who  seems  to  have  favored  the  scheme.* 

The  wedded  pair  were  welcomed  by  the  Prince  "  with  that  unaf- 
fected grace  for  which  he  was  always  pre-eminently  distinguished." 
The  next  proceeding  was  a  re-marriage  before  the  King.f  on  account 
of  a  legal  quibble  arising  out  of  the  royal  marriage,  matters  having 
been  so  awkwardly  arranged  that  the  marriage  had  taken  place  at 
Berlin  on  the  day  after  the  King's  consent  had  passed  the  Great 
Seal ;  but  the  Act  required  that  it  should  be  set  out  in  the  license 
and  register,  which,  of  course,  could  not  appear  at  Berlin. 

On  the  King  and  Queen's  visit  to  the  royal  couple,  some  odd 
ceremonies  were  noted:  "The  royal  party  were  led  to  the  lower 
apartment,  fronting  the  park,  where  tea  was  served,  and  the  fol- 
lowing ceremony  observed:  the  Prince  of  Wales,  in  the  first  place, 
was  to  attend  on  the  King  and  hand  to  him  the  tea,  which  was 
brought  to  the  door  by  the  servants,  then  taken  by  the  servants  of 
the  Duke's  establishment,  who  handed  the  trays  to  the  Prince  of 
"Wales,  and  his  royal  highness  then  attended  upon  his  Majesty. 
The  Duke  of  York  received  other  tea-trays  through  the  same 
channels,  and  handed  them  to  the  Duchess  of  York,  who  was  to 
wait  on  the  Queen,"  Another  of  the  royal  brothers  was  not 
treated  so  handsomely. 

The  story  of  the  unfortunate  Prince  Edward  is  perhaps  not  well 
known.  Few  royal  princes  passed  so  wretched  a  life.  Like  his 
brothers,  he  had  been  dispatched  out  of  his  native  country  when 
eighteen,  under  charge  of  a  military  pedant,  named  Baron  Wangen- 
heim,  with  an  allowance  of  £1000  a  year,  which  the  latter  was  to 
control.  Coming  to  Geneva  his  allowance  was  increased  to  £6000  a 
year;  but  it  is  said  that  only  a  guinea  and  a  half  per  week  was  paid 
to  him  by  his  instructor.  Incurring  debts,  and  disgusted  by  the  treat- 
ment he  was  receiving,  he  left  Geneva  without  leave  and  hurried 
to  England,  where  he  arrived  in  1790.  The  anger  of  the  King  was 
excessive:  he  refused  to  see  him.  In  vain  the  Prince  of  Wales  and 
the  Duke  of  York  implored  indulgence  for  hkn ;  and  after  a  fort- 
night's delay  the  only  communication  he  received  was  a  peremp- 
tory order  that  he  should  embark  for  Gibraltar  at  a  day's  notice. 
A  hurried  and  ungracious  interview  with  his  father  was  vouchsafed 


*  Lord  Malmesbury,  "  Diaries,"  p.  488.  t  Huish.  i.  302. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV  273 

him,  and  £500  given  to  the  captain  of  the  ship  for  his  wants.  The 
rest  of  his  life  was  made  wretched  by  struggles  with  pecuniary 
embarrassments,  of  which  he  was  to  have  the  family  share.  He 
was  sent  about  to  various  places  in  the  colonies,  and  did  not  return 
to  England  until  the  year  1799,  when  he  was  heavily  in  debt.  He 
had  now  been  created  Duke  of  Kent.  In  1802  he  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Gibraltar,  where  his  attempts  to  reform  the  habits  of 
the  garrison  led  to  a  mutiny,  the  object  of  which  was  to  put  the 
Prince  on  board  a  vessel  and  send  him  back  to  England.  All  the 
capricious  changes  of  place  to  which  he  had  been  exposed  entailed 
no  less  than  seven  equipments  at  a  cost  of  some  £50,000,  which,  he 
had  never  been  paid  for,  and  which  the  Government  refused  to 
pay.  By  the  j^ear  1807  his  debts  amounted  to  the  respectable  sum 
of  £108,300.  Nothing,  however,  would  be  done  for  him  by  any 
party  or  Government,  as  he  was  a  respectable  and  long-suffering 
creature. 

It  is  curious  that  his  brother  William  ("the  sailor  prince "),  who 
had  been  sent  to  sea,  should  have  ventured  on  similar  insubordina- 
tion, and  which  was  as  sternly  dealt  with.  In  1786  he  had  been 
given  the  command  of  the  Pegasus,  a  ship  of  twenty-eight  guns, 
and  had  earned  the  high  praise  of  Nelson,. a  man  not  likely  to  pay 
compliments.  In  a  letter  to  Captain  Locker,  he  writes:  "In  his 
professional  line,  he  is  superior  to  nearly  two-thirds,  I  am  sure,  of 
the  list,  and  in  attention  to  orders,  and  respect  to  his  superior 
officer,  I  hardly  know  his  equal.  His  royal  highness  keeps  up 
strict  discipline  in  his  ship,  and  without  paying  him  any  compli- 
ment, she  is  one  of  the  finest-ordered  frigates  I  have  seen." 

"When  his  ship  was  ordered  to  Quebec  he  did  not  relish  being 
imprisoned  in  the  St.  Lawrence  river  for  a  whole  winter,  and  with- 
out ceremony  or  orders,  brought  her  home.  Anchoring  at  Cork, 
he  sent  a  sort  of  justificatory  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  who 
had  been  Lord-Lieutenant.  He  was  just  dead.  The  Prince  at 
once  received  orders  to  go  to  Plymouth.  The  King  and  his  Coun- 
cil assembled,  and  the  insubordinate,  when  about  to  set  off  for 
London,  received  peremptory  orders  to  remain  with  his  ship.  The 
Admiralty,  after  deliberation,  required  him  to  serve  his  proper 
period  at  that  port,  and  at  its  expiration  he  was  ordered  away  to 
the  West  Indies.  Such  was  the  spirit  in  which  the  service  was 
administered. 

There  was  yet  another  son,  whose  adventures  abroad  were  to 
excite  the  displeasure  of  his  father. 

12* 


274  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

The  history  of  the  private  marriages  of  the  four  brothers  really 
makes  up  four  little  romances — romances  like  so  many  other 
romances,  owing  to  restriction  and  "tyranny." 

In  the  year  1793,  Prince  Frederick  Augustus,  sixth  son  of  the 
King  of  England,  was  on  his  travels  in  Italy.  He  was  then  onlj^ 
nineteen,  and,  according  to  precedent,  was  under  care  of  a  gov- 
ernor. His  health  had  been  so  delicate  from  his  birth,  that  the 
air  of  England  was  found  too  severe  for  his  system,  and  he  had 
scarcely  lived  there  at  all.  He  was,  indeed,  almost  virtually  a 
German;  for  he  was  born  at  Hanover  and  educated  in  Germany. 
Rome  was  then,  as  indeed  it  was  through  the  last  century,  one 
of  the  gayest  of  capitals — full  of  princes,  dukes,  wits,  and  adven- 
turers; and  among  the  English  "persons  of  quality "  found  there 
during  the  winter  of  1792  was  the  Countess  of  Dunmore  and  her 
family,  which  was  a  large  one.  The  Earl  was  governor  of  one  of 
the  American  provinces,  and  was  absent  at  his  duties.  One  of  the 
daughters  was  Lady  Augusta  Murray,  a  young  lady  of  great  attrac- 
tions, by  whom  the  Prince,  who  mixed  a  great  deal  in  English 
society,  was  quite  fascinated. 

"The  well-known  accomplishments  of  my  wife,"  wrote  the 
Duke  later,  "caught  my  peculiar  attention.  After  four  months' 
intimacy,  by  which  I  got  more  particularly  acquainted  with  all  her 
endearing  qualities,  I  offered  her  my  hand  unknown  to  her  family, 
being  certain  beforehand  of  the  objections  Lady  Dunmore  would 
have  made  me,  had  she  been  informed  of  my  intentions.  The 
candor  and  generosity  my  wife  showed  on  this  occasion,  by  refus- 
ing the  proposal  and  showing  me  the  personal  disadvantages  I 
should  draw  on  myself,  instead  of  checking  my  endeavors,  served 
only  to  add  new  fuel  to  a  passion  which  already  no  earthly  power 
could  make  me  resign." 

This  warm  attachment,  thus  inaugurated,  was  of  course  evident 
to  Lady  Dunmore;  but  she  could  liardly  have  conceived  that  it 
would  have  had  such  a  termination.  Unknown  to  her,  the  lovers 
proceeded,  according  to  the  old-fashioned  canons  which  then  ob- 
tained, to  bind  themselves  by  solemn  written  engagements;  and  the 
royal  innamorato  insisted  on  drawing  up  and  signing  the  following 
singular  document,  which  he  presented  to  his  flame: 

"On  my  knees  before  God  our  Creator,  I,  Augustus  Frederick, 
promise  thee,  Augusta  Murray,  and  swear  upon  the  Bible,  as  I  hope 
for  salvation  in  the  world  to  come,  that  I  will  take  thee,  Augusta 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  276 

Murray,  for  my  wife,  for  better,  for  wor^,  for  richer,  for  poorer, 
in  sickness  and  in  health,  to  love  and  to  cherish,  till  death  us  do 
part,  to  love  but  thee  only,  and  none  other;  and  may  God  forget 
me  if  I  ever  forget  thee  !  The  Lord's  name  be  praised;  so  bless  me, 
so  bless  me,  O  God  !  And  with  my  handwriting  do  I,  Augustus 
Frederick,  this  sign,  March  21st,  1793,  at  Rome,  and  put  my  seal  to 
it  and  my  name. 

"l.s.  (Signed)        Augustus  Frederick." 

There  was  a  clergyman  of  the  English  Church  then  in  Rome 
named  Gunn ;  and  this  gentleman  was  indiscreet  enough  to  listen 
to  the  Prince's  proposal  that  he  should  marry  them.  Knowing  the 
despotic  character  of  the  King,  who  exercised  a  family  authority 
that  was  quite  German,  it  was  surprising  that  a  British  subject 
could  have  been  found  daring  enough  to  take  part  in  such  an 
adventure.  Moreover,  the  severe  Marriage  Act,  passed  only  a  few 
years  before  with  a  most  discreditable  obsequiousness,  was  in  itself 
intended  as  a  menace.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  clergyman 
entertained  the  proposal.  The  lady  was  said  to  be  six  or  seven 
years  older  than  the  Prince,  which  was  perhaps  the  only  awkward 
element  in  the  case — for  her,  at  least;  otherwise,  her  manner  of 
meeting  his  proposals  was  very  natural  and  engaging.  The  Prince 
stated  that  he  would  press  the  clergyman  to  consent  by  urging  that 
his  honor  was  involved,  an  idea  which  the  lady  thus  combats: 

"Then,  my  treasure,  you  say  you  will  talk  of  honor  to  him. 
There  is  no  honor  in  the  case;  if  there  is,  I  will  not  marry  you.  I 
love  you,  and  I  have  reason  to  hope  and  believe  you  love  me ;  but 
honor  in  the  sense  you  take  it  is  out  of  the  question.  I  cannot  bear 
to  owe  my  happiness  to  anything  but  affection ;  and  all  promises, 
though  sacred  in  our  eyes  and  those  of  Heaven,  shall  not  oblige  you 
to  do  anything  towards  me  that  can  in  the  least  prejudice  your 
future  interests.  As  for  honor,  with  the  meaning  Mr,  Gunn  will 
annex  to  it,  I  am  ashamed  to  fancy  it;  he  will  imagine  I  have  been 
your  mistress,  and  that  humanity,  commonly  termed  honor,  now 
induces  you  to  pity  me,  and  so  veil  my  follies  by  an  honorable 
marriage.  My  own  beloved  Prince,  forgive  me  if  I  am  warm  upon 
this.  I  wish  you  to  feel  you  owe  me  nothing;  and  whatever  I  owe 
you,  I  wish  to  owe  to  your  love  and  to  your  good  opinion,  but  to  no 
other  principle.  Tell  Mr.  Gunn,  my  own  Augustus,  that  you  love 
me,  that  you  are  resolved  to  marry  me,  that  you  have  pledged  your 


276  TITE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

sacred  word;  tell  him,  if  you  please,  that  upon  the  Bible  yoii  have 
sworn  it,  that  I  have  done  the  same,  and  nothing  shall  ever  divide 
us;  but  don't  let  him  imagine  that  I  have  been  vile.  Do  this,  m}' 
only  love,  but  pray  take  care  of  the  character  of  your  wife,  of  your 

"Augusta." 

The  Prince  wrote  back:  "Do,  my  dearest  Augusta,  trust  me;  I 
will  never  abuse  the  confidence  you  put  in  me,  and  more  and  more 
will  endeavor  to  deserve  it.  I  only  wait  for  your  orders  to  speak  to 
Mr,  Gunn;  say  only  that  you  wish  me  to  do  it,  and  I  will  hasten  to 
get  a  positive  answer.  See,  my  soul,  it  only  depends  upon  you  to 
speak;  tJii/  Augustus  thou  wilt  find  at  all  times  ready  to  serve  you. 
He  thinks,  he  dreams  of  nothing  but  to  make  thee  happy.  Can  he 
not  succeed  in  this,  all  his  hopes  are  gone ;  life  will  be  nothing  to 
him;  he  will  pass  the  days  in  one  constant  melancholy,  wishing 
them  soon  to  conclude,  and  finding  every  one  longer  than  the 
other.  Indeed,  my  Augusta,  that  cannot  be  the  case;  my  solemn 
oath  is  given,  and  that  can  never  be  recalled.  I  am  yours,  my 
soul,  ever  yours." 

About  ten  days  passed  over,  and  nothing  was  done.  The  lover, 
on  April  4th,  1793,  wrote  the  following  frantic  appeal,  which  no 
fair  one  thus  piteously  entreated  could  resist : 

"Will  you  allow  me  to  come  to  you  this  evening?  It  is  my 
only  hope.  O,  let  me  come,  and  we  will  send  for  Mr,  Gunn  ! 
Everything  but  this  is  hateful  to  me.  More  than  forty-eight  hours 
have  I  passed  without  the  smallest  nourishment.  O,  let  me  not  live 
so  !  Death  is  certainly  better  than  this;  which,  if  in  forty-eight 
hours  it  has  not  taken  place,  must  follow;  for,  by  all  that  is  holy, 
till  when  I  am  married,  I  will  eat  nothing;  and  if  I  am  not  to  be 
married,  the  promise  shall  die  with  me  !  I  am  resohite.  Nothing 
in  the  world  shall  alter  my  determination.  If  Gunn  will  not  marry 
me,  I  will  die.  ...  I  will  be  conducted  in  everj-thing  by  you;  but 
I  must  be  married  or  die.  I  would  rather  see  none  of  my  family 
than  be  deprived  of  you.  You  alone  can  make  me;  you  alone 
shall  this  evening.  I  will  sooner  drop  than  give  you  up.  Good 
God,  how  I  feel !  and  my  love  to  be  doubted  sincere  and  warm. 
The  Lord  knows  the  truth  of  it;  and,  as  I  say,  if  in  forty-eight 
hours  I  am  not  married,  I  am  no  more.  O  Augusta,  ray  soul,  let 
us  try;  let  me  come;  I  am  capable  of  everything;  I  fear  nothing: 
and  Mr.  Gunn,  seeing  our  resolution,  will  agree.     I  am  half  dead. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  277 

Good  God,  what  will  become  of  me?  I  shall  go  mad,  most  un- 
doubtedly." 

To  which  Lady  Augusta  sent  the  following  reply: 

"My  treasure,  my  dearest  life  and  love,  how  can  I  refuse  you  ? 
And  yet  dare  I  trust  to  the  happiness  your  letter  promises  me  ? 
You  shall  come  if  you  wish  it;  you  shall  do  as  you  like;  my  whole 
soul  rejoices  in  the  assurances  of  your  love,  and  to  your  exertions  I 

will  trust.     I  will  send  to ;  but  I  fear  the  badness  of  the  night 

will  prevent  his  coming.  My  mother  has  ordered  her  carriage  at 
past  seven,  and  will  not,  I  fear,  be  out  before  the  half -hour  after. 
To  be  yours  to-night  seems  a  dream  that  I  cannot  make  out.  The 
whole  day  have  I  been  plunged  in  misery,  and  now  to  awake  to 
joy  is  a  felicity  that  is  beyond  my  ideas  of  bliss.  I  doubt  its  suc- 
cess; but  do  as  you  will;  I  am  what  you  will;  your  will  must  be 
mine;  and  no  will  can  ever  be  dearer  to  me,  more  mine,  than  that 
of  my  Augustus,  my  lover,  my  all." 

The  clergyman  came,  and,  unknown  to  Lady  Dunmore,  they 
Avere  married. 

Only  three  months  later.  Lady  Dunmore  learned  the  truth  that 
her  son-in-law  was  a  royal  prince.  They  came  to  England  towards 
the  winter,  and  there  the  Prince  heard  that,  apart  from  any  bearing 
of  the  Eoyal  Marriage  Act,  the  fact  of  the  marriage  being  in  the 
Roman  jurisdiction  might  invalidate  it,  or  be  used  to  invalidate  it. 
He  at  once  determined  to  have  the  ceremony  repeated ;  and  the 
congregation  at  the  now  fashionable  church  of  St.  George's,  Hano- 
ver Square,  must  have  heard  the  banns  given  out  of  two  private 
persons  unadorned  with  titles. 

When  the  King  heard  of  it,  steps  were  taken  to  have  the  marriage 
set  aside,  and  the  Royal  Marriage  Act  was  introduced.  The  hard- 
ship and  absurdity  of  the  measure  were  also  put  forward ;  for  the 
descendants  of  George  H.  might  amount  to  over  a  thousand  in 
time,  according  to  the  horseshoe  progression,  and  "where  were 
husbands  or  wives  to  be  procured  for  them  ?"  It  was  therefore  a 
virtual  prohibition  from  marriage,  and  "a  perpetual  restraint." 
And  a  ridiculous  inconsistency,  taken  in  connection  with  this  view 
of  the  matter,  was  that  the  House  had  just  been  discussing  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  had  affirmed  them;  one  of  which  was 
that  all  Christians  had  a  right  to  marry.  Frequent  allusions  were 
made  to  the  Star  Chamber;  and  Mr.  Dowdeswell  made  a  telling 


278  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

point  when  he  asked:  "Why  a  man  should  not  bethought  fit  to 
marry  before  twenty-five,  when  he  was  thought  fit  to  reign  at 
eighteen  ?" 

This  last  point,  indeed,  redeemed  the  bill;  for  the  limitation  up 
to  twenty-five  years  of  age,  under  which  the  King's  consent  was 
necessary,  virtually  made  him  guardian  during  a  long  minority. 
After  that  age,  if  the  King  still  refused  his  consent,  the  Prince 
might  give  notice  to  the  Privy  Council ;  and  if,  after  a  year's  inter- 
val, the  Parliament  did  not  object,  the  marriage  might  take  place. 
Now%  this  portion  the  King  was  evidently  induced  to  adopt  from 
the  belief  that  Parliament  would  always  be  as  eager  to  indorse  the 
royal  wishes  as  it  was  then.  But  a  royal  prince  may  now  marry 
whom  he  please,  and  the  House  of  Commons  would  find  it  con- 
trary to  its  temper  and  constitution  to  dream  of  interfering. 

It  is  curious,  therefore,  that  this  Royal  Marriage  Act  should  be 
so  little  understood,  or  that  a  false  idea  of  its  repressive  powers 
should  be  abroad.  It  has  long  been  believed,  for  instance,  that  cer- 
tain august  personages  connected  with  the  royal  family  (to  use  the 
verbiage  of  The  Court  Newsman)  have  been  prevented  contracting 
or  declaring  their  marriage,  owing  to  the  pronounced  veto  of  a  still 
more  august  personage.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  personages, 
being  past  five-and-twenty,  could  have  safely  consulted  their  own 
inclinations. 

But  the  real  hardship  of  the  Royal  jVIarriage  Act  lay  in  the  pen- 
alty— viz.  the  nullity  and  voidableness  of  the  marriage.  The  idea 
of  dissolving  an  honorable  contract  between  those  "  whom  God  has 
joined  "  on  the  mere  whim  of  a  parent  seems  wholly  unworthy  of  a 
Hoidisant  religious  country.  At  the  present  day,  however,  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  nation  would  tolerate  the  dissolution  of 
such  an  unequal  marriage,  but  still  one  of  affection,  even  if  the 
sovereign  was  inclined  to  exert  the  powers  given  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment. 

These  considerations  applied  with  great  force  to  the  case  of  the 
Duke  of  Sussex.  When  we  come  to  consider  who  was  Lady 
Augusta  Murray,  the  old  King  might  have  had  more  reverence  for 
one  of  more  illustrious  pedigree  than  he  could  boast.  Through  her 
mother,  who  was  a  Stewart,  she  could  trace  back  in  the  straightest 
line  to  the  Hamiltons,  Dukes  of  Chatelherault,  and,  with  a  step 
beyond,  to  James  II.,  King  of  Scotland.  On  her  father's  side,  she 
could  trace  back  through  the  Stanleys  to  the  daughter  of  Henry 
VII.  of  England.     Farther,  through  the  Stanleys  a  descent  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  279 

established  from  William  I.,  Prince  of  Orange,  and  Louis,  Duke 
of  Montpensier,  And  finally,  through  the  same  line,  from  Charles 
VII.  of  France.  With  such  a  pedigree  the  young  Scotch  lady 
might  have  challenged  comparison  with  many  a  princess  in  Europe. 

The  Court  of  Arches,  by  a  formal  process,  declared  both  the 
marriage  in  England  and  that  of  Rome  null  and  void.  It  was  con- 
fidently asserted  at  the  time  that  the  Prince  wrote  a  letter  to  his 
father,  begging  permission  to  relinquish  his  contingent  rights  in 
the  succession,  and  to  sink  into  the  character  of  a  private  gentle- 
man, rather  than  be  separated  from  his  beloved  Augusta.  This 
could  not  be  granted;  but,  in  1806,  the  King's  license  was  given  to 
the  lady,  to  assume  the  name  of  d'Amelaud,  which  was  in  some 
degree  a  recognition  of  her  afiinity  to  the  royal  family,  and,  though 
illegitimate  by  the  law  of  England,  the  son  w^as  to  succeed,  in 
failure  of  male  issue  of  the  King  and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  to 
the  crown  of  Hanover. 

The  marniage  having  been  dissolved,  so  far  as  the  law  of  the  land 
was  concerned,  the  Prince  vehemently  protested  his  resolution  not 
to  accept  this  decision ;  and  though  his  health  did  not  allow  him  to 
live  much  with  her  in  England,  and  an  "'estrangement "  took  place 
later,  he  always  manfully  maintained  the  troth  he  had  plighted  to 
his  wife,  the  Lady  Augusta  Murray.  There  were  two  children  of 
the  marriage — Sir  Augustus  d'Este  and  a  daughter,  both  now  dead. 
The  former  made  unwearied  efforts  to  procure  some  recognition  of 
his  claims,  obtaining  legal  opinions,  and  petitioning;  but  of  course 
with  no  result,  the  King  being  inflexible.  The  well-known  Sir 
Thomas  Wilde,  afterwards  Lord  Truro,  married  the  daughter  of 
this  unlucky  marriage.  In  the  year  1830,  the  heroine  of  the 
romance  died,  and  the  royal  Prince,  after  a  short  interval,  married 
an  Irish  lady — Lady  Cecilia  Buggin,  or  rather  Underwood ;  who, 
after  the  death  of  her  royal  husband,  was  created  Duchess  of 
Inverness. 


280  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
1793. 

Returning  now  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  this  question  of  his 
marriage  seemed  to  become  more  pressing  as  his  affairs  became 
more  desperate.  He  and  his  brother  were  pursuing  their  old 
courses  with  even  greater  recklessness.  His  friend.  Sir  J.  Harris, 
now  Lord  Malmesbury,  having  arrived  in  town  from  the  Conti- 
nent, on  Sunday,  June  3,  was  called  into  council  on  the  following 
day.  To  him  he  unburthened  his  wretched  and  hopeless  state — 
thus  graphically  described  by  his  friend : 

"  Saw  Prince  of  Wales  early  the  4th;  he  was  very  well  pleased 
with  what  I  had  done  at  Berlin,  thanked  me  for  it,  etc.:  stated  his 
affairs  to  me  as  more  distressed  than  ever.  Several  executions  had 
been  in  his  house — Lord  Rawdon  had  saved  him  from  one — that  his 
debts  amounted  to  three  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  pounds. 
He  said  he  was  trying,  through  the  Chancellor,  to  prevail  on  the 
King  to  apply  to  Parliament  to  increase  his  income. 

"  On  the  Wednesday  following  I  was  with  him  again,  by  ap- 
pointment. He  repeated  the  same  again,  said  that  if  the  King 
would  raise  his  revenue  to  a  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year,  he 
would  appropriate  thirty-five  thousand  of  it  to  pay  the  interest  of 
his  debts,  and  establish  a  sinking  fund.  That  if  this  could  not  Ik? 
done,  he  must  break  up  his  establishment,  reduce  his  income  to  ten 
thousand  pounds  a  year,  and  go  abroad.  He  made  a  merit  of  hav- 
ing given  up  the  turf,  and  blamed  the  Duke  of  York  for  remaining 
on  it.  He  said  (which  I  well  knew  before)  that  his  racing-stable 
cost  him  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  yearly.  He  was  very 
anxious,  and,  as  is  usual  on  these  occasions,  nervous  and  agitated. 
He  said  (on  my  asking  him  the  question)  that  he  did  not  stand  so 
well  with  the  King  as  he  did  some  months  ago,  but  that  he  was 
better  than  ever  with  the  Queen — that  she  had  advised  him  to  press 
the  King,  through  the  Chancellor,  to  propose  to  Mr.  Pitt  to  bring 
an  increase  of  the  Prince's  income  before  Parliament,  and  that  if 
this  was  done,  she  would  use  her  influence  to  promote  it. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  281 

"I  strongly  recommended  his  pressing  tlie  Queen,  He  suggested 
tlie  idea  of  going  to  Mr.  Pitt  directly  through  the  Chancellor,  etc. 
I  doubted  both  the  consent  of  the  Chancellor  to  such  a  step  at  the 
moment  he  was  going  out,  and  his  influence  and  weight  if  he  did 
consent  to  it.  I  took  the  liberty  of  disapproving  his  going  abroad 
on  any  terms.  ,  .  .  .  I  saw  tlie  Duke  of  York  on  the  4tli  of  June, 
and  the  Duchess  at  their  own  house.  He  mentioned  with  concern 
and  uneasiness  the  division  in  the  party.  He  considered  it  as  a 
breaking-up  of  its  strength,  and  he  was  apprehensive  of  the  conse- 
quences to  the  country  at  large.  He  condemned  Fox,  and  repro- 
bated in  the  strongest  terms  the  conduct  of  Grey,  Lambton,  and 
the  Reformers.  He  said  the  King  of  Prussia  had  for  a  long  time 
not  written  either  to  him  or  to  the  Duchess,  or  even  answered  their 
letters,  without  his  being  able  to  assign  a  cause.  He  said  he  stood 
very  well  at  St.  James's. 

"I  saw  the  Prince  again  on  the  7th  June,  at  Carlton  House,  as 
before.  He  repeated  the  same  things,  and  added  that,  if  he  could 
not  obtain  some  assurance  from  the  King  that  he  would  apply  to 
Parliament  in  the  next  Session  of  Parliament,  before  this  ended, 
that  he  should  be  ruined,  and  must  go  abroad.  I  combated  again 
this  idea;  but  he  appeared  to  have  a  wish  and  some  whim  about 
going  abroad  I  could  not  discover.  He  talked  coldly  and  unaffec- 
tionately  about  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York,  and  very  slightingly 
of  the  Duke  of  Clarence.  He  asked  me  whether  I  approved  his 
having  spoken  on  the  Proclamation — that  is,  in  favor  of  Govern- 
ment— in  the  manner  he  had,  and  held  very  right  language  on  the 
subject,  I  told  him  I  was  sorry  his  lawyers,  Erskine  and  Pigot, 
went  a  different  way  from  him ;  that  this  was  unbecoming.  He 
said  he  once  had  thought  of  dismissing  them,  but  that,  on  consid- 
ering it,  he  was  inclined  to  believe  that  such  a  marked  measure 
would  only  give  them  consequence,  and  do  more  harm  than  good, 
by  bringing  the  subject  into  more  frequent  conversation." 

Colonel  St.  Leger  came  to  Lord  Malmesbury  on  the  8th  June. 
"He  said  the-  Prince  was  more  attached  to  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  than 
ever.  She  dislikes  the  Duchess  of  York,  because  the  Duchess  will 
not  treat  her  en  helle-so^ur — it  is  that  is  the  cause  of  the  coolness 
between  the  two  brothers.  He  confirmed  the  total  ruin  of  the 
Prince,  and  said  the  Duke's  affairs  were  in  a  very  bad  way.  He 
had  returned  to  England  with  the  highest  reputation,  and  might 
have  done  what  he  pleased  with  the  King,  who  doted  on  him ;  that 
he  very  idly  has  resumed  several  of  his  old  ha])its — he  plays  at 


282  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Brookes's,  goes  to  Newmarket,  and  loses,  and  neglects  St.  James's; 
that  he  behaves  vastly  well  to  the  Duchess,  and  is  happy.  Anthony 
St.  Leger  confirmed  all  that  his  brother  said  about  Mrs.  Fitzherbert. 
He  blamed  her  excessively,  and  said  she  was  the  cause  of  the  two 
brothers  being  ill  together." 

We  are  not,  therefore,  surprised  to  learn  that  the  step  of  appeal- 
ing to  the  King  was  decided  upon :  and  Lord  Southampton,  who 
was  growing  accustomed  to  such  tasks,  drew  up  a  statement  which 
was  presented  to  the  King.  His  Majesty  was  obdurate.  Again 
came  the  ostentatiously  theatrical  retrenchment:  live  hundred 
horses  sold,  servants  discharged,  Carlton  House  shut  up,  and  trus- 
tees appointed.  Lords  Thurlow  and  Radnor  undertook  this  office. 
He  was  to  live  as  a  Cornish  country  gentleman ;  the  strictest  econ- 
omy was  to  be  observed,  and  his  modest  revenue  was  to  be  limited 
to  £11,000  a  year.* 

The  truth  was  the  King  w^as  triumphant  and  highly  popular.  It 
was  now  that  the  events  on  the  Ccntiuent  had  brought  about  the 
well-known  division  among  the  Liberals;  the  Duke  of  Portland, 
Burke,  and  the  purer  Whigs  breaking  off  from  Mr.  Fox,  the  more 
Radical  wing  of  the  party.  This  revolt  was  natural  in  the  face  of 
the  bloody  excesses  which  were  being  perpetrated  by  revolutionary 
mobs.  Burke's  "  dagger-scene  "  and  his  quarrel  with  Fox  were  the 
melodramatic  elements  of  the  episode, f  and  it  may  be  conceived 
that  Reformers  and  Radicals  were  in  ill  odor.  The  Prince,  who 
had  found  out  that  Liberal  politics  and  an  empty  purse  went 
together,  and  that  the  Tories  had  at  least  the  power  of  granting 
supplies,  had  besides  little  sympathy  with  the  extreme  doctrines  of 
Mr.  Fox  and  his  friends.  And  it  is  only  fair  to  him  to  bear  in 
mind — when  we  come  to  consider  his  later  better  known  "treat- 
ment of  the  Whigs,"  that  these  had  set  him  the  exaniplc  of  1:1  avi- 
tating  to  the  other  side.  He  had  signified  his  cordial  approval  of 
the  Government  "proclamation,"  though  his  friend  Mr.  Fox  dis- 
approved of  it.  We  do  not  find  him  taking  part  in  the  open  nego- 
tiations with  the  Whigs  that  followed,  but  here  is  opened  a  mther 
curious  chapter  of  politics.     In  the  advances  that  were  made  by 


*  Auckland,  '*  Corresiwndence."  il.  463. 

t  This  weapon,  which  when  thrown  on  the  floor  of  the  House  excfted  ridi- 
cule rather  than  terror,  had  been  brought  to  Sir  T.  Bland  Burgess,  the  Under 
Secretary,  by  a  Birmingham  maker,  who  had  received  it  as  a  pattern  for  a 
large  order.  Burke  borrowed  it  for  his  exhibition.  Lord  Eldon  had  another 
of  these  pattern  daggers.— Twiss,  "  Life  of  Lord  Eldon,"  i.  218. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  288 

the  Liberals  to  the  Government,  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  in  the  August 
of  the  year  1793,  was  employed  as  negotiator,  and  with  no  less  a 
person  than  the  King  himself.  He  tells  the  story  in  his  interesting 
unpublished  "Memoranda."*  Walking  on  the  terrace  at  Wind- 
sor, where  the  King  was,  he  asked  liis  Majesty  for  a  private  inter- 
view, having  arranged  this  proceeding  with  Lord  Malmesbury, 
having  also,  as  he  told  his  Majesty,  "  the  concurrence  "  of  Fox  and 
the  Duke  of  Portland.  The  King,  however,  was  exceedingly  cold 
as  to  the  first-named  statesman,  and  did  not  mention  him  more  than 
once  during  the  whole  interview,  "if  even  that."  The  Duke  sug- 
gested that  several  interviews  had  taken  place  between  Lord  Lough- 
borough and  Mr.  Dundas,  at  one  of  which  Mr.  Pitt  had  been 
present,  "fair  evidence  (he  urged)  that  ministers  were  not  indis- 
posed to  an  arrangement."  "To  my  great  surprise  the  King 
answered  that  he  had  not  heard  anything  upon  the  subject  for  a 
long  time ;  that  Mr.  Pitt  had  indeed  some  months  ago  mentioned 
something  like  an  opening  on  the  part  of  the  Duke  of  Portland 
and  his  friends,  to  which  his  Majesty  had  answered,  'Anything 
complimentary  to  them,  but  no  power! '  "  "  This  brief,  but  copious 
answer,"  adds  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  "explains  the  offer  of  the  Gar- 
ter to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  and  of  a  marquisate  to  Lord  Fitz- 
william."  The  King  then  asked  who  was  to  be  the  First  Lord  of 
the  Treasury  under  this  combination,  and  was  answered,  "  One  who 
had  the  confidence  of  both  parties."  His  Majesty  said  that  was 
very  hard  on  Mr.  Pitt,  who  had  been  so  long  in  oflSce,  and  added 
significantly,  that  people,  from  eagerly  wishing  an  object  to  succeed, 
often  deceived  themselves  by  thinking  it  much  nearer  its  accom- 
plishment than  in  truth  it  w^as 

A  few  days  later  the  negotiator  tried  Mr.  Pitt,  whom  he  thought 
"  not  quite  at  his  ease."  He  opened  his  proposals,  saying  that  Mr. 
Fox  and  the  Duke  of  Portland  concurred  in  what  he  w^as  offering. 
Mr.  Pitt  listened  attentively  to  all  I  said,  and  answered  "  that  there 
had  been  no  thoughts  of  anj"  alteration  in  the  Government,  that 
circumstances  did  not  call  for  it,  nor  did  the  people  wish  it,  and 
that  no  new  arrangement,  either  by  a  change  or  coalition,  had  ever 
been  m  contemplation !"  The  Duke  of  Leeds  then  alluded  to  the 
interviews  with  Mr.  Dundas  and  Lord  Loughborough,  suggesting 
that  he  (Mr  Pitt)  had  been  present.  Mr.  Pitt  said  that  it  was  true, 
but  such  meetings  had  not  in  view  any  changes  of  ministry. 


*  Preserved  in  the  British  Museum, 


284  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV, 

This  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  pieces  of  secret  history,  and 
requires  the  clearest  explanation  from  any  biographer  of  Pitt,  as 
any  one  who  follows  Lord  Malmesbury's  minute  account  of  the 
negotiations — the  offer  by  Dundas  of  four  Cabinet  places,  etc. — will 
admit.* 

If  it  be  well  established,  as  we  find  it  stated  in  the  Duke  of 
Leeds's  memoranda,  that  Mr.  Fox  had  been  so  unpatriotic  as  to 
send  his  friend  Adair  to  St.  Petersburg  to  counteract  the  negotia- 
tions there,  it  would  be  difficult  for  any  loyal  person  to  act  with 
him.  Mr.  Moore  states  "  that  on  the  secession  of  the  leading  Whigs 
in  1792  the  Prince  had  also  separated  himself  from  Mr.  Fox,  and 
had  no  further  intercourse  with  him  or  any  of  his  party — except, 
occasionally,  Mr.  Sheridan — till  so  late,  I  believe,  as  the  year  1798." 
Thus  it  will  be  found  that  on  two  important  occasions  prior  to  his 
final  withdrawal  from  the  party  in  1810,  the  Prince  seized  oppor- 
tunities of  showing  his  want  of  sympathy  with  their  principles. 
And  in  1793,  when  Lord  Loughborough  accepted  the  chancellor- 
ship of  the  party  to  which  he  had  been  opposed,  the  Prince  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  hesitating  Duke  of  Portland,  and  sent  a  message 
to  the  Grenvilles  declaring  his  intention  of  joining  the  Govern- 
ment, f 

To  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  he  later  addressed  the  following 
letter,  referring  the  differences  between  sections  of  the  Liberals  as 
to  supporting  Government,  written  in  a  sort  of  after-dinner  excite- 
ment, and  under  the  idea  that  he  had  made  all  friends.  It  is 
undated. 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES   TO  THE   DUCHESS  OP  DEVONSHmE. 

"  Carlton  House,  Friday  Night. 
**How  little  you  know  me,  ever  dear  duchess,  and  how  much 
have  you  misconceived  the  object  of  this  day's  dinner,  which  has 
succeeded  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations!  It  has  almost, 
if  not  entirely,  annihilated  every  coolness  that  has  for  a  short  time 
past  appeared  to  exist  l)etween  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  his  old 
friends,  and  brought  Erskine  back  also.  Ask  only  the  Duke  of 
Leinster  and  Guilford  what  passed.  I  believe  you  never  heard  a 
stronger  eulogium  pronounced  from  the  lips  of  man  than  I  this  day 


♦  Lord  Malmesbury,  *•  Diaries,"  il.  468. 

t  In  a  letter  to.  the  Duke  of  York,  pronounced  to  be  "  proi>er"  and  *'  ex- 
plicit."—" Court  and  Cabinets,"  U.  887. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  285 

pronounced  upon  Fox,  in  complete  refutation  of  all  the  ^surd 
doctrines  and  foolish  distinctions  which  they  have  grounded  their 
late  conduct  upon.  This  was  most  honorably,  distinctly,  and  zeal" 
ously  supported  by  Sheridan,  by  which  they  were  completely  driven 
to  the  wall,  and  positively  pledged  themselves  hereafter  to  follow 
no  other  line  of  politics  than  that  which  Fox  and  myself  would 
hold  out  to  them;  and  this  with  a  certain  degree  of  contrition 
expressed  by  them  at  their  ever  having  ventured  to  express  a  doubt 
respecting  either  Charles  or  myself.  Harry  Howard,  who  never  has 
varied  in  his  sentiments,  was  overjoyed,  and  said  he  never  knew 
anything  so  well  done  or  so  well  timed ;  and  that  he  should  to-night 
retire  to  his  bed  the  happiest  of  men,  as  his  mind  was  now  at 
ease,  which  it  had  not  been  for  some  time  past.  In  short,  what 
fell  from  both  Sheridan  as  well  as  myself  was  received  with  rap- 
ture by  the  company ;  and  I  consider  this  as  one  of  the  luckiest  and 
most  useful  days  I  have  spent.  As  to  particulars  I  must  ask  your 
patience  till  to-morrow,  when  I  will  relate  every  incident,  with 
which  I  am  confident  you  will  be  most  completely  satisfied.  Pray, 
my  ever  dear  duchess,  whenever  you  bestow  a  thought  upon  me, 
have  rather  a  better  opinion  of  my  steadiness  and  firmness.  I 
really  think,  without  being  very  romantic,  I  may  claim  this  of  you; 
at  the  same  time  I  am  most  grateful  to  you  for  your  candor,  and 
the  affectionate  warmth,  if  I  may  be  allowed  so  to  call  it,  which 
dictates  the  contents  of  your  letter:  you  may  depend  upon  its  being 
seen  by  no  one  but  myself.  Depend  upon  my  coming  to  you  to 
morrow.     I  am  delighted  with  your  goodness  to  me,  and  ever, 

"  Most  devotedly  yours, 

"G.  P." 

The  Duke  of  York's  departure  for  the  disastrous  expedition  to 
the  Netherlands  furnishes  us  with  a  sketch  of  the  heir-apparent  as 
he  appears  about  this  time : 

"The  King  was  on  the  parade  with  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
Dukes  of  York,  Clarence,  Gloucester,  and  Prince  William  of  Glou- 
cester; the  King,  I  think,  in  the  character  of  an  equestrian  statue 
on  a  fierce  white  charger,  a  sufficient  gigg,  but  looking  so  pleased 
that  one  liked  to  see  him.  The  Grenadiers,  when  they  began  their 
march,  sang  'God  save  the  King  1' of  their  own  accord  as  they 
passed  by  him,  which  overcame  him  a  good  deal.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  was  in  his  new  Light  Horse  uniform,  which  is  very  handsome 
and  theatrical,  and,  I  dare  say,  delighted  him;  but  it  displayed  an 


286  THE  LtFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

amount  of  bulk  which  entertained  Mundy  and  me,  and  probably  all 
beholders.  The  Duke  of  York  is  gone  with  them  to  Holland,  I 
hear  the  Duchess  is  much  affected,  as  she  really  likes  him."* 

But  there  was  something  more  in  this  display  than  a  mere  taste 
for  uniforms,  for  after  the  first  disaster,  when  a  relief  of  ten  thou- 
sand men  was  being  sent  out  to  the  Duke,  and  Lord  Moira,  late 
Lord  Rawdon,  was  given  the  command,  the  Prince  eagerly  pressed 
that  he  might  be  allowed  to  go  with  his  friend  and  serve  under 
him.  This  was,  of  course,  refused;  but  he  was  presently  to  be 
engrossed  with  a  more  important  affair — the  question  of  his  own 
maiTiage.  Almost  every  step  in  his  long  life,  rashly  and  improvi- 
dently  taken,  seemed  destined  to  lead  to  a  train  of  inconveniences 
and  misfortune,  and  not  one  was  more  fruitful  in  this  direction 
than  this. 


♦  "Court  and  Cabinets,"  ii.  119. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV.  287 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

1794. 

Many  causes,  and  above  all,  kis  overwlielming  money  difficul- 
ties, were  now  forcing  iiim  into  a  sort  of  cul-de-sac,  whence  there 
seemed  no  method  of  extrication,  save  one.  Any  change  would  be 
welcome,  and  various  minor  causes  seemed  to  favor  the  King's 
wishes  in  this  regard.  The  first  step  in  the  transaction  was  a  let- 
ter in  which  the  King  communicated  to  his  minister  that  the  Prince 
had,  of  himself,  offered  to  make  the  sacrifice.  He  wrote  from 
Weymouth,  on  August  24tli,  1794:  "Agreeable  to  what  I  men- 
tioned to  Mr.  Pitt  before  I  came  here,  I  have  this  morning  seen  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  who  has  acquainted  me  with  his  having  broken 
off  all  connection  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  and  his  desire  of  entering 
into  a  more  creditable  line  of  life  by  marrying;  expressing  at  the 
same  time  that  his  wish  is  that  my  niece,  the  Princess  of  Bruns- 
wick, may  be  the  person.  Undoubtedly  she  is  the  person  who  na- 
turally must  be  most  agreeable  to  me.  I  expressed  my  approbation 
of  the  idea,  provided  his  plan  was  to  lead  a  life  that  would  make 
him  appear  respectable,  and  consequently  render  the  Princess  happy. 
He  assured  me  that  he  perfectly  coincided  with  me  in  opinion.  I 
then  said  that  till  Parliament  assembled  no  arrangement  could  be 
taken,  except  my  sounding  my  sister,  that  no  idea  of  any  other  mar- 
riage may  be  encouraged. 

In  spite  of  these  protestations,  it  was  notorious  that  at  this  time 
he  had  come  under  the  influence  of  a  lady  about  the  Court,  Lady 
Jersey.  She  was  known  as  the  "beautiful  Miss  Twysden,"  and 
the  daughter  of  an  Irish  dignitary,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Raphoe. 
She  was  of  mature  age,  like  another  lady  of  quality  whom  our 
Prince  admired  later.  It  was  stated  also  that  she  had  been  a  friend 
of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's,  and  for  a  time,  as  will  be  seen,  was  destined 
to  have  a  irxkly  funeste  control  over  the  Prince. 

*  Lord  Staahope,  "Life  of  Pitt,"  ii.  20  (Appendix). 


288  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

The  mode  in  which  this  change  of  feeling  was  signified  to  the 
unhappy  lady  with  whom  he  had  gone  through  the  form  of  mar- 
riage, was  characteristic.  He  had  written  to  her  from  Brighton  in 
his  usual  affectionate  strain,  and  spoke  of  a  dinner  engagement  at 
the  Duke  of  Clarence's  for  the  following  day,  where  they  were  to 
meet.  At  the  dinner  a  note  was  put  into  her  hand,  which  gave  her 
the  first  intimation  that  she  had  lost  her  ascendency.  Speaking  of 
the  matter  to  Lord  Stourton,  she  seemed  to  attribute  this  step  to 
Lady  Jersey,  who  was  then  also  at  Brighton.  In  consequence, 
Mrs.  Fitzherbert  did  not  go  to  Brighton  as  usual,  and  also  gave  up 
her  house;  while  Lord  Jersey  was  appointed  Master  of  the  Horse 
to  the  Prince. 

It  has  been  often  stated  that  it  was  upon  a  favorable  report  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  who  had  been  sent  to  Brunswick,  that  the  Princess 
had  been  selected.  At  the  time  of  the  arrangement  he  was  in  Hol- 
land, with  his  army;  but  he  had  already  seen  the  Princess,  and  his 
report  was  most  unfavorable.  He  augured  ill  of  the  match,  and 
seems  to  have  incurred  the  bitter  enmity  of  the  family.  There 
was,  besides,  no  good  feeling  between  the  Duchess  of  York  and 
the  members  of  the  Brunswick  family.  The  Princess  Caroline, 
indeed,  told  Lord  Malmesbury  that  she  believed  she  had  impressed 
the  Duke  of  Clarence  favorably. 

Some  five-and-twenty  years  later  Lord  Liverpool  assured  Lord 
Holland  that  he  had  been  told  by  George  III.  how  one  day  his  son 
came  to  him,  on  his  return  from  hunting,  and  said  abruptly  that 
"he  wished  to  marry."  In  reply,  the  King  said  he  would  send  off  a 
confidential  agent  to  report  on  the  merits  of  the  various  Protestant 
Princesses.  The  Prince  declared  that  this  had  been  done.  The 
King  then  recommended  that  the  most  careful  inquiries  should  be 
made  as  to  her  person  and  manners,  and  his  son  declared  tliis  also 
had  been  done.  Lord  Holland  adds  confirmation  of  the  report  that 
the  later  Queen  of  Prussia  had  been  named,  who  was  infinitely  the 
superior  of  the  Brunswick  Princess  in  youth,  beauty,  and  every 
merit.  Perhaps  these  were  found  objections  by  those  who  guided 
him,  and  who  wished  a  public  and  legal  marriage,  to  secure  the 
downfall  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  All  well-informed  persons  report 
that  the  choice  was  directed  by  Lady  Jersey  and  Lady  Harcourt. 
The  faction  always  gave  out  that  he  had  been  promised  the  sum  of 
£100,000  a  year,  with  payment  of  his  debts,  though  the  ministers 
later  violated  their  engagement.  It  was  for  the  gain  of  the  German 
people,  no  less  than  for  her  own,  that  the  beautiful  and  interesting 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  289 

Princess  of  Mecklenburg  had  not  been  selected;  nor  is  it  quite  so 
certain  that  after  all  it  would  have  benefited  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
Lady  Charlotte  Campbell  records  some  curious  gossip  of  the  no- 
torious Mrs.  Clarke,  who  had  been  told  by  the  Duke  of  York  */  that 
it  had  been  at  one  time  proposed  that  he  should  marry  her  (the 
Princess  Caroline),  and  for  that  purpose  he  had  been  previously  to 
see  how  the  land  lay  at  the  Court  of  Brunswick ;  the  result  of 
which  was  that  he  did  not  like  the  Princess."  A  writer  in  "  The 
Quarterly  Review  "  (vol.  Ixxv.  p.  421)  states  that  he  heard  the  same 
reason  given  for  the  dislike  of  the  Brunswick  family  to  the  Duke, 
It  occurred  to  Lord  Malmesbury  at  Brunswick  that  it  was  the  Duke 
of  Clarence  who  had  first  suggested  her.  The  King,  however,  told 
Mr.  Pitt  "  that  she  was  the  person  who  must  naturally  be  the  most 
agreeable  to  him.  She  was,  moreover,  his  niece."  *  Lord  Malmes- 
bury was  abroad  at  this  time,  and  was  promptly  directed  to  repair 
to  Brunswick  and  make  a  formal  proposal  for  the  hand  of  the 
Princess. 


*  "Diaries,"  iii.  179. 
18 


290  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 
1794—1795. 

On  a  Thursday  at  the  end  of  November,  1794,  the  little  Court 
was  excited  by  the  news  that  an  envoy  had  arrived  to  arrange  a 
marriage  treaty  between  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Caroline, 
according  to  the  elaborate  formularies  then  in  favor.  The  English- 
man was  one  of  the  most  spirituel  and  versatile  of  diplomatists, 
even  his  remarkable  appearance — his  abundant  hair  and  bi  illiant 
eyes — exciting  attention.  This,  however,  was  not  the  main  object 
of  his  mission,  which  was  to  persuade  the  vacillating  Duke  to  take 
the  command  of  the  forces  in  Holland.  He  was  received  with  great 
honors,  and  installed  in  the  palace  with  servants,  carriages,  and 
guards  at  his  disposal.  Almost  at  once  he  was  presented  to  the 
Princess,  who  was  embarrassed.  He,  too,  must  have  had  misgiv- 
ings at  the  meeting,  for  the  future  bride  appeared  to  be  a  rather 
ungraceful,  hard-featured  young  woman,  redeemed,  however,  by  a 
certain  air  of  coarse  good-humor.  Her  eyes,  however,  were 
expressive,  "her  bust  good,"  and  her  shoulders  what  the  French 
call  "  impertinent."  *  This  absence  of  feminine  refinement  struck 
other  English  observers. f  She  could  not  conceal  her  delight  at  the 
brilliant  prospect  before  her 

Then  commenced  the  regular  formal  festivities  of  a  petty  German 
Court — great  dinners,  "  ombre  with  the  Duchess  and  her  r/rand 
maiire"  whist  with  the  Landgravine,  a  masquerade  at  the  Opera 
House — during  all  which  time  the  diplomatist  was  narrowly  observ- 
ing all  that  was  going  on,  and  studying  the  character  of  the  young 
lady.  On  December  the  3rd,  his  credentials  having  arrived  from 
England,  the  state  carriages  came  to  take  him  to  Court  to  make 
formal  demand  of  the  Princess's  hand.  All  parties  were  nervous, 
the  Duchess  quite  overcome,  the  Princess  much  affected,  but  mak- 
ing her  answers  distinctly  and  firmly.     This  ceremony  T^ras  cele- 

*  For  the  account  of  this  mission,  see  Lord  Malmesbury's  "Diaries,"  ill.  151 
t  Huish,  "  Memoirs  of  Caroline,"  i.  la 


CAROLINE,  WIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOKGE  IV.  291 

brated  by  Court  and  general  congratulations,  presentations  of  gold 
snuff-boxes,  immense  dinners,  and  the  inevitable  whist.  From  this 
moment  she  was  greeted  as  Princess  of  Wales.  On  the  following 
day  the  contract  was  signed,  and  a  very  unhappy  chapter  in 
English  history  had  commenced. 

By  this  time  the  shrewd  envoy  had  learned  enough  of  the  Prin- 
cess herself  to  see  that  she  wasunsuited  to  the  destined  position  and 
to  the  person  who  was  to  be  her  husband.  Nearly  all  the  petty 
German  Courts  were  then  distinguished  by  a  sort  of  Philistinism, 
both  in  morals  and  manners;  the  young  Princesses  being  brought 
up  in  a  kind  of  natural  religion,  whose  principles  were  sufficiently 
convenient  and  flexible  to  allow  them  to  adopt  the  creed  of  any 
husband  that  might  be  selected  for  them.  There  were  little  con- 
ventional restraints  for  married  life.  He  must  indeed  have  learned 
many  strange  stories  of  the  youthful  days  of  the  Princess  which  he 
was  too  discreet  to  report,  and  which,  indeed,  as  he  said  in  answer 
to  the  reproaches  of  the  Prince,  it  did  not  faiJ  within  his  mission  to 
report. 

She  was  now  nearly  twenty-seven  years  old;  but  the  sneer  of 
one  of  the  Court  ladies,  Madame  Waggenheim — who  said  to  Lord 
Malmesbury  at  the  opera,  "that,  old  as  she  was,  her  education  was 
not  yet  completed  " — seemed  to  be  founded  on  truth.*  Beyond  an 
acquaintance  with  the  harpsichord,  she  could  not  be  called  accom- 
plished ;  a  friend  of  Mr.  Addington's,  M.  Le  Mesurier,  who  dined 
in  her  company,  noted  that  she  never  spoke  and  was  visibly  kept 
under  restraint.  And  the  Duchess  of  Wurtemberg,  writing  to 
Lady  Elgin,  gives  a  strange  picture  of  the  domestic  tyranny  un- 
der which  she  was  brought  up— bullied  by  her  mother  and  gover- 
nesses, f  xls  to  morality  and  religion,  the  scandal  of  her  father's 
behavior  must  have  been  of  fatal  import.  Her  mother  had  little  or 
no  influence  with  her  child,  who  had  small  respect  for  her,  and 
"  was  inattentive  to  her  when  she  dared."  It  was  scarcely  surpris- 
ing, therefore,  that  various  escapades  should  have  been  reported  of 
her  girlish  days.  One  of  these  stories  was  long  after  told  to  Mrs. 
Charles  Kemble  by  one  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Duke's 
body-guard.  She  was  at  that  time  about  sixteen,  and  her  parents 
had  refused  to  allow  her  to  attend  a  ball.     During  the  night  they 


*  She  both  wrote  and  spelled  badly,  as  her  father  owned  to  Lord  Malmes. 
bury, 
tLady  Rose  Weigall,  "Princess  Charlotte,"  p.  4. 


^2  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

were  summoned  back  to  the  palace  by  the  news  of  her  being  alarm- 
ingly ill,  the  whole  Court  following,  and  the  officer  with  the  rest. 
While  waiting  in  the  ante-chamber  he  heard  her  screams;  and  on 
her  parents  coming  to  her  bedside  she  informed  them  that  the  time 
was  past  for  concealment,  that  she  was  being  accmichee,  and  begged 
that  a  proper  doctor  might  be  sent  for.  This  astounding  declara- 
tion was  heard  by  the  whole  Court.  When  the  doctor  came  she 
jumped  up,  owned  that  the  whole  was  a  trick,  and  asked:  "Would 
they  again  attempt  to  prevent  her  going  to  a  ball?"*  Making  due 
allowance  for  exaggeration,  this  trait  is  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
admitted  recklessness  of  her  later  career.  It  was  also  found  nec- 
essary to  keep  a  strict  watch  on  her  acts  to  prevent  her  making 
advances  to  persons  of  low  degree.  As  was  to  be  expected,  some 
arrangements  for  marriage  with  a  German  prince  had  been  con- 
templated; but  these  had  failed,  owing  to  the  uncertainty  of  temper 
of  the  Princess;  and  she  was  now^  as  we  have  shown,  not  far  from 
her  thirtieth  year,  when  this  unlocked  for  and  advantageous  alliance 
offered. 

The  Duchess,  her  mother,  was,  on  the  whole,  a  good-natured 
coarse  w^oman,  of  sense  and  of  agreeable  manners.  The  mother  of 
Archbishop  Trench,  one  of  the  most  engaging  and  interesting 
women  of  her  day,  who  was  at  the  Brunswick  Court  about  five 
years  before,  was  delighted  with  her  "ease,  good-humor  and 
familiarity,  and  winning  condescension."  She  was  struck,  toe, 
with  the  simple,  almost  homely,  fashions  of  the  royal  circle — ladies 
sitting  round,  working,  knitting  stockings. f  Such  was  the  bride 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  her  family! 

Meantime  the  versatile  diplomatist  was  busy  making  himself 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  young  Princess.  But  fmm  all 
sides  ho  was  receiving  ominous  warnings;  and  the  wliolc  Court,  it 
is  clear,  were  nervous  as  to  what  her  behavior  would  be  in  her  new 
situaiion.  All  impressed  on  liim  that  she  was  to  be  "keiil  strictly" 
and  with  a  tight  rein,  and  the  envoy  was  almost  ini])l{)red  to  advix' 
her  to  l)e  cautious,  and  avoid  lier  besettini:-  sin  of  being  too  familiar 
with  everyone  and  of  "  snyinc:  overythinu  that  came  into  her  liead."' 
"  She  was  not  heU,''  said  her  father  to  him,  "hut  ^he  hail  no  judg- 
ment." Again  and  again  he  came  back  to  the  subject;  "She 
could  not  go  alone,"  be  said;  "she  must  be  guided  and  directed." 


•  "  Diaries  of  a  Lady  of  Quality,"  p.  186. 
t  ••  Remains  of  Mrs.  Trench." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  293 

He  excused  lier  ou  the  score  of  the  free  style  of  speech  of  her 
mother  in  every  company,  which  was  a  bad  example.  Less  profitable, 
however,  was  his  own.  Strangers  remarked  that  his  manner  to  the 
Duchess  was  very  cold,  and  that  hers  was  embarrassed,  and  soon 
discovered  that  one  Mdlle.  Hertzfeldt,  a  lady  of  rank,  was  installed 
at  the  palace  as  mistress  en  titre,  and  had  actually  had  her  recog- 
nized place  at  all  the  Court  festivities.  What  could  be  hoped  of  a 
daughter  in  presence  of  such  a  scandal?  The  lady  now  alluded  to 
who  engaged  the  Duke's  favor  was  also  one  of  those  who  gave 
useful  advice  to  the  envoy,  who  courted  her  assiduously.  It  was 
absolutely  necessary,  she  said  to  him  confidentially,  that  the  Prin- 
cess should  be  watched  and  kept  in  retirement.  "  She  is  not  cor- 
rupted ;  she  had  never  done  anything  really  bad,  but  she  had  no 
command  of  her  words;  she  confides  in  everyone,  and  when  she  is 
surrounded  in  London  with  clever  intriguers,  everything  she  says 
will  be  reported  and  distorted."  This  lady  was  certainly  sagacious, 
and  her  words  were  strongly  prophetic.  She  also  hinted  at  the 
indiscreetness  of  the  Duchess,  who  made  no  secret  of  her  dislike  to 
Queen  Charlotte  and  other  members  of  the  royal  family.  These 
prejudices  her  daughter  would  take  with  her  to  England.'*  This 
dislike  extended  to  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York. 

Thus  encouraged  and  assured  that  his  advice  would  be  of  the 
greatest  assistance.  Lord  Malmesbury  proceeded  to  lecture,  as  it 
might  be  called,  the  Princess  seriously.  His  efforts  were  received 
favorably.  Sitting  next  her  at  supper,  he  would  advise  her  to  avoid 
familiarity,  to  have  no  confidants,  to  avoid  giving  any  opinion,  and 
above  all  be  very  attentive  to  the  Queen.  To  his  surprise  she 
asked  him  about  the  Prince's  attachments;  nor  was  she  disturbed  at 
learning  that  one  of  his  "favorites  "  was  to  be  placed  about  her,  as 
lady-in-waiting.  "  She  says  it  is  wished  here  that  her  brother 
William  should  marry  the  Princess  Sophia  of  Gloucester;  I  advise 
her  not  to  meddle  in  it.  She  talks  about  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
whom  she  prefers  to  the  Duke  of  York;  and  it  struck  me  today  for 
the  first  time  that  he  originally  put  her  into  the  Prince's  head,  and 
that  with  a  view  to  phigue  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York,  whom 


*  This,  it  is  plain,  was  one  of  the  discordant  elements  in  this  unfortunate 
marriage.  There  was  a  rooted  dislike  between  the  female  members  of  the 
two  families.  The  Duchess  complained  to  Lord  Malmesbury  that  the  Queen 
grudged  her  some  jewels,  and  had  asked  back  a  diamond  ring,  the  King's 
present, 


294  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

he  hates,  and  whom  the  Prince  no  longer  likes;  well  knowing  that 
the  Princess  Caroline  and  Duchess  of  York  dislike  each  other,  and 
that  this  match  would  be  particularly  unpleasant  to  her  and  the 
Duke.  I  praise  the  Duke  of  York  to  her,  and  speak  with  great 
applause  of  the  behavior  of  the  Duchess,  who  by  her  discretion  and 
conduct  has  conciliated  to  herself  the  good-will  of  the  whole  nation. 
I  did  this  to  pique  her,  and  to  make  her  anxious  to  do  the  same. 
She  has  no  fond,  no  fixed  character,  a  light  and  flighty  mind,  but 
meaning  well  and  well-disposed;  and  my  eternal  theme  to  her  is,  to 
think  before  she  speaks,  to  recollect  herself.  She  says  she  wishes 
to  be  loved  by  the  people;  this,  I  assure  her,  can  only  be  obtained 
by  making  herself  respected  and  rare — that  the  sentiment  of  being 
loved  by  the  people  is  a  mistaken  one." 

In  a  letter  written  to  a  German  lady  in  England,  dated  the  28th 
of  November,  she  WTote : 

"  You  are  aware,  my  friend,  of  my  destiny,  I  am  about  enter- 
ing into  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  my  first-cousin,  George,  Prince 
of  Wales.  His  generosity  I  regard,  and  his  letters  bespeak  a  mind 
well  cultivated  and  refined.  My  uncle  is  a  good  man,  and  I  love 
him  very  much,  but  I  feel  that  I  shall  never  be  inexpressibly 
happy.  Estranged  from  my  connections,  my  associations,  my 
friends,  all  that  I  hold  dear  and  valuable,  I  am  about  entering  on  a 
permanent  connection.  I  fear  for  the  consequences.  Yet  I  esteem 
and  respect  my  intended  husband,  and  I  hope  for  great  kindness 
and  attention.  But,  ah  me!  I  say  sometimes,  I  cannot  now  love 
him  with  ardor,  I  am  indifferent  to  my  marriage,  but  not  averse 
to  it;  I  think  I  shall  be  happy,  but  I  fear  my  joy  will  not  be  cntliu- 
siastic.  The  man  of  my  choice  I  am  debarred  from  possessing,  and 
I  resign  myself  to  my  destiny.  I  am  attentively  studying  the  Eng- 
lish language;  I  am  acquainted  with  it,  but  I  wish  to  speak  it  with 
fluency.  I  shall  strive  to  render  my  husband  happy,  and  to  inter- 
est him  in  my  favor,  since  the  Fates  will  have  it  that  I  am  to  be 
Princess  of  Wales." 

Meanwhile  expresses  were  passing  between  London  and  the  little 
Court,  and  all  the  arrangements  were  nearly  completed.  Before 
Lord  Malmesbury  had  been  at  Brunswick  a  week,  a  messenger  had 
arrived  from  the  Prince  of  Wales  with  a  letter  pressing  him  "vehe- 
mently "  to  set  out  with  the  Princess  at  once.  The  messenger  was 
ftlso  bearer  of  the  Prince's  portrait,  in  which  he  was  highly  flattered 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  295 

and  represented  as  arrayed  in  becoming  regimentals.    Up  to  this 
moment  tlie  Princess  had  an  idea  of  him  only  from  description. 
Thus  wrote  the  eager  suitor : 

THE  PRmCE  OF  WALES  TO  LORD  MALMESBURT. 

"  Carlton  House,  23rd  November,  1794, 
**  My  DEAR  Lord, 

"I  have  sent  Major  Hislop  back  again  to  Brunswick,  which  I 
judged  to  be  an  advisable  measure  on  many  accounts,  as  more  par- 
ticularly, I  think,  he  may  prove,  from  his  knowledge  of  the  coun- 
try, a  very  useful  avant-courier  to  you  and  your  fair  charge  in  your 
journey  to  the  water's  side.     I  have  charged  him  with  letters  for 
the  Duke,  Duchess,  and  Princess,  which  I  will  beg  of  you  to  pre- 
sent to  their  different  destinations,  with  every  proper  expressions 
on  my  part,  and  to  which  no  one  can  give  so  agreeable  a  tournure 
as  yourself.     I  have  likewise  desired  Major  Hislop  to  give  you  an 
ample  and  thorough  account  of  the  steps  I  have  taken  towards  the 
expediting  everything  on  this  side  of  the  water,  as  well  as  with  my 
brother  the  Duke  of  York,  to  whom  I  have  written  also  by  Hislop; 
and  as  to  what  is  now  necessary  to  forward  the  completing  every- 
thing at  Brunswick,  I  must  leave  that  to  you,  hoping  that  you  will 
make  every  exertion  possible  to  put  the  Princess  in  possession  of 
her  own  home  as  near  the  20th  of  the  ensuing  month  as  possible, 
for  everything  that  can  create  delay  at  the  present  moment  is  bad 
on  every  account,  but  particularly  so  to  the  public,  whose  expecta- 
tions have  now  been  raised  for  some  months,  and  would  be  quite 
outrageous,  were  it  possible  for  them  to  perceive  any  impediment 
arising  to  what  they  have  had  their  attention  drawn  to  for  so  long  a 
time,  besides  the  suspense,  and  the  naturally  unpleasant  feelings 
attendant  upon  suspense,  which  I  myself  must  be  subject  to,  and 
the  very  honorable,  fair,  and  handsome  manner  in  which  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  have  both  conducted  themselves  to  me  in  this  trans- 
action ;  their  having  also  in  their  last  letters,  both  to  the  King  and 
me,  said  that  the  Princess  was  ready  to  set  off  instantly;  in  short, 
all  these  reasons  make  it  necessary  for  me,  my  dear  Lord,  to  desire 
you  to  press  your  departure  from  Brunswick  at  as  short  a  date  as 
possible  from  the  receipt  of  this  letter.     I  have  written  fully  to  the 
Duchess  upon  the  subject,  and  I  doubt  not  but  she  will  acquaint  you 
with  the  contents  of  her  letters,  as  I  desire  that  j'ou  will  have  the 
goodness  to  do  so  by  her,  by  showing  her,  or  acquainting  her  nearly 
of  the  purport  of  this  letter. 


296  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"I  should  think  the  travelling  through  Holland  still  practicable 
and  safe,  and  if  so,  certainly  preferable  on  every  account;  but,  if 
not,  we  then  must  have  recourse  to  the  Elbe,  which  is  certainly  a 
very  disagreeable  alternative;  however,  whichever  way  the  Princess 
is  to  come,  I  am  clear  it  should  be  determined  upon  mstantly  by 
you.  I  wish  most  certainly,  if  possible,  that  she  should  pass 
through  Holland,  if  it  is  still  upon  the  cards,  therefore  desire  you  to 
determine  if  you  can  upon  that.  We  cannot  tell  on  this  side  the 
water  as  well  as  you  can,  or  rather  as  Hislop  can,  after  his  commu- 
nication with  the  Duke  of  York;  and  you  will  then  be  able,  when 
you  have  seen  the  Major,  and  know  what  has  passed  between  him 
and  the  Duke,  to  fix  your  plan  immediately,  and  so  immediately  put 
it  into  execution.  According  to  our  calculation,  Hislop  ought  to  be 
at  Brunswick  the  8th;  I  therefore  trust  that  by  the  16th  I  shall  from 
you,  my  dear  Lord,  receive  an  account  of  your  having  fixed  the  day 
of  your  departure,  and  not  only  of  the  probability,  but  indeed  of 
the  certainty  of  your  being  many  miles  on  your  journey.  There  are 
some  other  particular  circumstances  which  might  not  be  so  proper 
or  so  safe  to  commit  to  paper,  which  I  have  entrusted  Major  Hislop 
with,  and  which  he  will  communicate  by  word  of  mouth  to  you. 
I  will  not  detain  you,  my  dear  Lord,  any  longer,  except  to  assure 
you  how  happy  I  was  in  having  this  opportunity  of  testifying  the 
very  sincere  regard  I  entertain  for  you,  as  well  as  those  sentiments 
with  which  I  remain,  etc.  ..  George  P." 

This  singular  communication  was  characteristic  of  the  Writer's 
loose  train  of  thought,  and  belonged  to  those  illusions  which  he 
indulged  in.  Neither  he  nor  Lord  Malmesbury  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  arrangements  for  bringing  over  the  Princess.  These  were 
all  controlled  by  the  King,  and  depended  on  the  safety  of  the  route, 
the  position  of  the  protecting  force,  and  other  matters,  which 
required  the  gravest  consideration.  Lord  Malmesbury  was  much 
embarrassed  by  this  pressure,  as  he  was  "tied  down  by  the  most 
precise  instructions."  He  wrote  to  the  minister — the  Duke  of  Port- 
land— a  complaint  of  this  treatment,  explaining  that  he  was  there 
"under  the  King's  command,  and  could  only  act  by  his  special 
order." 

The  Prince  had  also  added  some  private  instructions  which  he 
did  not  venture  to  commit  to  paper,  and  wliich  were  no  doubt 
beyond  his  province.  All  this  the  envoy  quietly  put  aside  in  his 
reply  to  him,  with  assurance  that  "not  an  hour  should  be  lost"  as 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  297 

soon  as  he  learned  what  place  had  been  fixed  on  for  embarking  at. 
It  will  be  said  indulgently  that  it  was  but  the  ardor  of  the  bride- 
groom eager  to  see  his  bride.  This  feeling,  however,  could  have 
amounted  to  little  more  than  curiosity.  It  might  be  that  he  was 
thinking  of  the  price  which  was  to  be  paid  on  completion  of  his 
contract;  and,  as  it  turned  out,  the  subject  of  his  debts  was  brought 
before  the  House  a  fortnight  after  the  marriage.  This  is,  indeed, 
further  proved  by  his  ungraciously  refusing  to  allow  a  lady,  whom 
the  Princess  had  selected  as  a  sort  of  confidential  reader,  to  be 
brought  over. 

At  last,  on  Monday,  December  29th,  the  party  started,  amid  firing 
of  cannon  and  the  shouts  of  the  crowd.  "  She  must  be  ruled  by 
fear — even  by  terror,"  were  almost  the  last  encouraging  words 
addressed  to  the  envoy.  Her  mother  was  to  go  with  her  as  far  as 
the  sea.  The  Duke  was  much  affected  at  parting,  and  begged  the 
English  nobleman  to  watch  over  her.  With  such  awkward  fore- 
bodings the  luckless  Princess  commenced  her  journey  to  the  land  to 
which  she  was  to  bring  so  much  confusion  and  scandal.  The  whole 
of  this  preliminary  leaves  a  most  unpleasant  impression,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  have  followed  the  conversations,  so  carefully  reported, 
without  seeing  that  all  the  later  events  followed  in  the  most  natural 
order,  and  almost  as  of  course. 

The  fleet  had  been  ordered  to  the  Texel,  and  it  was  proposed  that 
the  party  should  journey  through  Holland.  On  the  road,  however, 
it  was  heard  that  the  French  had  made  such  progress  that  it  was 
impossible  to  think  of  reaching  the  coast.  The  party  therefore, 
after  staying  at  Osnabruck— the  scat  of  the  Duke  of  York's  bishop- 
ric— determined  to  wait  events  at  Hanover.  These  obstacles  caused 
a  long  and  tedious  delay;  and,  as  it  proved,  they  were  three  months 
on  the  road. 

The  effect  of  this  comparative  emancipation  on  the  character  of 
the  Princess  was  seen  almost  at  once.  Her  mentor  was  every  day 
more  and  more  surprised  by  some  new  and  disagreeable  revelation; 
though  it  must  be  owned  his  tone  to  her  was  too  much  of  the  school- 
master. But  there  were  other  matters  which  shocked  him  inex- 
pressibly. It  would  have  been  worth  while  seeing  his  face,  when  a 
page  brought  down  her  highness's  tooth,  which  had  just  been 
drawn,  for  him  to  look  at;  "nasty  and  indelicate."  he  writes  with 
disgust. 

Lord  Malmesbury's  notes  and  observations  on  the  journey  are 
significant  enough.     We  shall  let  him  speak  for  himself, 

13* 


298  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"January  2nd. — I  persuade  the  Princess  Caroline  to  be  munifi- 
cent towards  some  poor  emigres  dying  of  liunger,  and  tlirough  want — 
she  disposed  to  be,  but  not  knowing  how  to  set  about  it.  I  tell  her, 
liberality  and  generosity  is  an  enjoyment,  not  a  severe  virtue.  She 
gives  a  louis  for  some  lottery  tickets;  I  give  ten,  and  say  the  Prin- 
cess ordered  me.  She  surprised ;  I  said  I  was  sure  she  did  not  mean 
to  give  for  the  ticket  its  precise  value,  and  that  I  forestalled  her 
intention.  Next  day  a  French  emigre,  with  a  pretty  child,  draws 
near  the  table;  the  Princess  Caroline  immediately,  of  her  own 
accord,  puts  ten  louis  in  a  paper  and  gives  it  to  the  child;  the 
Duchess  observes  it,  and  inquires  of  me — I  w^as  dining  between 
them — what  it  was.  I  tell  her  a  demand  on  her  purse.  She,  embar- 
rassed, 'Je  n'ai  que  mes  beaux  doubles  louis  de  Brunswick,'  I 
answered,  '  Qu'ils  deviendront  plus  beaux  entre  les  mains  de  cet 
enfant  que  dans  ta  poche.'  She  ashamed,  and  gives  three  of  them. 
In  the  evening.  Princess  Caroline,  to  whom  these  sort  of  virtues 
were  never  preached,  on  my  praising  the  coin  of  the  money  at 
Brunswick,  offers  me  very  seriously  eight  or  ten  double  louis,  say- 
ing, *  Cela  ne  me  fait  rieu — je  ne  m'en  soucie  pas — je  vous  prie  de 
la  prendre.'  I  mention  these  facts  to  show  her  character;  it  could 
not  distinguish  between  giving  as  a  benevolence,  and  flinging  away 
the  money  like  a  child. 

''  January  \th. — Princess  Caroline  very  5'a«<*7t<?  at  cards — speaks 
without  thinking — gets  too  easy — calls  the  ladies  (she  never  saw) 
'Mon  coeur,  ma  chere,  ma  petite.'  I  notice  this,  and  reprove  it 
strongly.  The  Princess,  for  the  first  time,  disposed  to  take  it 
amiss;  I  do  not  pretend  to  observe  it.  Duchess  wants  to  return  to 
Brunswick,  and  leave  us  to  go  on  by  ourselves;  this  I  oppose,  and 
suppose  it  is  impossible.  *  If  I  am  taken,'  sa3's  she,  '  I  am  sure  the 
King  will  be  angry.*  '  He  will  be  very  sorry,'  I  reply;  'but  your 
Royal  Highness  must  not  leave  your  daughter  till  she  is  in  the 
hands  of  her  attendants.'  She  argues,  but  I  will  not  give  way,  and 
she  does. 

"  January  \Sth. — Princess  Caroline  very  missish  at  supper.  I 
much  fear  these  habits  are  irrecoverably  rooted  in  her — she  is  natu- 
rally curious,  and  a  gossip— she  is  quick  and  observing,  and  she 
has  a  silly  pride  of  finding  out  everything;  she  thinks  herself  par- 
ticularly acute  in  discovering  likings,  and  this  leads  her  at  times  to 
the  most  improper  remarks  and  conversation.  I  am  determined  to 
take  an  opportunity  of  correcting,  coute  quHl  coute. 

"January  IQth,  1795.— On  summing  up  Princess  Carolme's  cUaT' 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY.  299 

acter  to-day,  it  came  out  to  my  mind  to  be,  that  she  has  quick 
parts,  without  a  sound  or  distinguishing  understanding;  that  she 
has  a  ready  conception,  but  no  judgment;  caught  by  the  first  im- 
pression, led  by  the  first  impulse;  turned  away  by  appearances  or 
enjouement;  loving  to  talk,  and  prone  to  confide  and  make  missish 
friendships  that  last  twenty-four  hours.  Some  natural,  but  no 
acquired  morality,  and  no  strong  innate  notions  of  its  value  and 
necessity;  warm  feelings,  and  nothing  to  counterbalance  them; 
great  good  humor,  and  much  good  nature;  no  appearance  of 
caprice ;  rather  quick  and  mve,  but  not  a  grain  of  rancor.  From 
her  habits,  from  the  life  she  was  allowed  and  even  compelled  to 
live,  forced  to  dissemble ;  fond  of  gossiping,  and  this  strengthened 
greatly  by  the  example  of  her  good  mother,  who  is  all  curiosity  and 
inquisitiveness,  and  who  has  no  notion  of  not  gratifying  this  desire 
at  any  price.  In  short,  the  Princess,  in  the  hands  of  a  steady  and 
sensible  man,  would  probably  turn  out  well;  but  where  it  is  likely 
she  will  find  faults  perfectly  analogous  to  her  own  she  will  fail. 
She  has  no  governing  powers,  although  her  mind  is  physically 
strong.  She  has  her  father's  courage,  but  it  is  to  her,  as  to  him, 
of  no  avail.    He  wants  mental  decision,  she  character  and  tact. 

''February  18i?7i.— Argument  with  the  Princess  about  her  toilette. 
She  piques  herself  on  dressing  quick ;  I  disapprove  this.  She  main- 
tains her  point;  I,  however,  desire  Madame  Busche  to  explain  to 
her  that  the  Prince  is  very  delicate,  and  that  he  expects  a  long  and 
very  careful  toilette  de  proprete,  of  which  he  has  no  idea.  On  the 
contrary,  she  neglects  it  sadly,  and  is  offensive  from  this  neglect. 
Madame  Busche  executes  her  commission  well,  and  the  Princess 
comes  out  the  next  day  well  washed  all  over. 

''March  Qth. — I  had  conversations  with  the  Princess  Caroline  on 
the  toilette,  on  cleanliness,  and  on  delicacy  of  speaking.  On  these 
points  I  endeavored,  as  far  as  was  possible  for  a  man,  to  inculcate 
the  necessity  of  great  and  nice  attention  to  every  part  of  dress,  as 
well  as  to  what  was  hid  as  to  what  was  seen.  (I  knew  she  wore 
coarse  petticoats,  coarse  shifts,  and  thread  stockings,  and  these 
never  v/ell  washed,  or  changed  often  enough.)  I  observed  that  a 
long  toilette  was  necessary,  and  gave  her  no  credit  for  boasting 
that  hers  was  a  short  one.  What  I  could  not  say  myself  on  this 
point,  I  got  said  through  women — through  Madame  Busche,  and 
afterwards  through  Mrs.  Harcourt.  It  is  remarkable  how,  on  this 
point,  her  education  has  been  neglected,  and  how  much  her  moth- 
er, although  an  Englishwoman,  w^as  inatteqtive  to  it," 


300  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  LORD   MALMESBURY. 

''Carlton  House,  21st  Feb.,  1795. 

*' My  DEAR  Lord, 

"I  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  acknowledging  the  receipt  of 
three  letters  I  received  on  the  19th  from  your  Lordship — two  dated 
the  15th  and  18th  January,  the  other  I  suppose  written  on  a  subse- 
quent day,  but  bearing  no  date.  Accept  my  best  thanks  for  every 
step  that  you  have  taken,  as,  to  the  best  of  my  judgment,  nothing 
can  have  been  more  consistent  in  point  of  prudence  and  propriety, 
and,  indeed,  more  consonant  to  my  w^ishes  than  your  conduct  ap- 
pears to  me  to  have  been  throughout  this  very  tedious  and  trying 
embassy.  The  accounts  you  are  so  good  as  to  give  me  of  the  tem- 
per and  resignation  with  wliicli  the  Princess  is  so  good  as  to  bear 
with  the  interruptions  in  her  journey,  is  more  than  I  fancy  any  one 
would  venture  to  say  for  me  from  hence,  as  I  assure  you,  all  the 
mismanagement,  procrastinations,  and  difficulties  that  I  have  met 
with  in  the  conduct  of  this  business  on  this  side  of  the  water  have 
totally  put  patience  (a  virtue  you  well  know  that  our  family  in  gen- 
eral are  not  much  endowed  with)  out  of  the  question.  On  account 
of  the  unfortunate  position  of  affairs  on  the  Continent,  I  have 
judged  it  necessary,  in  order  to  bring  the  Princess  over  in  the  most 
expeditious,  as  well  as  the  safest  mode,  to  contrive  she  should  be  in 
a  manner  smuggled  over  into  this  country;  this  meets  entirely  with 
His  Majesty's  approbation,  and  the  plan  to  be  pursued  is  this.  The 
yachts,  as  well  as  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  were  to  have  had 
the  honor  of  attending  the  Princess,  to  remain  under  expectation 
of  receiving  sailing  orders  hourly.  The  convoy  destined  originally 
to  attend  upon  the  Princess,  to  proceed  to  sea  with  the  rest  of  the 
fleet  and  transports  going  to  fetch  the  remains  of  our  army  from 
the  Continent.  By  which  means  they  will  endeavor  to  make  Stade, 
having  detached  themselves  from  the  rest  of  the  fleet  at  a  certain 
latitude.  Finding  themselves  there,  to  take  you  and  your  charge 
aboard,  before  it  is  suspected  even  on  this  side  of  the  water  that 
such  a  plan  is  in  agitation.  Not  thinking  it  proper  that  the  Prin- 
cess should  come  without  a  lady,  Mrs.  Harcourt  is  ordered  to  attend 
her;  and  her  own  ladies,  Lady  Jersey  and  Mrs.  Aston,  who  were 
to  have  sailed  in  the  yachts  to  have  fetched  her  over,  will  be  ready 
to  receive  her  at  the  water-side  on  her  landing,  together  with  Cler- 
mont and  the  rest  of  her  suite.  The  general  and  universal  mortifi- 
cation occasioned  by  the  fleet's  being  obliged  to  put  back,  made  us 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  301 

doubly  anxious  by  every  means  that  human  foresight  can  devise  to 
prevent  a  similar  unpleasant  contretemps  happening  again ;  and  we 
therefore  think,  in  addition  to  this  motive,  that  by  retaining  the 
yachts  and  attendants  here,  we  shall  prevent  entirely  our  enemies 
from  having  the  smallest  intimation  of  our  having  in  present  and 
immediate  contemplation  the  scheme  of  the  Princess's  crossing. 

"I  hope  you  will  make  this  plan  acceptable  to  the  Princess  as 
well  as  the  Duchess,  as  you  must  be  well  acquainted  with  my  im- 
patience; and  I  beg  you  will  assure  them  both  that  there  is  no  sort 
of  respect,  state,  and  attention,  that  shall  not  be  shown  the  Prin- 
cess, the  moment  she  sets  her  foot  on  our  dear  little  island.  I  am 
convinced  you  will  heartily  concur  with  me  in  my  anxious  endea- 
vors through  this,  or  even  any  other  means,  to  bring  your  voyage 
to  as  expeditious  and  happy  a  termination  as  possible.  I  write  to 
the  Duchess  of  Brunswick  by  the  same  courier,  which  letters  you 
will  have  the  goodness  to  deliver  into  her  hands  yourself.  I  can- 
not help  once  more  reiterating  my  thanks  to  you,  my  dear  Lord, 
for  your  judgment  and  caution  through  all  these  late  occurrences, 
etc.  I  remain  with  great  truth,  etc., 

"George  P. 

"  P.S. — Pray  say  everything  that  is  kind  from  me  to  Hislop." 

At  last  news  arrives  of  the  fleet  being  off  Stade.  The  Duchess 
parted  from  her  daughter  in  much  afiiiction,  and  then  started  for 
home.  At  this  stage  their  guide  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  "the 
Princess's  heart  is  very,  very  light. " 

One  of  the  ladies  selected  to  attend  her,  Mrs.  Harcourt,  had  met 
the  Princess  at  Hanover;  the  other.  Lady  Jersey,  was  to  meet 
her  on  landing  in  England.  The  first  had  driven  into  the  town 
attended  by  two  horsemen.  The  other  lady,  presuming  on  her 
influence,  had  come  down  to  Rochester,  and  tried  to  force  herself 
on  board  the  yacht,  scandalizing  that  not  too  sensitive  "Jack 
Payne,"  who  was  in  command.  For  his  proper  refusal  Mr.  Payne 
fell  into  disgrace  with  his  royal  master,  and  did  not  recover  his 
favor  for  several  years.*  A  crowd  of  English  of  distinction,  with 
some  of  the  emigres,  were  eager  to  secure  a  passage  home.  On 
Saturday,  at  seven  o'clock,  the  Princess  embarked  on  board  the 
Jupiter,  fifty-gun  ship,  and  by  Wednesday  the  squadron  was  off 
Yarmouth.     A.  thick  fog  here  set  in,  and  it  was  not  until  noon  on 

*  "  Life  of  Sir  G.  Elliot,"  ill.  47. 


302  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

Saturday  that  they  dropped  anchor  off  Gravesend.  The  Princess 
won  the  hearts  of  the  officers  by  her  unflagging  good-humor,  and 
even  extorted  praise  from  her  mentor.  On  Sunday  morning  the 
royal  party  was  transferred  to  one  of  the  royal  yachts,  and  after  a 
pleasant  sail,  reached  Greenwich  at  twelve  o'clock,  where  vast 
crowds  were  assembled  to  greet  her.  There  was  a  delay  of  more 
than  an  hour  at  the  governor's,  owing  to  the  roysfl  carriages  not 
having  arrived  from  London ;  and  it  turned  out  that  this  was  owing 
to  her  lady-in-waiting  not  being  ready.  When  she  did  arrive,  she 
conducted  herself  with  a  strange  arrogance,  found  fault  with  the 
Princess's  dress  in  such  terms  that  Lord  Malmesbury  had  to  speak 
rather  sharply  to  her.  The  poor  stranger,  who  was  becomingly 
dressed  in  a  muslin  gown  and  blue  satin  petticoat,  with  a  black 
beaver  hat  and  blue  and  black  feathers,  was  required  to  doff  her 
attire  in  a  room  of  the  governor's  house,  and  put  on  a  white  satin 
gown  and  an  elegant  turban  cap,  which  Lady  Jersey  had  brought 
from  town. 

The  procession,  consisting  of  two  coaches  and  six,  and  escorted 
by  a  detachment  of  the  Prince's  own  regiment,  Cornet  Brummell 
being  one  of  the  officers,  then  started  for  London,  and  was  attended 
with  but  moderate  greeting  and  applause.  The  poor  friendless 
creature  was  virtually  alone,  being  refused  an}^  one  of  her  own 
countryfolk,  who  might  have  advised  and  guided  her. 

About  half-past  two  they  reached  St.  James's  Palace,  the  rooms 
of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  in  Cleveland  Row  being  given  up  to 
her.  Then  the  windows  were  opened  and  the  Princess  showed 
herself  to  the  crowd.  Lord  Malmesbury  at  once  went  for  the 
Prince — a  dramatic  crisis  indeed.  The  next  few  minutes  were  to 
reveal  what  was  to  be  the  issue  of  this  fatal  experiment.  The  Prince 
came  immediately,  and  it  was  noticed  by  the  crowd  outside  that  he 
was  agitated.  "I  accordingly,"  says  Lord  Malmesbury,  "to  the 
established  etiquette,  introduced  (no  one  else  being  in  the  room)  the 
Princess  Caroline  to  him.  She,  very  properly,  in  consequence  of 
my  saying  it  was  the  right  mode  of  proceeding,  attempted  to  kneel 
to  him.  He  raised  her  gracefully  enough,  and  embraced  her,  said 
barely  one  word,  turned  round,  retired  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
apartment,  and,  calling  tome,  said:  'Harris,  I  am  not  well:  pray 
get  mc  a  glass  of  brandy. '  I  said :  '  Sir,  had  you  not  better  have  a 
glass  of  water?'  Upon  which  he,  much  out  of  humor,  said,  with  an 
oath:  'No;  I  will  go  directly  to  the  Queen,'    And  away  he  went," 

No  wonder  after  this  strange  reception  the  Princess,  bewildered 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  303 

and  confused,  should  have  exclaimed:  "MonDieu!  is  he  always 
like  that?"  Then  added:  *'  I  find  him  very  fat,  and  not  at  all  like 
the  picture  sent  me. "  Lord  Malmesbury  tried  to  mend  matters  as 
best  he  could,  after  a  lame  fashion — "His  royal  highness  was  a  good 
deal  affected  and  flurried  at  this  first  meeting."  The  Princess,  not 
likely  to  be  imposed  on  by  such  an  excuse,  proceeded  to  make  other 
uncomplimentary  remarks,  embarrassing  her  companion  a  good 
deal,  when  he  was  hastily  summoned  away  to  w^ait  on  the  King. 
This  propitious  introduction  to  her  new  life  is  significant  of  the 
future  treatment  she  was  to  experience. 

The  Prince  went  straight  to  the  Queen  and  the  King,  strangely 
enough  began  to  talk  on  foreign  politics  with  Lord  Malmesbury, 
carelessly  putting  a  single  question  as  to  what  another  father  would 
have  considered  a  most  interesting  subject.  ' '  Is  she  good-humored?" 
he  asked.  The  other  answered  that  he  had  never  seen  her  other- 
Avise,  even  when  severely  tried.  "I  am  glad  of  it,"  said  the  King, 
significantly.  Thus  already  there  was  a  hostile  party  formed  against 
her,  and  on  the  very  night  of  her  arrival  she  must  have  learned  that 
her  husband  already  almost  disliked  her,  that  her  cousins  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  York  were  hostile,  that  her  lady  of  honor  was  her 
enemy,  and  placed  near  her  to  be  a  spy,  that  the  other  attendant 
was  unacceptable  to  her,  while  her  new  parents  were  indifferent. 

There  was  a  small  dinner  that  evening,  consisting  only  of  the 
travelling  party  and  the  Prince,  and  at  which  the  Vice-Chamberlain 
did  the  honors.  Here  the  behavior  of  the  Princess  was  most  unfor- 
tunate, "flippant,  rattling,  affecting  wit;"  and  the  guests  were 
amazed  to  hear  her  throwing  out  railleries  on  the  Prince's  well-known 
penchant.  The  Prince  showed  by  his  looks  how  disgusted  he  was. 
"This,  unfortunately,"  says  Lord  Malmesbury,  "fixed  his  dislike, 
which,  when  left  to  himself,  the  Princess  had  not  the  talent  to 
remove,  but,  by  still  observing  the  same  giddy  manners  and  coarse 
sarcasm,  increased  till  it  became  positive  hatred."  This  was  deplor- 
able enough,  and  there  must  have  been  more  of  recklessness  than  of 
want  of  feeling;  and  she  explains  it  piteously  in  her  own  account: 
"The  first  moment  I  saw  my/w^t^r  and  Lady  Jersey  together  I 
knew  how  it  all  was,  and  I  said  to  myself,  '  Oh,  very  well ! '  I  took 
my  partie.  .  .  .  One  of  the  civil  things  his  royal  highness  did  just 
at  first  was  to  find  fault  with  my  shoes,  and,  as  I  was  very  young 
and  lively  in  those  days,  1  told  him  to  make  me  a  better  pair  and 
bring  them  to  me.  I  brought  letters  from  all  the  princes  and 
princesses  to  him  from  all  the  petty  courts,  and  I  tossed  them  to 


304  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK 

him,  and  said,  'Tliere!  that's  to  prove  I'm  not  an  impostor!'"* 
The  envoy,  with  all  his  diplomacy,  could  not  see  what  is  here 
revealed,  that  this  lightness  of  behavior  was  the  assumed  indiffer- 
ence of  a  woman  hurt  in  her  pride — "  Oh,  very  well!  I  took  my 
partie. " 

In  the  same  spirit  the  Princess  now  actually  made  a  confidante  of 
her  lady-in-waiting,  and  is  said  to  have  calmly  confided  to  her  that 
she  had  been  attached  to  another  person.  This,  it  was  presumed, 
was  reported  to  the  Prince,  who  on  the  next  day  showed  a  marked 
coldness.  Another  speech  was  also  reported.  Hair-powder  was 
then  going  out  of  fashion,  but  the  Prince  still  adhered  to  his  custom, 
and  the  Princess  declared  to  the  same  confidante,  "  that  he  looked 
like  a  sergeant-major  with  his  ears  powdered."  Such  personal 
remarks — his  upon  her  shoes,  hers  upon  his  wig — were  not  likely 
to  produce  agreeable  feelings. 

After  this  dinner  was  over,  arrived  the  King  and  Queen  and  other 
members  of  the  royal  family  to  welcome  the  Princess,  who  was 
presented  in  due  form.  The  King  was  cordial  and  even  affectionate, 
but  the  Queen's  coldness  was  remarked. f  Tlien  she  was  left  in  the 
old  Palace,  in  charge  of  Mrs.  Aston,  and  thus  the  exciting  day 
ended. 

Three  days  later,  on  Wednesday,  April  8th,  1795,  the  marriage 
was  performed  with  customary  state  and  magnificence,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  favorite  phrase,  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy;  and 
the  public  seem  to  have  been  well  contented  with  her  appearance, 
her  good-humored  and  intelligent  air,  and  taste  in  dress.  The  cere- 
mony took  place  at  night,  and  was  performed  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  In  the  chapel  the  Prince  gave  his  hat,  with  its  rich 
diamond  button  and  loop,  to  Lord  Harcourt  to  hold,  and  then  made 
him  a  present  of  it.  The  Duke  of  Leeds  says,  in  his  memoranda: 
"I  could  not  help  remarking  how  little  conversation  passed  between 
the  Prince  and  Princess  during  the  procession,  and  the  coolness  and 
indifference  apparent  in  the  manner  of  the  Prince.  I  was  after- 
wards informed  that  he  appeared  much  agitated  on  entering  the 
chapel,  and  that  during  the  ceremony  Ik  w.i^  perpetually  looking 
at  his  favorite.  Lady  Jersey. " 

He  then  explains  that  the  hat  thus  presented  was  decorated  with 
a  magnificent  diamond  star  and  buckle.  Lady  Harcourt  was  known 
to  be  the  most  intimate  friend  of  Lady  Jersey. 


» ••  Hemoira  of  Ladjr  C.  Burj-, '  i .  1 7.       t  Huish,  "  Memoirs  of  Geot^  IV, " 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  305 

During  the  ceremoDy  a  strange  incident  was  noticed.  The  Prince, 
who  seemed  dazed  or  bewildered,  rose  impatiently  from  his  knees 
before  the  ceremony  was  half  over.  The  Archbishop  stopped,  but 
the  old  King  stepped  forward  and  recalled  his  son  to  his  situation. 
He  also  took  the  part  of  "prompter"  through  the  whole  ceremony, 
and  in  the  hall  later  "  shook  his  son's  hand  with  a  force  that  brought 
tears  to  his  eyes." 

As  the  newly  married  pair  drove  from  the  chapel  tlreir  first  falling 
out  took  place.  The  Prince  had  remarked,  on  hearing  the  mob 
shout,  that  "many  were  interested  in  their  happiness,"  at  the  same 
time  taking  her  hand.  She  pettishly  snatched  hers  away,  put  out 
at  something  in  her  reception;  on  which  he  became  angry  and 
sullen.*    Such  was  the  course  of  this  ill-omened  day. 

♦Lady  C.  Campbell,  "Diary." 


30C  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 

1795—1797 

Two  days  after  the  marriage  the  "  happy  pair  "  returned  to  Wind- 
sor, where  they  remained  a  few  days.  They  then  repaired  to  the 
Prince's  rural  residence  at  Kempshott.  It  seems  incredible  what 
the  bride  had  to  encounter  here  during  her  honeymoon.  There  was 
but  one  lady,  and  that  one  her  lady-in-  waiting,  and  the  men  were 
the  "  blackguard  companions  of  the  Prince,  who  were  constantly 
drunk,  and  sleeping  and  snoring  in  boots  on  the  sofa."*  It  is  not 
surprising  to  learn  that  within  two  or  three  weeks  of  the  marriage 
a  sort  of  separation  took  place  between  the  ill-starred  pair.  How^- 
ever,  some  decency  of  appearance  was  to  be  kept  up.  There  was  a 
visit  in  state  to  Covent  Garden  Theatre.,  where  the  Princess  was, 
as  it  were,  presented  to  the  public  for  the  first  time;  while  in  May 
a  dancing  f^te  was  given  at  Frograore  to  the  "happy  pair,"  where 
the  ladies  all  appeared  in  white,  with  "  Prince  of  Wales"  plumes, 
and  the  gentlemen  in  blue  and  gold. 

They  were  then  established  at  Carlton  House.  It  at  once  became 
evident  that  all  the  good  advice,  so  laboriously  impressed  on  the 
Princess,  had  wrought  little  effect;  for,  at  the  various  dinner-par- 
ties given  during  the  first  two  or  three  weeks  after  the  marriage, 
she  behaved  so  flippantly  and  talked  so  lightlv  that  her  husband 
called  Lord  Malmesbury  aside  and  asked  him  -what  he  thought  of 
this  sort  of  manners;"  on  which  he  could  only  repeat  lier  father's 
words — that,  if  she  were  not  kept  strictly,  she  would  give  way  to 
this  extravagance.  Then  the  Prince  reproached  him  with  not 
warning  him  in  time;  to  which  tlic  reply  was  given  that  he  had 
acted  under  instructions  from  tlic  Kim:  to  (cik  ludc  the  marriage, 
and  that  such  matters  did  not  iiih  r  inio  hi-^  (  (imnii-sion.  It  was 
hardly  surprising  that  this  blunt  (h  <  huatiMn  shoiild  displease  or 
leave  a  rankle  in  his  mind. 


♦  Sir  a.  Elliot,  iii.  14.    He  was  shown  the  correspondence  and  written  com- 
plaints on  these  matters, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  307 

It  must  be  owned  that  his  position  had  been  an  embarrassing  one, 
for  though  he  owned  that  he  would  have  felt  it  his  duty  to  mention 
any  notorious  or  glaring  defect,  or  such  as  would  render  the  union 
unseemly,  mere  levity  would  not  have  been  sufficient  ground  to  dis- 
turb the  negotiation.  But  the  truth  is,  after  these  signs  and  tokens, 
it  was  scarcely  surprising  that  the  negotiator  should  now  begin  to 
augur  the  worst.  "It  is  impossible,"  he  says,  "to  foresee  or  con- 
ceive any  comfort  from  this  connection,  in  which  I  lament  very 
much  having  taken  any  share,  however  passive  it  was." 

The  Princess,  who  was  not  nearly  so  volatile  as  Lord  Malmesbury 
would  make  out,  for  some  time  bore  with  the  treatment  very 
patiently.  She  said  tliat  her  father  had  told  her  to  observe  every- 
thing, but  say  nothing.  Indeed,  her  whole  course  in  this  trying 
situation  was  at  first  marked  by  a  certain  amiability  and  prudence; 
and  her  best  claim  to  indulgence  is  that  she  was  driven  into  the 
opposite  defects  by  a  long  series  of  outrages.  She  saw  her  lady-in- 
waiting  invited  to  the  Queen's  House,  and  sit  down  to  play  cards 
with  the  Princesses.  The  worthy  old  King  disapproved  of  these 
proceedings,  but  could  do  nothing.  All  the  summer  the  attendance 
of  this  person  was  forced  upon  her. 

Lord  George  Seymour  described  to  Lord  Houghton  a  characteristic 
scene  that  occuiTed  during  this  disturbed  honeymoon.  At  a  con- 
vivial party,  at  which  assisted  Lord  Coleraine  and  others,  punch  and 
pipes  were  introduced.  When  the  lady-in-waiting  had  sipped  a 
little,  the  Prince,  in  a  marked  way,  took  her  glass;  on  which  the 
Princess  seized  Coleraine's  pipe,  and  gave  a  sort  of  contemptuous 
puff  at  the  Prince.  There  was  a  rough  humor,  as  well  as  readiness, 
in  this  proceeding. 

At  Brighton,  appearances  were  maintained  and  the  gayeties  kept 
up.  The  Prince  introduced  various  friends  of  his,  such  as  Sheridan, 
with  whom  he  had  fallen  out,  but  was  now  reconciled ;  also  Sir 
Sidney  Smith,  and  the  Stadtholder  of  Holland,  w^hom  the  Brighton 
folk  were  entertained  in  watching.* 

♦The  Princess  commanded  a  play  for  his  entertainment;  in  spite  of  her 
vivacity  and  utmost  efforts,  he  slept  and  snored  in  the  box  beside  her,  and  was 
roused  with  some  difficulty  when  the  curtain  fell.  A  ball  having  been  given 
in  compliment  to  him  at  the  Castle  tavern,  he  fell  asleep  whilst  eating  his 
supper,  and  snored  so  loud  as  to  disturb  the  harmony  of  the  orchestra.  His 
Dutch  Highness  was  also  entertained  with  a  grand  masquerade ;  and  was  per- 
plexed by  the  difficulty  of  resolving  in  what  dress  or  character  he  should 
attend  it  The  Prince  of  Wales  said  he  might  go  as  an  old  woman.— "  Life 
and  Reign,"  i.  270. 


308  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

But  now,  on  April  27tb,  the  first  steps  were  taken  to  furnish  the 
consideration  of  the  bargain,  and  the  question  of  paying  the  Prince 
of  Wales's  debts  was  introduced  to  the  House,  and  received  with 
"marked  disapprobation."  The  tone  assumed  was  of  the  most 
offensive  kind,  and  the  unhappy  spendthrift  was  lectured  and  rep- 
robated. Mr.  Pitt  took  a  high  strain.  The  debts,  he  said,  must  be 
paid  out  of  the  income,  which  would  be  increased ;  but  no  gross  sum 
would  be  granted.  There  were  loud  complaints  of  broken  faith  on 
the  part  of  the  Prince  and  his  friends,  and  it  was  openly  said  that 
the  minister  had  violated  his  engagements.  This  was,  no  doubt,  the 
proper  course,  as  a  general  discharge  would  only  be  an  encourage- 
ment to  incur  fresh  liabilities.  On  this  Colonel  Stanley,  a  Lanca- 
shire member,  moved  that  the  old  engagement  and  promise  given  to 
Parliament  in  1787  should  be  read.  In  the  discussion  that  followed, 
the  Prince  felt  himself  humiliated  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  as  he 
was  treated  like  a  spendthrift  and  pauper;  but  this  he  had  brought 
on  himself. 

In  May,  when  the  general  plan  came  on  for  discussion,  it  was 
stated  by  Mr.  Pitt  that  the  Prince's  income  was  about  £73,000  a  year 
(including  the  Cornwall  revenue).  This  he  proposed  to  raise  to  a 
sum  of  £125,000  a  year,  without  adding  the  Duchy,  which  would 
make  together  nearly  £140,000,  with  £26,000  for  Carlton  House  (a 
bottomless  gulf),  and  £28,000  for  jewels  and  outfit.  But  the  debts 
were  foimd  to  reach  the  enormous  sum  of  £630,000,  all  incurred 
since  the  last  settlement!  Ilis  proposal  was  that  £25,000  should  be 
set  apart  yearly;  and  it  was  calculated  this  sum  would  clear  off  all 
in  twenty-seven  years.  Further,  any  arrear  beyond  three  mouths 
should  not  be  recoverable  at  law.  Such  was  the  plan  of  extrication. 
It  was  certainly  infinitely  mortifying  for  the  Prince.  His  party 
either  held  aloof,  or  gave  but  cold  support.  Mr.  Grey  was  even  hos 
tile.  After  declaring  himself  as  ready  to  support  the  splendor  of 
the  royal  family,  as  "any  slippery  sycophant  of  the  Court,"  he 
announced  that,  "considering  the  distress  of  the  people  and  their 
burdens,  it  was  a  mo.st  unfitting  time  to  make  a  demand  for  satisfy- 
ing extravagance."  He  added  that  no  matter  how  exalted  the 
Prince's  rank,  he  should  descend  to  the  level  of  other  embarrassed 
persons,  compound  with  liis  creditors  and  retrench  his  establishment. 
His  tone,  indeed,  was  almost  studiously  blunt  and  offensive,  and  the 
Prince  never  seems  to  have  forgiven  it.  He  concluded  by  moving 
that  £40,000  a  year  in  addition  would  be  sufficient.  Mr.  Fox  sup- 
ported the  ministerial  proposal  but  coldly,  though  he  suggested  that 


TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  BOO 

the  King  should  contribute,  and  contrasted  the  large  allowance  made 
to  the  civil  list.  His  suggestion  was  that  the  debts  should  be  paid 
off  speedily,  by  allotting  £65,000  a  year  and  the  Duchy  revenues. 

These  debates  and  recriminations  were  continued  for  some  weeks, 
when  the  Prince  found  himself  compelled  to  come  forward  and  put 
himself  humbly  in  the  hands  of  the  House.  His  Attorney-General, 
Mr.  Anstruther,  made  the  following  communication ;  ' '  That  his 
Royal  Highness  was  desirous  to  acquiesce  in  whatever  might  be  the 
sentiments  of  the  House,  both  in  respect  to  the  future  regulations  of 
his  expenditure,  and  the  appropriation  of  any  part  of  the  income 
they  might  think  fit  to  grant  him  for  the  discharge  of  his  debts;  his 
wish,  on  the  present  occasion,  was  to  consult  the  wisdom  of  Parlia- 
ment. He  was  perfectly  disposed  to  acquiesce  in  whatever  abate- 
ment of  splendor  they  might  judge  to  be  necessary,  from  a  view  of 
his  situation ;  and  desired  to  have  nothing  but  what  the  country 
might  cordially  be  induced  to  think  he  ought  to  have.  In  fine,  that 
his  Royal  Highness  left  all  matters  relative  to  the  regulation  of  his 
establishment  and  the  payment  of  his  debts  to  their  wisdom  and 
discretion,  with  the  assurance  that  whatever  measures  they  might 
adopt  would  meet  with  his  hearty  concurrence." 

This  was  opposed  to  all  the  arguments  his  friends  had  been  urg- 
ing. And  Mr.  Pitt  was  not  slow  to  press  the  advantage.  Indeed, 
it  will  be  seen  that  this  was  always  a  characteristic  of  the  Prince — 
to  abandon  a  course  no  matter  how  vehemently  championed,  when 
another  better  suited  his  purpose. 

On  this  failure  of  these  attempts  he  is  said  to  have  written  to 
Lord  Fitzwilliam  and  Mr.  Fox,  offering  to  put  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  party,  and  oppose  all  measures  of  the  Government.  But 
they  dissuaded  him  from  this  course. 

But  a  very  reasonable  plea  in  his  favor  had  been  put  forward, 
which  was  certainly  embarrassing  enough  to  deal  with.  This  was 
the  claim,  by  way  of  set-off,  to  the  revenues  of  the  Duchy  during 
his  minority.  These  had  been  appropriated  by  the  King,  on  the 
high  German  tradition  of  paternal  despotism,  and  when  the  claims 
became  inconvenient,  the  reply  was  that  the  revenues  had  been 
absorbed  by  the  expenses  of  education.  No  account  was  rendered 
till  the  present  discussion,  when  Mr.  Pitt  was  obliged  to  admit  that 
a  sum  of  nearly  £234,000  had  been  received.  The  Government  had 
to  make  an  extraordinary  defence.  It  pleaded  the  Statute  of  Limi- 
tation— the  claims  of  Parliament,  which  had  paid  his  debts,  and  the 
cost  of  his  outfit,  which  must  be  set  off.     Then  the  expenses  of  his 


310  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

education  had  been  £83, 000.  All  this  was  mere  special  pleading. 
The  claim  of  Parliament  could  not  hold,  as  the  Prince  could  hardl}- 
be  considered  a  bankrupt,  who  had  to  give  up  all  his  assets  to  those 
who  gave  him  relief.  Mr.  Fox  declared  that,  by  the  return  before 
them,  the  expenses  of  education  were  £40,000,  of  which  half  should 
certainly  be  charged  to  the  Duke  of  York,  who  had  the  same  pre- 
ceptors, etc.  He  made  out  also,  that  the  accumulated  revenues, 
with  interest,  amounted  to  £500,000.  Surely,  he  said,  the  King, 
like  any  other  father,  might  fairly  undertake  the  modest  charges  of 
bringing  up  his  children.  But  it  has  been  already  shown  how  the 
King  himself  left  on  record  the  penurious  calculations  made  for  the 
support  of  his  younger  children,  and  the  same  scale  was  no  doubt 
applied  to  the  support  of  his  eldest  child.  The  annual  expense  for 
many  years  could  not  have  exceeded  £3000,  of  which  one  half,  or 
say  two  thirds  only,  should  have  been  charged  to  the  Prince,  leav- 
ing an  enormous  balance.  The  King's  own  debts  had  been  enor- 
mous, and  these  arrears  had  been  used  to  discharge  them.*  For- 
tunately, we  have  satisfactory  evidence  in  support  of  Mr.  Fox's 
contention,  that  the  Prince's  education  and  maintenance  had  cost 
but  little,  and  by  reference  to  the  Palace  accounts,  kept  with  great 
accuracy  and  minuteness,  and  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  it 
will  be  seen  what  trifling  sums  in  the  wages  to  services,  salary  of 
governess,  etc.,  had  been  expended. 

"  The  Prince,"  said  Mr.  Sheridan,  "had  often  done  him  the  honor 
to  consult  him,  chiefly  because  his  royal  highness  knew  his  fixed 
determination  to  accept  no  favors;  and  he  took  that  opportunity  of 
declaring  that  he  had  never  received  any  presents  of  great  value 
from  the  Prince.  He  had,  he  said,  advised  him  not  to  make  the 
promise  he  made  in  1787,  from  the  improbability  of  its  being  kept. 
He  had  at  that  time  drawn  up  a  plan  of  retrenchment,  which  was 
approved  by  the  Prince  and  by  his  Majesty;  and  the  Prince  told 
him  the  promise  was  not  to  be  insisted  upon,  though  to  his  great 
surprise  he  found  it  inserted  in  the  King's  message,  which  had 
been  seen  by  his  royal  highness.  The  Prince  wished  him  to  retreat 
it,  but  this  lie  declined.  Ministers  had  then  a  check  upon  the 
expenditure  of  his  royal  highness,  which  they  had  never  enforced; 


*Mr.  Nicholl  states  that  these  fines  for  the  Duchy  leases  amounted  to 
£250,000,  powers  being  given  by  Act  of  Parliament.  It  should  be  added,  too, 
that  all  the  revenues  of  the  Bishopric  of  Osnaburg,  accruing  during  the  Duke 
of  York's  minority,  were  paid  to  him  on  his  coming  of  age. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  311 

they  had  never  interposed  to  stop  a  shameful  profusion  of  money 
upon  Carlton  House." 

Such  was  this  singular  declaration,  inspired,  of  course,  by  the 
Prince.  There  was  certainly  truth  as  to  the  sums  lavished  on 
Carlton  House,  and  it  will  have  seemed  surprising  to  find  additional 
sums  paid  without  demur  which  had  not  been  voted  originally  by 
Parliament.  * 

The  original  proposals  were  privately  agreed  to;  the  Prince, 
though  Mr.  Whitbread  and  others  declared  that  it  was  degrading 
to  the  Prince,  accepting  them  cheerfully,  through  Mr.  Lambton, 
his  friend.  A  jointure  of  £50,000  a  year  was  then  voted  for  the 
Princess,  rather  late,  it  might  be  thought,  and  the  odd  provision 
for  preventing  the  Prince  incurring  fresh  debts  was  adopted.  Com- 
missioners were  named  for  examining  claims  and  discharging  them. 
Some  of  the  salaries  were  fourteen  quarters  in  arrear.  The  various 
heads  of  offices  in  the  Prince's  household  were  made  responsible 
for  the  expenses  in  their  departments,  a  singularly  inquisitorial 
proceeding.  But  astonishment  must  have  been  excited  by  a  most 
extraordinary  harangue  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  in  favor  of  his 
brother,  in  which  he  declared  bluntly  ' '  that  the  marriage  was  part 
of  a  bargain,  the  price  being  the  payment  of  his  debts.  Advantage 
then  had  been  taken  of  the  difficulties  in  which  he  was  involved,  in 
order  to  procure  from  him  this  consent.  He  was  in  the  situation 
of  a  man  who,  if  he  cannot  get  a  haunch  of  venison,  will  rather 
take  any  other  haunch  than  go  without." 

In  this  speech  he  showed  that  honest  and  earnest  but  indiscreet 
partisanship  which  distinguished  him  through  life. 

This  business,  thus  arranged,  gave  rise  to  many  harsh  comments, 
the  one  that  had  most  plausibility  being  that  the  Prince  had  "con- 
stituted himself  a  bankrupt; "  for  the  fact  that  a  regular  commission 
was  appointed  (consisting  of  the  Speaker,  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, Master  of  the  Rolls,  the  Master  of  the  King's  Household, 
the  Accountant  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  and  the  Surveyor  of  the 
Crown  Lands),  together  with  an  investigation  and  abatement  of 
all  tradesmen's  claims,  rather  lent  the  air  of  a  "  composition  w^ith 
creditors."  It  was  the  occasion  of  much  discontent  and  some  in- 
justice, the  commission  holding  a  regular  court,  and  abating  all 


*  Bose,  "  Diaries."  Why  the  King  should  have  paid  these  sums,  trusting  to 
be  afterwards  indemnified,  seems  strange,  tmless  we  assume  he  had  some 
reason  for  gratifying  the  Prince  in  this  his  favorite  hobby. 


312  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

claims  by  ten  per  cent.  It  is  obvious  that  this  proceeding  could 
not  affect  the  demands  of  creditors  who  might  enforce  them  in  the 
regular  tribunals  of  the  country.  And  one  of  this  body  actually 
did  so — his  jeweller,  named  Jeffereys,*  whose  complaints  and  attacks 
were  to  harass  the  Prince  for  many  years  to  come. 

On  the  marriage  of  the  Prince,  he  had  received  a  magnificent 
order  of  jewels  for  presents.  No  limit,  he  says,  was  fixed.  The 
finest  and  best  of  everything  was  to  be  provided.  As  of  course, 
the  nation  being  paymaster,  £54,000  was  laid  out  for  the  bride, 
with  £10,000  as  presents  for  the  Queen  and  Princesses.  Even  the 
Prince's  miniature,  which  was  sent  out  in  a  jewelled  frame,  cost 
ovor  £4000!  When  his  claims  came  before  the  commission,  they 
were  placed  at  the  enormous  amount  of  £85,000,  which  included 
bonds  of  the  Prince's  old  debts.  As  the  jeweller  declined  to  submit 
to  the  reduction,  he  brought  actions  for  the  whole  amount,  which 
he  recovered,  the  Prince  encouraging  him  in  this  step.  He  had, 
notwithstanding,  to  accept  the  deductions;  but  the  balance  was 
paid  in  debentures.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  persons  who  had 
dealings  of  this  kind  with  the  Prince,  that  their  behavior  should 
have  always  been  of  the  most  selfish  and  ungrateful  kind.  This 
man,  who  had  received  such  large  sums,  now  began  to  annoy  the 
Prince  with  demands  for  redress  of  his  grievances. f 

Jeffereys  soon  after  was  totally  ruined.  Then  began  a  series  of 
piteous  appeals,  which  took  the  shape  of  threatening  letters;  and 
it  was  only  when  he  had  a  pamphlet  ready  that  the  friendly  Lord 
Moira,  who  in  delicate  matters  acted  as  his  master's  agent,  had  to 
treat  with  him  privately.     But  nothing  came  of  the  interview,  and 

*  This  man  was  for  a  time  a  member  of  Parliament. 

t  He  complained  that  his  reception  at  Carlton  House  was  cold  and  distant: 
"  I  attended  twice,  each  time  by  appointment,  and  waited  many  hours.  At 
last  the  Prince,  coming  into  the  room  with  several  gentlemen,  asked  me,  in  a 
hasty  tone  of  voice,  '  what  I  wanted? '  I  was  so  agitated  with  the  contempla- 
tion of  my  own  situation,  and  so  confused  by  the  unusual  mode  in  which  his 
royal  highness  spoke  to  me,  as  to  be  hardly  able  to  make  any  answer.  His 
royal  highness  then  said:  'I  believe  I  owe  you  some  money— £420;  do  you 
want  it  now?'  I  humbly  replied,  when  it  suited  his  royal  highness's  con- 
venience. The  Prince  said,  'Very  well,'  and  left  the  room  without  another 
word;  nor  was  I  able  to  form  any  expectation  when  it  would  be  repaid." 
The  Prince,  too,  had  to  endure  all  the  regular  annoyances  of  an  impecunious 
debtor.  Hamlet,  Gray,  Vuillamy  were  some  of  these  unlucky  foumi8seur$. 
It  was  told  of  Vuillamy  that,  being  always  denied  to  the  Prince,  he  lay  In  wait 
at  the  gate,  and  with  much  agitation  and  despair  told  the  Prince  that  *'  unleM 
paid,  he  would  be  in  his  Papa's  Bench." 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  313 

Jeffereys  began  to  publish  a  series  of  pamphlets  full  of  attacks, 
chiefly  on  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.     These  ran  through  many  editions. 

Though  the  arrangement  made  might  be  assumed  to  be  a  fairly 
satisfactory  one,  the  Prince  took  his  favorite  mode  of  showing  his 
discontent — by  exaggerated  and  theatrical  reduction  of  his  estab- 
lishment. Lord  Cholmondeley  now  addressed  a  circular  to  the 
household,  dispensing  with  their  services.  Four  ladies  of  the  bed- 
chamber were  retained,  with  Lords  Jersey  and  Cholmondeley  as 
masters  of  the  horse  and  of  the  household — the  latter  declining  his 
salary  of  £2000  a  year. 

Meanwhile  the  new  menage  was  not  going  on  happily,  and  pres- 
ently an  extraordinary  business  was  to  excite  the  curiosity  of  the 
gossips  and  the  disgust  of  the  judicious.  Early  in  1796  there  ap- 
peared an  appeal  to  the  public,  in  the  shape  of  a  pamphlet  by  Lord 
Jersey,  written  to  vindicate  his  wife  from  a  strange  charge.  The 
transaction  had  occurred  in  the  preceding  year. 

One  Dr.  Randolph,  a  clergyman,  had  undertaken  to  carry  a 
packet  of  letters  for  the  Princess  to  her  relations  in  Brunswick. 
Not  going  abroad,  however,  he  sent  back  the  letters  to  the  writer. 
They  never  reached  her,  and  soon  after  the  Princess  had  good 
grounds  for  suspicion,  if  not  for  certainty,  that  the  Queen  had  read 
their  contents,  and  resented  the  manner  in  which  she  had  been 
described. 

The  Princess,  indeed,  admitted  that  the  lost  letters  contained 
free  but  confidential  remarks  of  the  kind.  There  were  highly  sus- 
picious circumstances  in  the  case.  When  the  clergyman  gave  up 
his  journey,  he  dispatched  the  packet  as  a  common  parcel,  book- 
ing it,  he  said,  by  the  Brighton  coach.  He  addressed  it  to  Lady 
Jerse3%  who  was  with  the  Princess  at  Brighton.  As  the  Princess 
had  placed  the  packet  in  his  hands,  he  might  have  thought  it  was 
important  enough  to  be  returned  in  a  more  formal  manner  than  by 
a  common  carrier. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  parcel  was  regularly  "booked"  and 
directed  to  Lady  Jersey,  so  it  would  not  have  been  difficult  to 
trace  it.  There  were  recriminations  on  all  sides,  but  the  matter 
was  never  cleared  up;  and  it  was  rather  happily  said  that  Lord 
Jersey's  vindication  wanted  but  one  thing  to  make  it  satisfactory, 
viz.  "his  avowal  that  he  knew  nothing  at  all  about  the  matter." 
Altogether  a  most  significant  token  of  the  happy  relations  in  the 
royal  family. 

Every  day  the  Princess's  position  was  indeed  growing  more  dis- 
14 


314  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

tressing.  She  was  soon  to  be  confined,  and  this,  it  might  be  sup- 
posed, would  secure  her  more  indulgence.  She  complained  piteously 
to  a  German  friend  of  the  dislike  of  the  Queen  and  her  sisters-in- 
law;  that  whatever  she  did  was  misrepresented.  The  people  alone 
were  kind. 

While  thus  engaged  in  domestic  troubles,  a  strange  sympathy 
for  the  Irish  nation  seized  on  the  Prince.  He  had  not  forgotten 
the  compliment  paid  to  him  by  the  Irish  Parliament,  when  the 
Regency  was  impending.  He  had  latterly  been  thrown  a  good 
deal  with  some  of  the  patriots.  Mr.  Grattan  and  Lady  Louisa 
Connolly,  Lord  Colchester  tells  us,  actually  persuaded  him  that  he 
ought  to  be  appointed  Viceroy  of  Ireland.  It  is  stated,  indeed, 
that  a  foi-mal  request  to  this  effect,  signed  by  Grattan,  was  ten- 
dered to  him,  praying  him  to  undertake  the  government  of  the 
country.  On  this  subject  he  himself  addressed  Mr.  Pitt  in  some 
lengthy  letters,  setting  out  the  dangerous  state  of  the  country,  and 
volunteering  to  go  and  pacify  it.  The  minister  declined  to  make 
any  such  representation  to  his  Majesty. 

Nearly  thirty  years  later,  when  as  George  IV.  he  was  strenuously 
resisting  Catholic  emancipation,  and  distracting  the  ministry  by 
his  vehement  opposition,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  seems  to  have 
"looked  up"  these  rather  compromising  documents,  no  doubt 
with  a  view  to  refute  the  theory  that  the  King  had  always  been  a 
"  Protestant  Prince." 

Everything  in  the  first  of  these  documents  is  in  the  Prince's 
peculiar  style;  the  abundance  of  italicized  words  is  all  his  own. 
No  doubt  the  topics  and  arguments  had  been  supplied  to  him  by 
his  Irish  friends. 

MEMOBIAL  TO  MR.   PITT  FROM  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

"London,  8th  Feb.,  1797. 

"  I  trust  that  the  importance  of  the  subject,  added  to  the  interest  I 
must  naturally  feel  in  the  safety  and  welfare  of  tJie  State,  as  well  as 
in  whatever  affects  the  Iwnor  of  his  Majesty's  Crown,  and  the  happi 
ness  and  prosperity  of  my  father's  reign,  will  apologize  for  the 
desire  I  feel  to  call  the  attention  of  ministers  to  the  following  con 
siderations: 

"The  situation  of  Ireland  at  this  moment  demands  their  most 
serious  attention,  and  ought  to  engage  them  to  leave  nothing  un- 
done  to  prevent  the  calamities  that  would  arise  to  Great  Britain 
tTGm&civilwar,     The  value  and  importaiu  r  nf  Ik  land  cannot  be 


The  life  of  george  iv.  315 

adequately  estimated  or  sufficiently  prized;  and  its  loss  or  separa- 
tion would  be  the  most  mortal  blow  that  this  kingdom  could  re- 
ceive. This  is  well  known  to  every  man  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  relative  situations  of  the  two  kingdoms. 

"The  French  Government  appears  to  be  now  thoroughly  ap- 
prised of  this  truth;  and  by  their  late  expedition,  fitted  out  at 
a  prodigious  expense,  and  sent  in  the  depth  of  winter,  when  an 
attempt  on  the  Irish  coast  was  generally  deemed  impracticable, 
they  have  shown  that  they  thus  consider  no  expense  too  great,  no  risk 
sufficient  to  deter  them  from  the  prosecution  of  the  plans  they  have 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  depriving  Great  Britain  of  the  aid,  sup- 
port, and  advantages  derived  from  Ireland.  The  first  attempt  has 
failed;  but  the  French,  by  an  enterprise  unequalled  in  their  history, 
have  gained  advantages  that  would  more  than  compensate  them 
for  the  loss  of  the  whole  expedition,  if  every  ship  had  perished  in 
the  storm.  They  have  destroyed  the  security  we  enjoyed  from  ouf 
insular,situation.  They  have  proved,  by  an  experiment,  that  our 
coasts  may  be  attempted  with  impunity  by  an  inferior  fleet,  and 
have  destroyed  a  prepossession  that  had  grown  venerable  by  age,  and 
was  worthy  a  fleet  of  50  sail  and  50,000  men  to  this  kingdom;  but 
they  could  not  attempt  an  invasion  without  having  heat  our  flset 
and  being  masters  at  sea.  From  the  circumstances  of  a  part  of  the 
Toulon  fleet  having  been  brought  round  to  Brest,  and  of  the  prepa- 
rations being  continued  in  that  port  subsequent  to  the  sailing  of 
the  expedition  under  Hoclie,  in  December,  there  is  reason  to  con- 
clude that  the  plan  was  of  a  very  extensive  and  alarming  nature; 
and  if  the  first  landing  had  taken  place,  that  it  would  have  been 
followed  up  and  supported  by  successive  expeditions,  either  to  act  in 
concert  with  the  first,  or  to  divide  our  attention  and  strength  by  a 
diversion  in  the  coasts  of  England  or  Scotland. 

"  So  far  their  intentions  appear  manifest,  and  from  the  continu- 
ance of  the  preparations  in  their  channel  ports,  as  well  as  their 
avowed  declarations  and  the  aspect  of  affairs  on  tlie  Continent,  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  attempt  will  he  renewed;  and  however 
they  may  threaten  or  infest  the  coasts  of  this  kingdom,  that  Ireland 
will  he  the  point  of  their  operations.  This  might  have  been  doubtful 
before  the  late  attempt ;  it  can  scarcely  be  so  now. 

"The  French  have  declared  that  they  went  to  Ireland  as  friends, 
and  not  as  enemies.  1  hope  they  would  have  been  deceived  in  their 
expectations.  But  still  the  opinion  must  have  been  formed  either 
from  direct  communications  from  that  country,  or  from  known  cir- 


316  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

cumstances  operating  to  discontent  in  that  kingdom;  or  lastly,  from 
a  conviction  arising  out  of  the  former  of  their  being  able  to  propose 
superior  advantages  to  Ireland  from  a  connection  with  them. 

"  That  the  French  have  been  excited  by  direct  communications 
from  Ireland,  there  is  reason  to  suppose,  from  the  number  of  dis- 
tricts in  the  north  of  that  kingdom  that  have  been  pi'oclaimed  by 
Government  to  be  in  a  state  of  insurrection. 

"I  shall  not  question  the  wisdom  or  policy  of  such  proclamations. 
If  they  do  not  originate  in  party  disputes  and  private  quarrels,  they 
increase  and  extend  them;  and  one  dangerous  effect  of  them  is 
evident:  they  render  the  proclaimed  districts  desperate,  and  give 
encouragement  to  a  foreign  enemy.  And  if  I  am  rightly  informed, 
the  districts  so  proclaimed  are  not  the  most  dissatisfied  or  the  most 
dangerous  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

"  I  understand  that  the  town  of  Belfast,  though  not  proclaimed, 
is  in  reality  the  centre  of  dissatisfaction,  and  perhaps  I  might  sa}' 
disaffection;  and  that  the  wealthy  and  independent  Presbyterians 
of  the  north  are  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  secret  machinations  that 
agitate  the  kingdom. 

' '  "Whatever  the  private  views  of  the  leaders  may  be,  they  have  hitli  • 
erto  confined  themselves  to  demand  a  Parliamentai'y  Reform.  In 
this  they  have  acted  artfully,  by  comprehending  the  Roman  Catholic 
claims  in  their  demands,  and  thus  forming  two  bodies,  hitherto 
opposed,  into  one,  under  the  title  of  United  Irishmen. 

"  If  the  secret  object  of  this  union  be  a  revolution  in  the  Govern- 
ment and  a  separation  from  Great  Britain,  as  there  is  too  much  rea- 
son to  apprehend,  it  is  alarming  from  its  object  and  formidable  from 
its  numbers;  and  a  moment  should  not  be  lost  to  disunite  its  mem- 
bers, particularly  as  I  hope  the  Roman  Catholics  are  not,  as  yet,  to 
any  degree  tainted  with  disaffection,  though  they  may  be  led  by 
degrees  to  go  ihefull  lengths  WMth  the  Presbytenans, 

"  If  it  be  alleged  that  very  few  indulgences  remain  to  be  granted 
to  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  those  not  of  a  nature  to  interest  the 
multitude,  I  should  say  that  the  man  is  little  acquainted  with  human 
nature,  who  does  not  know  that  mankind  is  more  guided  by  ])ride 
and  passion  than  by  interest,  and  that  an  affront  operates  more  for- 
cibly than  an  injury.  Besides,  the  rich  and  powerful  few  in  this 
case  influence  the  thoughtless  and  unreflecting  many;  and  the  term 
emancipation,  applicable  only  to  a  state  of  slavery,  is  selected  on 
this  occasion  to  indicate  the  general  sense  entertained  and  propa- 
gated on  that  head  among  the  people. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  317 

"Without,  therefore,  entering  into  a  fruitless  inquiry  whether 
the  discontent  on  this  score  be  just  and  founded,  it  is  sufficient  that 
the  discontent  exists,  and  that  the  party  in  Ireland  who  are  sus- 
pected of  Republican  principles,  and  of  being  inclined  to  a  connec- 
tion with  France,  make  use  of  this  grievance,  supposed  or  real,  to 
attach  the  Roman  Catholics  to  their  views  and./(9rm  a  common  cause. 

"Without  also  entering  into  the  policy  of  withholding  or  refus- 
ing these  concessions  on  former  occasions,  I  shall  only  say  that  cir- 
cumstances may  render  it  prudent  to  grant  at  one  time  what  has 
been  refused  at  another,  and  that  without  any  inconsistency ;  and, 
therefore,  without  any  retrospect  to  what  is  past,  I  feel  myself 
called  upon  to  declare  my  decided  opinion  that  no  time  ought  to  he 
lost  in  repealing  einery  exclusive  restnction  and  disqualification  on  the 
Irish  Roman  Catholics.  If  formerly  the  suprema  lex  justified  these 
prohibitor}^  statutes — and  on  no  other  principle  can  they  be  justified 
—I  am  persuaded  that  it  now  imperiously  demands  their  repeal. 
The  Irish  Roman  Catholics  are  naturally  loyal  and  attached  to 
monarchy;  they  have  behaved  well  in  a  distinguished  manner  on 
the  late  threatened  invasion.  The  affectionate  attachment  and  zeal 
they  have  shown  on  that  trying  occasion  deserve  every  possible 
return  from  the  throne;  and  any  concession  granted  in  consequence 
will  appear  a  reward  for  past  services,  and  encourage  to  future 
exertion;  and,  above  all,  by  exciting  warm  and  grateful  sentiments, 
for  which  the  Irish  are  particularly  distinguished,  it  may  be  fairly 
expected  that  such  a  measure  would  detach  the  Roman  Catholics 
from  the  disaffected  party,  without  appearing  to  have  tliat  for  its 
object. 

"If  this  measure  be  adopted,  I  should  express  my  wish  and 
readiness  to  undertake  the  government  of  Ireland — gi'eat  and 
arduous  as  the  task  appears  under  the  present  circumstances — with 
a  view  of  securing  the  full  benefit  of  this  concession  to  the  throne, 
and  in  the  hopes  of  more  firmly  attaching  that  valuable  kingdom 
to  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  animating  the  spirit  of  that  loyal 
and  affectionate,  people  to  the  most  powerful  exertions  against  our 
desperate  enemy,*  if  they  should  again  renew  their 'attempts  upon 
that  kingdom. 

"  I  am  thoroughly  aware  of  the  great  responsibility  that  attaches 
to  ministers  on  the  score  of  Ireland.  If  my  opinion  be  adopted,  I 
am  willing  to  share  that  responsibility  with  them;  if  it  is  not,  it  mu^i 
remain  with  them.  I  recommend  it  to  them  to  grant  this  boon  before 
it  is  asked.    If  it  is  asked,  it  must  be  granted ;  but  it  will  then 


318  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

appear  extorted  from  our  fear,  and  not  granted  from  our  affection, 
and  the  whole  benefit  will  be  lost.  I  recommend  a  preventim  meas- 
ure, and  request  them  to  weigh  it  with  the  consideration  its  impor- 
tance requires.  The  interval  of  suspended  invasion  is  favorable,  and 
should  be  improved  with  the  most  sedulous  attention,  in  order  to 
adopt  this  and  such  other  measures  as  promise  most  effectually  to 
divert  the  impending  storm  or  to  break  its  force. 

''l&h^W  at  present  torheoT  to  consider  the  other  measures  i]iiii  it 
may  be  proper  to  adopt  for  conciliating  the  affections  and  extinguish- 
ing the  dissensions  that  agitate  parts  of  that  kingdom,  as  likewise 
the  relative  advantages  that  may  be  held  out  by  France  and  Spain 
to  Ireland  on  the  score  of  commercial  intercourse.  These  are  sub- 
jects of  great  importance,  that  will  naturally  present  themselves  to 
the  judgment  and  penetration  of  ministers. 

"  I  cannot  suppose  that  they  will  impute  the  loyal  behavior  of  the 
Irish  Roman  Catholics  on  the  late  occasion  to  a  perfect  acquiescence 
in  the  situation,  and  from  thence  infer  that  the  pi'esent  system  should 
be  continued.  So  perverse  a  mode  of  reasoning  may  prove  fatal  in  a 
future  trial,  as  it  is  aggravating  injustice  with  insult.  Neither  do  I 
believe  that,  from  the  appearance  of  zeal  and  loyalty  exhibited  by 
all  ranks,  they  will  infer  that  there  is  neither  dissatisfaction  nor  dis- 
affection in  that  kingdom,  though  they  did  not  break  out  into  open 
action  while  the  fate  of  the  French  expedition  was  uncertain.  What 
might  have  happened  if  the  expedition  had  succeeded,  and  the  French 
landed  in  force,  may  be  more  doubtful.  I  fear  it  is  too  well  known 
that  both  do  exist  to  a  considerable  degree;  and  their  not  having 
burst  out  into  acts  of  violence  proves  only  more  caution  and  pru- 
dence than  were  to  be  expected,  but  leaves  us  ignorant  of  the  magni- 
tude and  extent  of  the  danger,  G.  P. " 

SECOND  MEMORIAL  ADDRESSED  TO  MR.  PITT. 

"  Carlton  House,  May  29th,  1797. 

"In  the  beginning  of  last  February  I  transmitted  to  his  Majesty's 
ministers  my  thoughts  on  the  state  of  Ireland,  recommending  to  the 
Cabinet  conciliatory  measures,  as  they  appeared  to  me  indispensa- 
bly necessary  in  order  to  secure  the  well-affected,  to  attach  the 
minds  of  the  Irish  nation  to  the  Crown,  and  to  prevent  civil  war 
and  rebellion,  of  which  symptoms  had  even  then  appeared  in  that 
kingdom. 

"  I  had  the  mortification  to  find  the  measures  I  recommended  dis- 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  319 

approved  of,  and  that  a  system  of  coercion  was  to  be  pursued  in  the 
government  of  Ireland.  Lamenting  the  adoption  of  such  a  system, 
and  deploring  the  consequences  that  it  must  necessarily  produce,  I 
have  notwithstanding  preserved  silence  hitherto  on  the  subject,  that 
ministers  might  give  that  system  a  fair  trial.  But,  having  now  done 
so,  and  the  menacing  circumstances  increasing  every  day,  I  should 
consider  a  further  silent  acquiescence  as  betraying  the  dearest  inter- 
ests both  of  my  king  and  country ;  for  I  regard  it  as  the  first  duty 
imposed  on  me  by  my  situation  to  endeavor,  by  every  means  in  my 
power,  to  prevent  the  effusion  of  civil  blood,  and  to  avert  the  mis- 
fortunes incident  on  a  rebellion  in  Ireland  and  the  loss  of  that 
kingdom. 

' '  In  the  month  of  February  last  I  could  only  state  what  I  con- 
ceived to  be  the  probable  consequences  of  neglecting  to  adopt  con- 
ciliatory measures.  I  can  now  appeal  to  the  report  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Secrecy  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  on  certain  papers 
seized  in  Belfast  on  the  14th  April  last,  and  laid  before  the  House 
on  the  29th  of  that  month. 

"The  report  is  deficient  as  to  dates;  but  it  appears  from  it  that 
the  Society  of  United  Irishmen  had  been  formed  as  early  as  1791, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  separating  Ireland  from  Great  Britain.  It 
appears  also,  by  a  return  dated  December  7th,  1796,  that  the  above 
society  had  at  that  period  gained  59,688  adherents  in  the  province  of 
Ulster.  From  the  month  of  October,  1796,  the  system  of  coercion 
had  been  rigorously  pursued  without  interruption  or  opposition  from 
any  quarter.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  strength  and  loyalty  of 
the  kingdom  have  been  called  forth,  and  corps  of  yeomanry  em- 
bodied throughout  the  kingdom,  for  the  purpose  of  strengthening 
the  hands  of  Government. 

"And  yet,  notwithstanding  every  effort  of  administration  backed 
by  a  great  military  force,  the  report  states  that  in  four  months,  from 
December  to  April,  the  number  of  United  Irishmen  had  increased 
from  59,688  to  99,411;  and  the  county  of  Meath,  one  of  the  most 
turbulent  in  the  kingdom,  is  included  in  the  former  and  not  in  the 
latter;  if  it  had,  the  numbers  would  have  nearly  doubled.  The 
fair  conclusion  is,  that  the  system  of  coercion  had  in  four  months 
spread  as  great  disaffection  to  the  Government  as  the  Society  of 
United  Irishmen  had  been  able  to  do  in  the  five  preceding  years. 

"So  alarming  an  increase  can  alone  be  accounted  for  by  the 
avowal  of  this  system,  coupled  with  the  declaration  of  the  Irish 
ministers  in  both  Houses  of  Piwliament  in  that  kingdom — that  no 


320  THE  LIFE  OF  GFOBQE  IV. 

further  concessions  would  be  made  by  Government  to  the  Roman 
Catholics;  a  declaration  that  I  must  condemn  as  unwise  and  im- 
politic, and  originating  in  unparalleled  ingratitude  to  a  description 
of  men  who  had  shown  the  greatest  zeal,  loyalty,  and  sound  prin- 
ciples by  their  distinguished  exertions  in  the  public  cause  when  their 
country  was  threatened  with  a  French  invasion. 

"  If  a  French  fleet  should  again  visit  the  coasts  of  Ireland,  could 
ministers  depend  on  the  cordial  co-operation  of  the  Irish  Roman 
Catholics,  as  in  the  month  of  December  last?  and,  if  not,  I  must 
infer  that  the  neglecting  the  measures  of  conciliation  that  I  recom- 
mended, and  pursuing  an  opposite  system,  have  actually  alienated 
the  affections  of  the  then  loyal  and  friendly  Roman  Catholics  of 
that  kingdom. 

'•  The  papers  of  the  Ulster  committee  only  have  been  seized,  and 
the  report  is  consequently  confined  to  that  province.  It  throws  no 
light  on  the  state  of  the  other  three  provinces,  in  which  the  propor- 
tion of  Roman  Catholics  is  much  greater  than  in  Ulster;  so  that  I 
think  it  will  not  appear  exaggerated  if  we  allow  that  they  may  con- 
tain 100,000  more  of  United  Irishmen. 

"If,  then,  ministers  advert  to  the  rapidity  with  which  this  society 
have  gained  converts  to  their  principles,  and  make  any  allowance 
for  their  further  extension,  I  should  recommend  it  to  them  to 
weigh  again  the  probability  of  success  in  pursuing  a  system  of 
coercion.  That  system  was  fully  and  fatally  tried  in  America,  and 
failed.  The  Irish  are  a  brave  and  high-spirited  people,  and  more 
numerous  than  the  Americans  were  at  the  commencement  of  hos- 
tilities. France  is  more  in  a  situation  to  give  them  assistance  and 
support;  and  Great  Britain,  by  the  very  defection  of  Ireland,  less 
able  to  carry  on  a  contest,  weakened  as  she  is  by  the  expensive 
struggles  of  the  last  four  years. 

"There  are  many  circumstances  that  ministers  will  further  take 
into  consideration  that  have  occurred  since  February  last,  to  which 
it  is  sufficient  to  advert  without  enlarging  on  them,  as,  the  temper 
of  the  navy  and  array,  and  the  number  of  Irishmen  in  both;  the 
peace  agreed  on  between  the  Emperor  and  France;  above  all,  the 
certainty  that  the  Irish  militia  have  been  tampered  with,  and  the 
danger  of  their  joining  their  countrymen  in  the  case  of  open  insur- 
rection. 

"But  in  one  view  it  is  sufficient  that  the  disaffection  of  numerous 
bodies  of  men  in  Ireland  is  proved  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  report. 
I  consequently  appeal  to  ministers  if  any  system  of  coercion,  how- 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 

;£^LFFon!*^ 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  JV.  821 

ever  successful,  can  remove  that  disaffection;  and  if  his  Majesty's 
ministers  be  not  called  on  to  try  every  possible  means  to  satisfy 
the  people  by  removing  the  causes  of  the  dissatisfaction;  and  to 
endeavor  to  regain  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the  Irish  nation 
before  an  open  rebellion  widens  the  breach;  for  conciliatory  meas- 
ures must,  in  any  supposed  issue  to  the  contest,  be  resorted  to  at 
last;  and  what  must  be  resorted  to  after  bloodshed,  and  all  the  hor- 
rors of  a  civil  war,  ought  to  be  tried  at  least  in  the  first  instance  to 
prevent  them. 

"That  the  Irish  will  rise  in  their  demands  every  day  that  arrange- 
ment is  deferred,  is  very  certain.  That  the  same  measures  that 
might  have  satisfied  them  in  February  last,  may  not  do  so  now,  I 
am  inclined  to  suspect.  But  I  have  but  one  decided  opinion,  that 
no  time  should  be  lost  in  still  trying  conciliatory  measures  to  the 
utmost  extent,  A  strong  military  force  may  secure  temporary  ad- 
vantages; but  no  force  can  long  coerce  a  nation  of  four  millions  of 
people,  united  in  sentiment  and  interests. 

"I  must  once  more  earnestly  recommend  conciliatory  measures, 
and  I  adjure  you  to  pause  on  the  awful  brink  of  civil  war,  and  to 
avert  its  fatal  consequences.  Dissatisfaction  is  fast  spreading  in 
this  kingdom,  from  a  variety  of  causes;  and  a  civil  war  with  Ireland 
would  certainly  increase  it,  and  produce  great  divisions  and  differ- 
ences of  sentiment,  the  consequence  of  which  may  extend  far  beyond 
what  human  prudence  can  foresee  or  calculate. 

"I  request  that  this  paper  maybe  commended  to  the  Cabinet, 
and  I  wish  it  to  be  considered  as  containing  my  decided  sentiments 
on  the  subject  of  Ireland.  G.  P." 

14*    . 


322  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

1796. 

On  January  7th,  1796,  at  twenty  minutes  past  nine,  the  Princess 
of  Wales  was  delivered  of  a  daughter.  The  Duke  of  Leeds,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  other  noble  persons  were  in  attend- 
ance all  night.  The  shaggy-browed  Thurlow  was  present  by  the 
Prince's  invitation.  The  Princess  was  in  a  critical  w^ay  for  a  time, 
and  it  was  rumored  that  "her  life  was  saved  by  the  intelligent 
friendship  of  a  distinguished  statesman."  The  agitation  of  the 
Prince  was  conspicuous,  and  indeed  the  excitement  which  was 
part  of  his  character  seems  to  have  actually  led  him  to  devotion.* 
This  amiable  agitation  would  have  been  more  sincere  had  it  been 
supported  by  acts;  but  it  is  painful  to  have  to  relate  that  as  the 
crisis  drew  near  h6  did  not  show  any  delicate  consideration  for  her 
situation.  Thus  his  angry  father  shortly  after  the  event  addressed 
him  this  reproof: 

the  king  to  the  prince  of  wales. 

"[Georgius  Rex.] 

"The  professions  you  have  lately  made  in  your  letters  of 
your  particular  regard  to  me  are  so  contradictory  to  your  actions, 
that  I  cannot  suffer  myself  to  be  imposed  upon  by  them.  You 
know  very  well  you  did  not  give  the  least  intimation  to  me  or  to 
the  Queen  that  the  Princess  was  with  child  till  within  a  month  of 
the  birth  of  the  young  Princess. 

"  You  removed  the  Princess  twice  in  the  week  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  day  of  her  delivery  from  the  place  of  my  residence,  in 
expectation  (as  you  voluntarily  declared)  of  her  labor;  and  both 
times,  upon  your  return,  you  industriously  concealed  from  the 


♦With  a  due  sense  of  that  religion,"  says  an  admirer,  "the  exercise  of 
which  had  thrown  such  a  pure  and  unsullied  splendor  over  a  wellHspent  life, 
he  morning  and  night,  surrounded  by  his  family,  offered  up  his  prayere  to 
that  Being  who  "  can  soothe  the  pangs  of  the  mother  and  still  the  cries  of  the 
infant."— Huish,  "  Life  of  Princess  Charlotte,"  i.  U, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  323 

knowledge  of  me  and  the  Queen  every  circumstance  relating  to 
this  important  affair;  and  you  at  last,  without  giving  notice  to  me 
or  to  the  Queen,  precipitately  hurried  the  Princess  from  Hampton 
Court  in  a  condition  not  to  be  named.  After  having  thus,  in 
execution  of  your  own  determined  measures,  exposed  both  the 
Princess  and  her  child  to  the  greatest  perils,  you  now  plead  sur- 
prise and  tenderness  for  the  Princess  as  the  only  motives  that  oc- 
casioned these  repeated  indignities  to  me,  and  to  the  Queen  your 
mother. 

"This  extravagant  and  ungrateful  behavior  in  so  essential  a 
point  as  the  birth  of  an  heir  to  my  crown,  is  such  an  evidence  of 
your  premeditated  defiance  of  me  and  contempt  of  my  authority, 
and  of  the  natural  right  belonging  to  your  parents,  as  cannot  be 
excused  by  the  pretended  innocence  of  your  intentions,  nor  palli- 
ated or  disguised  by  specious  words  only;  but  the  whole  tenor  of 
your  conduct  for  a  considerable  time  has  been  so  entirely  void  of 
all  real  duty  to  me,  that  I  have  long  had  reason  to  be  highly 
offended  with  you;  and  until  you  withdraw  your  regard  and  con- 
fidence from  those  by  whose  instigation  and  advice  you  are  aided 
and  encouraged  in  your  unwarrantable  behavior  to  me  and  to  the 
Queen,  and  until  you  return  to  your  duty,  you  shall  not  reside  in 
my  palace,  which  I  will  not  suffer  to  be  made  the  resort  of  them 
who,  under  the  appearance  of  an  attachment  to  you,  foment  the 
division  which  you  have  made  in  my  family,  and  thereby  weakened 
the  common  interest  of  the  whole. 

"In  this  situation  I  will  receive  no  reply;  but  when  your  actions 
manifest  a  just  sense  of  your  duty  and  submission,  that  may  induce 
me  to  pardon  what  at  present  I  most  justly  resent. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  it  is  my  pleasure  that  you  leave  St.  James's 
with  all  your  family  when  it  can  be  done  without  prejudice  or  in- 
convenience to  the  Princess. 

' '  I  shall  for  the  present  leave  to  the  Princess  the  care  of  my 
granddaughter,  until  a  proper  time  calls  upon  me  to  consider  of  her 
education.  G.  R."* 

On  February  lltli  the  royal  child  was  christened  Charlotte 
Augusta,  destined  with  her  father  and  mother,  uncle  and  aunt,  to 
form  one  ill-fated  circle.  The  name  Charlotte  was  chosen  in  com- 
pliment to  the  Queen;  Augusta,  in  honor  of  her  mother  and  grand- 
mother. 

*  '*  Memoirs  of  Iiord  brougham,"  il.  155, 


324  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

There  were  of  course  great  rejoicings,  but  it  ^vas  unfortunate  that 
even  on  this  occasion  tlie  Prince's  humor  should  have  drawn  him 
into  a  foolish  embarrassment.  The  Corporation  of  London  desiring 
to  present  an  address,  were  informed  that  the  Prince,  having  now 
reduced  his  establishment,  was  unable  to  receive  their  address  "  in 
a  manner  suitable  to  his  situation."  It  was  intimated  that  the  ad- 
dress might  be  sent  to  him.  The  Common  Council  immediately 
passed  a  resolution  to  the  effect  that  it  was  inconsistent  with  their 
dignity  to  present  it  in  any  but  the  usual  way.  The  Prince, 
alarmed,  sent  for  the  Lord  Mayor  to  explain.  "His  royal  high- 
ness," said  this  functionary,  "declared  that  his  sentiments,  he  con- 
ceived, had  been  mistaken  or  misunderstood,  or  at  least  a  very 
different  construction  had  been  given  to  them  than  he  meant,  or 
was  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  that  letter.  He  thought  it  incum- 
bent on  him  to  preserve  a  consistent  character;  that  as  his  establish- 
ment, for  certain  reasons,  had  been  reduced,  and  that  the  necessary 
state  appendages  attached  to  the  character  and  rank  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  did  not  in  consequence  exist,  his  royal  highness  conceived 
he  could  not  receive  an  address  in  state,  and  particularly  from  the 
Corporation  of  the  City  of  London,  for  which  he  entertained  the 
highest  veneration  and  respect."  In  situations  like  this  he  could 
always  acquit  himself  gracefully  enough. 

Scarcely  was  the  Princess  recovered  when  the  old  state  of  things 
was  renewed.  The  Prince  quitted  Carlton  House,  and  removed  to 
Windsor  about  the  middle  of  March.  This  was  what  Lord  Col- 
chester calls  "an  open  difference,"  though  at  the  opera  they  were 
noticed  to  affect  an  extraordinary  cordiality.  The  same  peer  de- 
clares she  was  used  unpardonably — obliged  to  dine  alone,  seeing  no 
one  but  old  people  selected  for  her  by  the  Queen  and  Lady  Jersey, 
who  were  on  excellent  terms.  Neither  was  she  allowed  to  go  any- 
where except  to  take  airings  in  the  Park.  Angered  at  last  by  this 
treatment,  she  began  to  utter  complaints,  appealing  now  to  the 
King,  now  to  the  Prince,  who  for  many  weeks  had  not  seen  her. 
The  reply  she  received  through  Lady  Cholmondeley  was  that  "  they 
ought  to  separate!"  This  proposal  seems  to  have  been  repeatedly 
made,  but  she  declared  she  would  be  quite  happy  to  live  with  him, 
provided  a  change  was  made  in  his  behavior.  In  April,  as  she 
herself  said  to  her  friend,  "Well,  after  I  lay  in— je  vous  jure,  'tis 
true,  upon  my  honor,  upon  my  soul  'tis  true— I  received  a  message 
through  Lord  Cholmondeley  to  tell  me  I  never  was  to  have  do 
great  honor  of  inhabiting  de  same  room  wid  ray  husband  again,     I 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  325 

said  •  '  Very  well :  but  as  my  memory  was  short,  I  begged  to  have 
dis  polite  message  in  writing  from  him.'     I  had  it,  and  was  free."  * 
The  extraordinary  letter  that  was  sent  to  her  is  well  known. 

' '  Madam, 

"As  Lord  Cholmondeley  informs  me  that  you  wish  I  would 
define,  in  writing,  the  terms  upon  which  we  are  to  live,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  explain  myself  on  that  head  with  as  much  clearness 
and  with  as  much  propriety  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  will  admit. 
Our  inclinations  are  not  in  our  power,  nor  should  either  of  us  be 
held  answerable  to  the  other  because  nature  has  not  made  us  suit- 
able to  each  other.  Tranquil  and  comfortable  society  is,  however, 
m  our  power;  let  our  intercourse,  therefore,  be  restricted  to  that, 
and  I  will  distinctly  subscribe  to  the  condition  which  you  required 
through  Lady  Cholmondeley,  that  even  in  the  event  of  any  accident 
happening  to  my  daughter  (which  I  trust  Providence  in  its  mercy 
will  avert)  I  shall  not  infringe  the  terms  of  the  restriction  by  pro 
posing,  at  any  period,  a  connection  of  a  more  particular  nature.  I 
shall  now  finally  close  this  disagreeable  correspondence,  trusting 
that,  as  we  have  completely  explained  ourselves  to  each  other,  the 
rest  of  our  lives  will  be  passed  in  uninterrupted  tranquillity. 
"I  am.  Madam, 
"With  great  truth,  very  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P. 

•'Windsor  Castle,  April  30th,  1796." 

This  cynical  document  is  unique,  the  most  unpleasant  portion 
being  the  pious  appeal  to  "Providence  in  its  mercy"  and  the  con- 
venient principles  of  morality  laid  down.  To  this  she  replies  in 
French  on  May  6,  and  the  letters  afford  a  strange  contrast : 

"  The  avowal  of  your  conversation  with  Lord  Cholmondeley 
neither  surprises  nor  offends  me.  It  merely  confirmed  what  you 
have  tacitly  insinuated  for  this  twelvemonth.  But  after  this  it 
would  be  a  want  of  delicacy,  or  rather  an  unworthy  meanness  in 
me,  were  I  to  complain  of  those  conditions  which  you  impose  upon 
yourself, 

"  I  should  have  returned  no  answer  to  your  letter  if  it  had  not 
been  conceived  in  terms  to  make  it  doubtful  whether  this  arrange- 

♦  "  Diarj'  of  George  IV.,"  i.  37. 


326  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

raent  proceeds  from  you  or  from  me;  and  you  are  aware  that  the 
credit  of  it  belongs  to  you  alone. 

"  The  letter  which  you  announce  to  me  as  the  last  obliges  me  to 
communicate  to  the  King,  as  to  my  sovereign  and  my  father,  both 
your  avowal  and  my  answer.  You  will  find  enclosed  the  copy  of 
my  letter  to  the  King.  I  apprise  you  of  it,  that  I  may  not  incur 
the  slightest  reproach  of  duplicity  from  you.  As  I  have  at  this 
moment  no  protector  but  his  Majesty,  I  refer  myself  solely  to  him 
upon  this  subject;  and  if  my  conduct  meets  his  approbation  I  shall 
be  in  some  degree  at  least  consoled.  I  retain  every  sentiment  of 
gratitude  for  the  situation  in  which  I  find  myself  as  Princess  of 
Wales;  enabled,  by  your  means,  to  indulge  in  the  free  exercise  of 
a  virtue  dear  to  my  heart — I  mean  charity. 

"  It  will  be  my  duty  likewise  to  act  upon  another  motive,  that 
of  giving  an  example  of  patience  and  resignation  under  every  trial. 

"  Do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  I  shall  never  cease  to  pray  for 
your  happiness,  and  to  be  Your  much  devoted 

(Signed)  "Caroline. 

"May  6, 1796." 

The  delay  of  nearly  a  week  was  owing  to  her  deliberations  as  to 
which  course  she  was  to  take.  She  thought  first  of  writing  to  her 
parents,  and  even  of  returning  to  them;  then  of  appealing  to  the 
King  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation.  Lord  Cholmondeley  gave  her 
to  understand  with  much  politeness  the  Prince  disliked  her  too  cor- 
dially to  think  of  such  a  thing.  The  King  did  make  some  attempts 
at  arrangement,  but  matters  had  gone  too  far.  He  suggested  an 
arrangement  that  she  should  have  an  allowance  of  £20,000;  but, 
advised  by  friends  who  were  beginning  to  gather  about  her,  she 
rejected  the  pension,  and  declared  that  her  bills  should  be  sent  to 
the  Prince;*  and  some  rooms  were  to  be  kept  for  her  at  Carlton 
House,  as  a  sort  of  pied  de  terre,  the  Prince  retiring  to  Windsor  or 
Brighton.     Thus  was  war  declared. 

There  could  be  but  one  opinion  on  the  behavior  of  the  husband 
that  could  come  to  an  irreconcilable  breach  with  his  wife  within 
the  first  year.  His  defence,  "that  he  had  taken  a  dislike  to  her," 
or,  as  he  put  it,  "our  inclinations  are  not  in  our  power" — almost 
childish — puts  him  out  of  court.  The  honest  public,  which  soon 
learned  the  truth,  at  once  took  her  side.     At  the  opera  she  was  ap- 

•Lloyd,  p.  221. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  327 

plauded  "with  a  transport  of  affectionate  respect."  She  came 
attended  by  her  ladies — Lady  Carnarvon  and  Mrs.  Pitzroy — and 
with  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  to  whom  she  said  she  supposed  the  public 
had  "been  acquainted  with  what  was  very  trop  vrai/'  that  "the 
Prince  had  not  spoken  to  her  for  three  months  past,  but  that  she 
had  nothing  to  reproach  herself  with."  The  Duke  of  Leeds,  in  his 
"Memoranda,"  describes  her  agitation  and  even  alarm  at  this  recep- 
tion, and  her  natural  remark  that  when  the  Prince  came  to  town 
"she  supposed  she  would  be  guillotined  for  what  had  passed  that 
evening."  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  treatment,  she  still  pressed 
for  reconciliation;  only  firmly  stipulating  that  the  chief  cause  of 
their  difference  should  be  dismissed  from  her  service.* 

At  this  time  it  is  clearly  shown  that  the  Princess  was  driven  by  a 
consistent  course  of  ill-treatment  to  the  follies  of  her  later  life.  All 
her  friends  now  were  people  known  for  their  rank,  respectability, 
and  character.  Even  the  rude  Thurlow  thus  spoke  of  her  to  the 
Duke  of  Leeds :  "He  thought  with  me  the  Prince's  strange  con- 
duct could  only  be  imputed  to  madness,  and  expressed  himself  as 
much  struck  by  the  good  sense  and  discretion  of  the  Princess.  He 
declared  the  letter  to  the  King,  for  which  he  very  undeservedly  had 
the  credit,  was  written  by  the  Princess  of  her  own  will,  and,  though 
in  his  presence,  without  assistance  from  him."  She  made  a  very 
humble  and  most  proper  appeal  to  the  Prince,  to  be  relieved  from 
her  attendance;  also  to  the  King.  Her  request  could  not  be  re-^ 
fused,  as  the  public  were  now  beginning  to  clamor  against  the 
mdecency  of  the  proceeding.  The  King,  in  a  fatherly  and  admira- 
ble letter,  advised  another  attempt  at  reconciliation,  now  that  her 
wishes  had  been  complied  with  in  regard  to  the  lady-in-waiting. 
He  advised  her  to  show  a  wish  that  the  Prince  should  return  to  her . 
on  both  sides  all  reproaches  should  be  avoided,  as  well  as  any  con- 
fidences in  third  parties.  The  tone  of  the  letter  was  most  cordial, 
affectionate,  and  sensible.     On  the  same  day  the  poor  Princess 


*  This  favorite  was  soon  dismissed,  supplanted  by  others.  Another  Lady 
Jersey,  her  daughter-in-law,  became  the  object  of  his  enmity.  Mr.  Rogers 
one  night  found  himself  seated  with  her  at  a  ball  in  a  long  gallery,  down 
which  the  Regent  had  entered  without  seeing  her.  When  he  saw  her  he 
stopped  a  moment,  but  could  not  retreat,  then  marched  past  her  with  a  look 
of  the  utmost  disdain.  "  She  returned  the  look,"  says  Mr.  Rogers,  "and  then 
turning  to  me  with  a  smile,  said:  'Did  not  I  do  it  well?'  "—"Table  Talk.' 
Such  were  the  contests  in  which  our  Prince  came  off  victorious;  such,  too,  is 
the  fate  that  attends  the  too  obsequious  service  of  princes, 


328  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

wrote  to  her  husband  an  eager  and  humble  letter,  which  it  would 
have  been  hard  to  resist. 

"I  avail  myself  with  the  greatest  ardor  of  the  King's  desire, 
whose  letter  shows  me  that  you  are  willing  to  yield  to  his  wishc.% 
which  fills  me  with  the  greatest  delight.  I  look  forward  with 
infinite  pleasure  to  the  moment  that  will  bring  you  to  Carlton 
House,  and  that  will  forever  terminate  a  misunderstanding  which, 
on  my  side,  I  assure  you,  will  never  be  thought  of  again.  If  you 
do  me  the  honor  of  seeking  my  society  in  future,  I  will  do  every- 
thing to  make  it  agreeable  to  you.  If  I  should  displease  you,  you 
must  be  generous  enough  to  forgive  me,  and  count  upon  my  grati- 
tude, which  I  shall  feel  to  the  end  of  my  life.  I  may  look  for  this, 
as  mother  of  your  daughter,  and  as  one  who  is  ever  yours." 

That  this  appeal  would  be  unfruitful  is  evident.  A  month  later, 
the  Duke  of  Leeds,  as  he  tells  in  his  interesting  "Memoranda,' 
infonned  her  that  he  would  leave  the  Duchess  at  Weymouth,  "as 
long  as  her  liking  for  the  place  continued;"  when  the  Princess 
exclaimed:  "Ah!  vous  n'etes  pas  tyran!"  On  the  same  authority 
we  learn  that  Lady  Cholmondeley  could  venture  to  say  to  the  (^uccn 
that  "  she  wondered  the  Prince  would  ever  return  to  Carlton  llousf, 
after  the  usage  he  had  received. " 

Some  of  the  Princesses  were  eager  for  family  quiet,  and  the 
Queen  was  seen  to  "speak  good-humoredly  twice"  to  the  Princess 
of  Wales  at  the  Drawing  Room.  The  latter,  naturally  finding  that 
it  w<as  hopeless  to  look  for  being  reconciled  to  the  Prince,  now 
removed  to  Montague  House  (or  Villa),  at  Charlton,  near  Blackheath. 
She  was  not  allowed  to  have  her  child  with  her,  who  was  kept  at 
Carlton  House  under  the  direction  of  Lady  Elgin  with  Miss  Hay- 
man,  the  sub-governess.  Mrs.  Harcourt  and  Miss  Garth  were  the 
Princess's  ladies.  So  envenomed  was  the  factious  spirit  in  this 
unhappy  quarrel,  that  it  was  given  out  that  the  Prince  "set  on" 
drivers  of  the  Greenwich  coaches  to  run  her  carriage  do^vn;  and 
once  her  life  was  in  actual  peril.  The  Prince  himself  lived  at  Carl- 
ton House  in  his  old  style,  but  had  not  much  time  to  devote  to  his 
child.  It  was  thus  that  the  Prince  impressed  the  sub-governess  at 
the  first  interview,  by  his  gracious  and  elegant  manners 

"  In  going  across  the  hall  I  met  his  royal  highness  full  butt  in  the 
doorway,  coming,  I  believe,  to  my  apartment.  He  requested  me  to 
return  into  the  atfte-room,  which  we  did.     He  spoke  to  the  follow- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  329 

ing  effect :  '  Miss  Hayman,  I  am  very  happy  in  this  opportunity  of 
becoming  acquainted  with  you.  I  sincerely  hope  you  will  find 
everything  tolerably  comfortable  here,  and  I  wish  it  was  in  my 
power  to  make  it  more  so,  but  I  fear  you  may  have  some  circum- 
stances of  difficulty  to  contend  with.  My  good  Lady  Elgin  knows 
and  fulfils  every  wish  of  my  heart  relative  to  your  little  charge,  and 
I  doubt  not  she  has  informed  you  of  everything  necessary;  on  her 
goodness  you  may  rely,  etc.  I  am  afraid  you  will  find  the  confine- 
ment irksome,  but  it  is  unavoidable ! '  I  assured  him  my  only  doubts 
were  of  my  ability  to  please  him.  He  said  he  had  no  doubts;  that 
all  he  heard  of  me  from  many  people  beside  those  who  recommended 
me,  and  on  whose  judgment  he  had  the  greatest  dependence,  made 
him  think  himself  fortunate  in  this  appointment.      He  hoped  I 

should  not  dislike  it,  but  my  remaining  was  optional He 

then  turned  to  Lady  Elgin  and  said,  '  It  is  an  additional  pleasure  to 
me  that  Miss  Hayman  is  one  of  my  own  countrywomen,'  and,  taking 
both  by  the  hand,  said,  '  You  are  both  my  countrywomen :  my  two 
first  titles  are  Welsh  and  Scotch. ' 

"The  business  part  of  the  interview  ended,  he  talked  of  more 
indifferent  matters,  and  took  his  leave  with  all  that  grace  and  dig- 
nity for  which  he  is  so  remarkable.  Never  (Miss  Hayman  con- 
tinues) had  any  one  such  captivating  manners.  I  could  have  sat 
down  and  cried  that  he  is  not  all  that  he  ought  to  be — sometimes 
it  is  impossible  to  think  his  heart  is  not  naturally  good. 

"  The  Princess  came  in  to  see  me  (she  goes  on);  she  spoke  very 
affably  to  me,  and  asked  me  if  I  did  not  see  the  infant  wonder- 
fully like  the  Prince  of  Wales,  whether  I  was  fond  of  children,  and 
told  me  hers  was  very  hot,  but  very  soon  pacified,  that  she  had  been 
naughty,  but  was  now,  by  Lady  Elgin's  care,  quite  good.  She 
stayed  about  half-an-hour,  chose  some  lace  for  frocks,  and  was  most 
kind.  The  next  day,  when  Lady  Elgin  came  in  and  said,  '  Miss 
Hayman  must  now  kiss  her  royal  highness's  hand,'  she  got  up  and 
said,  '  Oh !  we  will  shake  shands, '  and  turned  the  whole  formality 
into  a  jest;  she  then  began  a  gossiping  conversation  on  novels,  and 
showed  throughout  the  warmheartedness  and  kindliness,  the  indis- 
cretion and  want  of  dignity  which  Lord  Malmesbury  had  noticed 
in  her."* 

Miss  Hayman,  however,  notwithstanding  this  fair  promise,  was 
dismissed  at  the  end  of   three   months,  probably,  as  Lady  Rose 

*  Lady  Rose  Weigall,  "  Memoirs  of  Princess  Charlotte," 


330  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  JV. 

Weigall  suggests,  because  she  was  regarded  with  too  much  favor 
by  the  Princess — and  she  was  then  taken  into  the  latter's  service. 

The  mother  was  eager  to  have  her  engaging  child  with  her,  and 
applied  to  the  Prince  for  permission,  but  no  notice  was  taken  of  the 
request.  She  continued  her  mode  of  life  at  Blackheath  in  great 
intimacy  with  such  persons  as  Sir  Gilbert  Elliot,  Lord  and  Lady 
Wood,  Lord  Thurlow,  who,  strange  to  say,  was  the  friend  and 
adviser  of  both  husband  and  wife,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Hamil- 
ton, the  Edens  and  others.  Again  and  again  Sir  G.  Elliot,  who  saw 
much  of  her  at  this  time,  declares  that  her  behavior  was  everything 
that  was  proper.  She  was  utterly  undeserving  of  "  such  strange  neg- 
lect." Even  her  attractions  were  of  some  power,  "her  countenance 
being  remarkably  lively  and  pleasing."  "I  think  her  positively  a 
handsome  woman."  The  only  blemish  he  noted  was  the  significant 
one  of  an  indiscreet  and  voluble  confidence  imparted  to  the  first 
comer.  At  her  little  alfresco  parties  she  delighted  in  pouring  out 
the  whole  of  her  story  to  a  guest  whom  she  fancied  while  the  rest 
looked  on. 

He  says,  "  Princess  Charlotte  was  in  the  room  till  dinner,  and  is 
really  one  of  the  finest  and  pleasantest  children  I  ever  saw.  The 
Princess  of  Wales  romped  with  her  about  the  carpet  on  her  knees. 
Miss  Garth  said  to  her,  '  You  have  been  so  very  naughty  I  don't  know 
what  we  must  do  with  you.'  The  little  girl  answered,  crying  and 
quite  penitently,  *  You  must  soot  me,'  meaning  shoot  her. 

"At  the  Drawing  Room,  when  she  and  the  Prince  attended,  he 
did  not  bow  to  her,  though  they  were  quite  close.  He  declared 
afterwards  that  she  would  not  meet  his  eye.  When  the  King  said 
to  her  that  a  new  arrival,  the  Countess  d'Almeyda,  could  not  be 
handsome  as  she  was  not  fair,  the  lively  Princess  curtseyed  and 
said  she  wished  others  of  his  Majesty's  family  were  of  the  same 
opinion.  The  good  King  laughed  very  heartily,  and  said  he 
wished  so  too,  and  that  he  thought  it  a  proof  of  very  bad  taste."  * 

Strange  to  say,  she  did  not  give  up  hope  of  their  differences 
being  arranged,  and  towards  the  autumn  of  1798  the  idea  of  a 
reconciliation  was  broached — on  this  occasion  by  the  Prince  and 
his  friends.  As  she  saw,  or  fancied  she  saw,  that  it  was  merely  for 
some  object  of  little  reference  to  her,  she  was  determined  not  to 
tolerate  the  suggestion  unless  the  fnatter  was  entered  on  in  regular 
substantial  shape.     That  she  was  right  in  this  view  is  shown  by  the 


*  Lady  Rose  Weigall,  "  Memoirs  of  Princess  Charlotte. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  lY.  331 

fact  that  at  the  very  time  he  was  eagerly  engaged  in  pressing  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert  to  renew  their  old  relations. 

When  the  Princess  heard  of  this  she  said  to  a  friend  and  com- 
panion of  the  Prince,  that  "she  hoped  her  husband  would  not  feel 
her  any  impediment  to  the  reconciliation  he  was  so  desirous  for." 
A  few  days  afterwards  the  same  gentleman  informed  her  that  he 
had  delivered  "the  message"  to  the  Prince,  who  said:  "Did  she 
say  so?  Indeed  she  is  very  good-natured ; "  and  the  Princess  was 
not  long  in  hearing  that  she  was  represented  as  having  taken  an 
active  part  in  the  reconciliation  referred  to,  to  the  great  disgust  of  the 
Prince,  who  commented  to  her  informant,  a  gentleman  of  his  house- 
hold, on  the  indelicacy  of  the  proceedings.  "Indelicacy,  indeed!' 
she  said,  "  and  I  wonder  who  could  say  such  a  thing  or  suppose  I 
could  ever  have  thought  it?  All  I  said  was,  that  I  hoped  I  did  not 
stand  in  the  way  of  his  happiness."  It  was  remarked  with  regret  by 
those  who  frequented  her  society  that  she  was  apt  to  prosecute 
inquiries  concerning  the  movements  of  the  lady  in  question  which 
it  did  not  become  her  dignity  to  know,* 

The  last  time  the  Prince  had  been  near  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  was  the 
day  before  the  marriage,  when  he  galloped  by  her  house  at  Marble 
Hill.  The  grief  and  mortification  this  step  had  brought  her  may 
be  conceived ;  but,  by  the  advice  of  her  friends,  she  courageously 
faced  the  public,  and  went  through  the  hard  ordeal  of  receiving  her 
friends.  All  made  a  point  to  attend,  including  the  royal  Dukes, 
"Upon  this,  as  upon  all  other  occasions,"  says  Lord  Stourton, 
"  she  was  supported  by  the  Duke  of  York,  with  whom,  through 
life,  she  was  always  united  in  the  most  friendly  and  confidential 
relations.  Indeed,  she  frequently  assured  me,  that  there  was  not 
one  of  the  royal  family  who  had  not  acted  with  kindness  to  her. 
She  particularly  instanced  the  Queen;  and,  as  for  George  III.,  from 
the  time  she  set  footing  in  England  till  he  ceased  to  reign,  had  he 
been  her  own  father,  he  could  not  have  acted  with  greater  tender 
ness.  That  she  should  have  been  reconciled  to  him  was  but  the 
logical  consequence  of  the  original  marriage,  for  she  looked  on  her 
own  as  the  true  one.     She  did  not  act  on  her  own  responsibility. 


*  About  the  time  of  the  Queen's  trial  it  was  stated  in  a  mixed  company  that 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  had  condescended  to  join  in  a  game  of 
romps  with  her  Majesty.  One  or  two  past  Speakers  happened  to  be  present, 
including  Lord  Colchester,  who  seriously  repelled  the  charge.  No  one,  how- 
ever, thought  of  the  sober  Addington,  who  privately  confessed  that  he  had 
been  the  delinquent, 


332  ^THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Her  agent  was  despatched  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Pope.  The 
reply  from  Rome  was  favorable  to  the  wishes  of  the  Priuce;  faith- 
ful to  her  own  determination  to  act  as  much  as  possible  in  the  face 
of  the  public,  she  resisted  all  importunities  to  meet  bim  clandes- 
tinely. The  day  on  which  she  joined  him  again  at  her  own  house, 
was  the  same  on  which  she  gave  a  public  breakfast  to  the  whole 
town  of  London,  and  to  which  he  was  invited.  She  told  me,  she 
hardly  knew  how  she  could  summon  resolution  to  pass  that  severe 
ordeal,  but  she  thanked  God  she  had  the  courage  to  do  so.  The 
next  eight  years  were,  she  said,  the  happiest  of  her  connection  with 
the  Prince.  She  used  to  say  that  they  were  extremely  poor,  but  as 
merry  as  crickets;  and  once,  on  their  returning  to  London,  they 
mustered  their  common  means,  and  could  not  raise  £5  between 
them.  Upon  this,  or  some  such  occasion,  she  related  to  me,  that  an 
old  and  faithful  servant  endeavored  to  force  them  to  accept  £60." 

In  this  singular  relation,  she  now  occupied  a  large  house  in  Park 
Lane,  and,  during  the  season,  one  in  Brighton,  which  the  Prince 
fitted  up  for  her. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOTtOE  IV.  333 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

1798. 

Yet  ill  the  Prince's  disposition,  and  united  with  this  undomestic 
temper,  there  was  a  strain  of  impulsive  sympathy  that  might  fairly 
pass  as  symptoms  of  a  good  heart. 

In  illustration  of  this  tender  feeling,  and  which  he  felt  pleasure 
in  gratifying  when  its  effect  was  fresh  and  no  interval  had  elapsed, 
may  be  mentioned  his  interest  in  the  family  of  the  unfortunate 
Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald.  This  presents  him  in  a  pleasing  light. 
The  unfortunate  nobleman  was  lying  in  the  Dublin  Newgate,  suf- 
fering from  a  mortal  wound,  and  treated  with  extraordinary  rigor. 
The  real  piteousness  of  the  situation  centres  in  his  family,  and 
there  is  really  nothing  more  heart-rending  than  the  picture  of  the 
crowd  of  agitated  relatives — including  Charles  Fox,  Lady  Louisa 
Connolly,  Lady  Sarah  Napier,  the  aged  Duchess  of  Leinster — all 
pleading,  not  for  grace,  but  for  delay  and  fair  trial ;  and,  above  all, 
for  the  poor  privilege  of  being  allowed  to  see  their  kinsman  for  a 
few  moments.  Not  until  he  was  within  a  few  hours  of  his  death 
was  this  favor  granted.  The  v/retched  wife — the  well-known  Pa- 
mela— had  been  hurriedly  put  on  board  a  packet,  with  a  view  of 
getting  to  town  to  throw  herself  at  the  King's  feet  to  beg  for  mercy. 
Nor  were  the  ministers  in  London  inclined  to  be  harsh. 

It  was  truly  pathetic  to  find  his  mother,  then  at  a  distance  from 
him,  "  working  heaven  and  earth,"  as  it  is  called,  to  obtain  mercy. 
She  flew  to  the  Duke  of  York,  who,  though  he  only  listened  with 
compassion  and  made  no  promise,  exerted  him«elf,  and  succeeded 
in  obtaining  from  the  King  that  the  trial  should  be  delayed. 

The  Prince's  interference,  as  may  be  imagined,  was  not  likely  to 
have  much  weight,  considering  the  feelings  of  his  father  towards 
him.  But  to  the  husband  of  the  agonized  mother  he  addressed  the 
following  genuine  and  feeling  letter: 

THE  PRINCE   OP   WALES  TO  WILLIAM  OGILVIE,    ESQ. 

"  Carlton  House,  June  6, 1798. 

"  Three  quarters  past  5  p.m. 
"My  DEAR  Sir, 

'•I  feel  so  truly  for  the  Duchess  and  the  unfortunate  Edward, 
that  I  am  sure  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  I  would  not  attempt  to 


^34  'J^nF.  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  It. 

mitigate  the  pangs  which  I  am  afraid  but  too  much  distress  her 
grace  at  the  present  dreadful  crisis.  I  would,  were  I  iu  the  habit 
of  so  doing,  most  undoubtedly  write  to  Lord  Clare;  though,  even 
w^ere  that  the  case,  I  should  hesitate  as  to  the  propriety  of  so  doing, 
thinking  that  such  an  application  to  the  Chancellor  might  be  sub- 
ject to  misconstruction,  and  consequently  detrimental  to  Lord 
Edward's  interests.  But  I  have  no  hesitation  in  allowing  you  to 
state  to  his  lordship  how  much  pleased  I  shall  be,  and  how  much  I 
am  sensible  it  will  conciliate  to  him  the  affections  of  every  humane 
and  delicate  mind,  if  every  opportunity  is  given  to  poor  Lord 
Edward  to  obtain  an  impartial  trial,  by  delaying  it  till  his  state  of 
health  shall  be  so  recruited  as  to  enable  him  to  go  through  the 
awful  scene  with  fortitude;*  and  until  the  minds  of  men  have 
recovered  their  usual  tone,  so  absolutely  necessary  for  the  firm 
administration  of  justice. 

"This,  my  dear  Sir,  I  have  no  scruple  to  admit  of  your  stating  in 
confidence,  and  with  my  best  compliments,  to  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
My  long  and  sincere  regard  for  both  the  Duchess  and  Duke  of 
Leiuster  would  have  naturally  made  me  wish  to  exert  myself  still 
more,  were  I  not  afraid  by  such  exertion  I  might  do  more  harm 
than  good. 

"Excuse  this  scrawl,  which  I  pen  in  the  utmost  hurry,  fearing 
that  you  may  have  left  London  before  this  reaches  Harley  Street. 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  with  many  compliments  to  the  Duchess, 

"  Very  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P." 

For  this  generous  conduct  he  earned  a  handsome  tribute  from 
Lord  Byron : 

To  be  the  father  of  the  fatherless,* 

To  stretch  the  hand  from  the  throne's  height,  and  raise 

His  offspring,  who  expired  in  other  days, 
To  make  thy  sire's  sway  by  a  kingdom  less,— 
This  is  to  be  a  monarch,  and  repress 

Envy  into  unutterable  praise. 

Dismiss  thy  guard,  and  trust  thee  to  such  traits, 
For  who  would  lift  a  hand,  except  to  bless? 


*  Moore,  "  Life  of  Lord  E.  Fitzgerald,"  p.  203,  edit.  1875. 

t  He  promised  to  take  care  of  Lord  Edward's  child,  and  later  gave  him  a 
commission  in  his  own  regiment.  He  was  a  young  man  of  si)irit,  and  highly 
popular  as  "Mike"  Fitzgerald.  Colonel  Gronow  describes  him  during  the 
occupation  of  Paris  as  ever  ready  to  fight  the  French  officers,  and  placing  his 
card  on  the  chimney-piece  in  a  caf6,  with  an  offer  to  meet  all  comera 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  335 

Were  it  not  easy,  Sir,  and  is't  not  sweet 

To  make  thyself  beloved?  and  to  be 
Omnipotent  by  mercy's  means?  for  thus 
Thy  sovereignty  would  grow  but  more  complete, — 

A  despot  thou,  and  yet  thy  people  free, 

And  by  the  heart,  not  hand,  enslaving  us. 

Of  late  the  Prince  was  beginning  to  affect  the  airs  of  a  connoisseur. 
He  had  a  sort  of  natural  feeling  for  art  and  things  connected  with 
art,  and  could  no  doubt  discourse  of  the  "  correggiosity  of  Correg- 
gio."  But  his  taste  was,  in  truth,  uncultivated,  and  therefore 
remained  always  indifferent.  We  now  find  him  concerned  in  an 
artistic  matter  of  a  sensational  kind.  When  the  " Ireland"  impos- 
ture was  attracting  attention  the  Prince's  curiosity  was  excited,  and 
the  papers  were  brought  to  him.  His  remarks  and  general  behavior 
are  all  in  character. 

"At  Mr.  Ireland's  entrance,  his  royal  highness,  with  his  usual 
affability,  rose  to  receive  him.  On  the  production  of  the  manu- 
scripts, his  royal  highness  began  to  inspect  them  with  the  strictest 
scrutiny,  when,  to  Mr.  Ireland's  infinite  astonishment,  he  not  only 
questioned  him  on  every  point  with  an  acuteness  which  he  had 
never  before  witnessed  from  the  learned  who  had  inspected  the 
papers,  but  he  also  displayed  a  knowledge  of  antiquity  and  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  documents  of  the  period  of  Elizabeth, 
which  Mr.  Ireland  had  conceived  to  be  confined  to  those  only  that 
liad  made  this  particular  subject  the  object  of  their  study.  Having 
examined  the  manuscripts,  his  royal  highness  said:  "  As  far  as  the 
external  appearance  will  witness  for  the  validity  of  the  documents, 
they  certainly  bear  a  strong  semblance  of  age;  to  decide,  however, 
peremptorily  from  this  cursory  inspection,  would  be  unjustifiable, 
as  in  matters  of  this  nature  so  much  is  to  be  said  pro  and  con,  that 
the  decision  requires  mature  reflection.  I  certainly,  Mr.  Ireland, 
must  compliment  you  much  upon  the  discovery;  as  the  name  of 
Shakespeare,  and  everything  appertaining  to  him,  is  not  confined 
alone  to  the  literary  world,  but  to  the  English  nation,  to  which  the 
publication  will,  I  trust,  afford  tliat  gratification  which  is  expected 
to  be  derived  from  it." 

The  taste  for  anything  bizarre,  and  the  natural  wish  to  be  consid- 
ered a  patron  of  the  fine  arts,  led  the  Prince  to  sanction  the  interest- 
ing process  of  "unrolling  papyri,"  with  which  view  he  actually 
despatched  an  agent  to  Italy,  who  thus  reported  to  him:  "About 
thirty  years  ago  the  King  of  Naples  ordered  the  development,  the 


336  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOUGE  IV. 

transcription,  and  the  printing  of  those  voUimes  which  had  then 
been  saved.  This  operation  was  accordingly  begun,  and  went  on 
till  the  invasion  of  Naples  by  the  French.  But  the  mode  was  slow, 
being  performed  by  a  single  person,  with  only  one  frame.  The 
frame  consists  of  several  taper  and  oblong  pieces  of  wood,  with 
parallel  threads  of  silk  running  on  each  side  the  whole  length  of 
each  piece.  When  the  frame  is  laid  on  any  volume,  each  piece 
of  wood  must  be  fixed  precisely  over  each  line  of  the  page,  while 
the  respective  threads,  being  worked  beneath  each  line,  and  assisted 
by  the  corresponding  piece  of  wood  above,  raise  the  line  upwards, 
and  disclose  the  characters  to  view.  The  operation  was,  I  belie v^e, 
invented  by  a  Capuchin  at  Naples.  The  fruits  of  it  are  said  to  be 
two  publications  only — one  on  music,  by  Philodemus,  who  was  a 
contemporary  of  Cicero;  and  the  other  on  cookery.  The  first  is  in 
his  Majesty's  library,  at  the  Queen's  palace.  Through  the  obliging 
politeness  of  Mr.  Barnard,  the  King's  librarian,  I  have  had  the 
advantage  of  perusing  it.  I  hope  your  Royal  Highness  will  not 
disapprove  my  acknowledging  in  this  place  the  very  warm  and 
respectful  interest  which  both  this  gentleman  and  the  right  honor- 
able the  president  of  the  Royal  Society  have  expressed  for  the 
furtherance  of  your  Royal  Highness's  great  and  good  design." 

The  Prince  was  encouraged  to  go  on,  and  he  incurred  an  im- 
mense expense  to  little  benefit.  Six  rolls  of  manuscripts  came  to 
Carlton  House;  but  none  of  value,  except  a  fragment  of  Epicurus. 

That  surprising  graciousness  of  manner — which  was  indeed  more 
than  manner  and  reached  to  good  nature — was  shown  in  his  recep- 
tion of  the  young  and  friendless  Irishman,  Moore,  who  wrote  home 
in  delight  of  the  condescending  Prince  and  his  "fascinating  man- 
ners." "He  said  he  was  happy  to  know  a  man  of  my  abilities;  and 
when  I  thanked  him  for  the  honor  of  being  allowed  to  dedicate 
*  Anacreon '  to  him,  he  replied  that  the  honor  was  his,  in  being 
allowed  to  put  his  name  to  a  work  of  such  merit,"  He  added,  that 
he  hoped  during  the  winter  they  would  have  opportunities  of  enjoy- 
ing each  other's  society.  When  the  poet  returned  from  his  dis- 
astrous Bermuda  expedition,  he  met  the  Prince  for  the  first  time  at 
a  small  supper-party.  There  was  again  something  happily  gracious 
in  the  manner  of  his  welcome.  With  a  judicioiis  tact — for  Moore 
was  at  the  moment  "under  a  cloud,"  as  it  is  called,  and  such  recog- 
nition would  be  useful — "I  am  very  glad  to  see  you  here  again, 
Moore,"  he  said  heartily:  "from  what  I  had  heard,  I  was  afraid  wq 
had  lost  you.     I  assure  you  (iMyitiLr  his  linnd  upon  his  shoulder)  it 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  337 

was  a  subject  of  general  concern !"  The  good-natured  Prince  did 
not  dream  how,  within  a  dozen  years,  the  poet  was  to  turn  his 
talents  on  which  he  had  been  complimented  against  him,  and  that 
the  most  bitter  of  the  long  series  of  lampoons  which  stung  and  tor- 
tured him  for  years  was  to  come  from  that  airy  and  facile  pen. 
Moore  was  also  struck  by  his  genuine  passion  for  music,  the  Prince 
being  engrossed  with  his  favorite  pastimes  of  music  and  attending 
theatricals. 

A  taste  for  the  best  music  and  the  stage  was  at  this  period  culti- 
vated to  a  remarkable  degree  by  the  nobility.  The  Duke  of 
Queensberry,  Lords  Buckingham,  Boyle,  Hampden,  and  many 
others  of  ton  and  fashion,  were  in  the  habit  of  giving  concerts  at 
their  houses,  at  which  the  best  music  was  performed.  The  Duchess 
of  Devonshire  united  this  to  her  other  graces,  and  Sheridan's  well- 
known  song,  introduced  in  "The  Stranger,"  "I  have  a  silent  sor- 
row here,"  was  set  to  a  plaintive  melody  by  her.  The  well-known 
taste  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  no  doubt  encouraged  this  pleasing 
accomplishment.  The  opera  was  then  an  exclusively  aristocratic 
pastime.  It  has  since  become  the  delight  of  the  people  in  general, 
and  rests  on  a  purely  commercial  support :  then  it  was  a  costly  and 
exclusive  enjoyment.  When  it  was  installed  at  the  handsome  Pan- 
theon, in  the  year  1791,  under  R.  O'Reilly,  Esq.,  the  list  of  patrons 
filling  the  tiers  of  boxes  was  trul}^  imposing ;  and  a  little  volume  was 
published,  containing  elaborate  plans  and  references,  with  a  full 
list  of  the  subscribers,  furnished  with  which  any  visitor  could  find 
his  way  to  any  particular  loge.  There  the  King  and  Queen,  the 
royal  Princes  and  Dukes  regularly  attended.  The  staff  was  on  a 
handsome  scale.  For  "serious  opera,"  there  were  six  leading 
singers;  for  "comic  opera,"  eight.  The  ballet  (or  " dancers,"  as  it 
was  styled)  consisted  of  nearly  fifty  leading  "subjects."  The 
orchestra  comprised  forty  performers,  with  Mr.  Cramer  as  leader 
of  the  band,  and  Mazzinghi  as  composer  and  accompanist,  a  harp- 
sichord being  always  beside  the  conductor.  It  is  curious  indeed  to 
find  here  many  of  the  names  that  now  figure  at  Covent  Garden  and 
Her  Majesty's  Theatres — the  Hills,  Lavenus,  Howards,  etc. 

The  taste  for  the  theatre  was  stimulated  by  the  patronage  of  the 
King,  who  not  only  favored  the  stage  in  London  but  took  delight 
in  the  little  provincial  houses  at  Windsor  and  Weymouth,  where 
he  had  always  a  good-natured  speech  or  nod  for  such  players  as  he 
relished.  And  it  is  significant  of  this  interest  to  find  Lord  Har- 
court  thus  writing  to  the  admirable  Elliston: 
15 


338  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK 

"Sir, 

"As  I  understand  their  Majesties  will  not  leave  Windsor 
before  the  begiouini^  of  next  month,  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are 
in  treaty  with  Mr.  Thornton,  as  it  will  be  the  means  of  making 
your  talents  known  to  the  King  and  Queen,  who,  I  doubt  not,  will 
honor  you  with  their  commands.  I  have  apprised  them  of  the 
probability  of  your  engagement  at  Windsor,  and  allow  me  to  say 
their  Majesties  are  no  strangers  to  the  opinion  I  entertain  of  your 
abilities  in  the  art  you  profess.  Don  Felix,  Charles  Surface, 
Young  Wilding,  the  Jew  (in  'The  Jew  and  Doctor'),  and  Vapour, 
are  characters  which  would  please  their  Majesties,  and  represent 
you  to  advantage.  Walter,  one  of  your  best  performances,  I  do 
not  mention,  because  I'm  sure  the  King  will  never  again  see  'The 
Children  in  the  Wood.'" 

In  consequence  of  this  flattering  correspondence  with  his  noble 
patron,  Elliston  arrived  at  Windsor,  and  by  command  of  his  Maj- 
esty acted  on  the  following  night. 

It  was  at  Weymouth  that  a  curious  little  adventure  befell  this 
comedian.  On  the  morning  of  this  actor's  benefit,  his  Majesty  had 
been  rambling  about  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  when  the  rain  coming 
on  just  as  he  was  passing  the  theatre-door,  in  he  went,  and  finding 
no  one  immediately  at  hand  proceeded  at  once  to  the  royal  box,  and 
seated  himself  in  his  own  chair. 

"  The  dim  daylight  of  the  theatre,  and  slight  fatigue  which  exer- 
cise had  occasioned,  induced  an  inclination  to  drowsiness.  His 
Majesty,  in  fact,  fell  into  a  comfortable  doze,  which  presently 
became  a  sound  sleep.  In  the  meantime,  Lord  Townsend,  who 
had  encountered  Ellision  in  the  neighborhood,  inquired  whether  he 
had  seen  the  King,  as  his  Majesty  had  not  been  at  the  palace  since 
his  three-o'clock  dinner;  and  it  being  then  nearly  five,  the  Queen 
and  Princesses  were  in  some  little  anxiety  about  him.  Elliston, 
now  making  his  way  to  the  theatre  for  the  purpose  of  superintend- 
ing all  things  necessary  for  the  reception  of  his  august  patrons, 
went  straight  into  the  King's  box,  and  on  perceiving  a  man  fast 
asleep  in  his  Majesty's  chair  was  about  recalling  him  to  his  senses 
in  no  gentle  a  manner  when,  very  fortunately,  he  recognized  the 
King  himself.  What  was  to  be  done?  Elliston  hit  on  the  follow- 
ing expedient:  taking  up  a  violin  from  the  orchestra  he  stepped  into 
the  pit,  and,  placing  himself  just  beneath  his  truly  exalted  guest, 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  339 

struck  up,  dolcemente,  'God  save  the  King!'  The  expedient  had 
the  desired  effect;  the  royal  sleeper  was  gently  loosened  from  the 
spell  which  had  bound  him,  and,  awaking,  up  he  sprang,  and,  star- 
ing the  genuflecting  comedian  full  in  the  face,  exclaimed:  'Hey! 
hey!  hey!  what,  what!  Oh  yes!  I  sec,  Elliston — ha!  ha!  rain  come 
on — took  a  seat — took  a  nap.     "What's  o'clock?" 

"  '  Approadhing  six,  your  Majesty.' 

"  '  Six! — six  o'clock! '  interrupted  the  King.  'Send  to  her  Maj- 
esty— say  I'm  here.  Stay — stay — this  wig  won't  do — eh,  eh?  Don't 
keep  the  people  waiting — light  up — light  up — let  'em  in — let  'em  in 
— ha!  ha!  fast  asleep.  Play  well  to-night,  Elliston.  Great  favorite 
with  the  Queen.     Let  'em  in — let  'em  in.' 

"  The  house  was  presently  illuminated;  messengers  were  sent  off 
to  the  royal  party,  which,  in  a  short  lapse  of  time,  reached  the 
theatre.  Elliston  then  quitted  the  side  of  his  most  affable  mon- 
arch, and,  dressing  himself  in  five  minutes  for  his  part  in  the 
drama,  went  through  his  business  with  bounding  spirit;  nor  was  his 
glee  at  all  diminished  when,  on  attending  the  royal  visitors  to  their 
carriage,  the  King  once  more  nodded  his  head,  saying:  'Fast 
asleep,  eh,  Elliston! — fast  asleep!'" 

It  would  indeed  be  hard  to  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  to  which 
private  theatricals  were  indulged  by  the  nobility;  for  a  time  they 
literally  raged,  and  at  every  country  house  and  mansion  these  enter- 
tainments formed  the  favorite  pastime.  With  the  aid  of  "  Albina, 
Countess  of  Buckinghamshire,"  a  rather  eccentric  lady  of  fashion, 
Colonel  Greville,  a  fop  of  the  first  water,  founded  the  "Picnic 
Society,"  which  gave  its  performance  in  Tottenham  Court  Road, 
and  also  at  the  Pantheon.  In  the  orchestra  were  found  lords  and 
men  of  fashion  performing  on  the  flageolet  and  double-bass,  and 
the  Lady  Albina  herself  presided  at  the  harpsichord.  French 
proverbes  and  English  vaudevilles  formed  the  regular  performance, 
while  the  evening  was  concluded  with  a  picnic  supper,  for  which 
the  contributions  were  settled  by  lot.  As  a  large  number  drew 
lots  the  result  was  a  very  handsome  banquet,  and  the  quaint  uncer- 
tainty as  to  what  each  was  obliged  to  supply  furnishing  the  diver- 
sion. "  Some  luckless  wight,"  says  a  friend  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
one  of  the  performers,  "whose  beauty  was  her  sole  dowry,  drew  a 
Perigord  pie,  value  three  guineas  at  least,  whilst  her  rich  neighbor 
drew  a  pound-cake,  value  half-a-crown.  Then  some  needy  sprig 
of  fashion,  a  younger  brother,  drew  his  lot  of  misery  in  a  ticket  for 


340  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

a  dozen  of  champagne,  and  a  wealthy  nabob  another  for  half-a- 
dozen  China  oranges."*  Mr.  Greville  figures  in  Miss  Burney's 
memoirs  of  her  father,  and  is  there  sketched  with  much  vivacity. 
In  due  course  he  was  utterly  ruined  by  his  Picnic  Society  and  other 
fashionable  pursuits,  and  the  gay  elegant  was  compelled  to  accept 
an  appointment  in  the  Isle  of  France,  where,  like  Brummell  and 
other  professors  of  fashion,  he  died  in  exile. 

At  this  place,  too,  may  be  noted  a  curious  incident  which  excited 
some  attention.  Gaming  had  never  been  one  of  the  Prince's  favor- 
ite vices,  though  he  indulged  in  it;  but  it  was  a  passion  with  his 
brother,  who,  to  his  death,  suffered  the  most  humiliating  straits  in 
consequence.  For  some  years  before,  we  have  seen  the  ladies  all 
embarked  in  such  speculating.  Mrs.  Strutt,  Lady  Archer,  Mrs. 
Hobart,  Lady  Elizabeth  Luttrell  (sister  of  the  Duchess  of  Cumber- 
land) were  avowed  bankers — in  other  words,  held  gaming-tables. 

Another  noble  person  who  gave  "garden-parties"  was  conspicu- 
ous for  the  same  practice.  But  at  last  an  information  was  actually 
laid  against  two  persons  of  fashion,  Mrs.  Archer  and  Lady  Bucking- 
hamshire, who  were  brought  up  and  fined ;  and  Lord  Kenyon,  giving 
judgment  in  a  case  of  less  importance,  declared  boldly  that  if  any 
ladies  of  rank  were  convicted  of  this  offence  before  him  they  should 
stand  in  the  pillory!  A  little  later  the  Middlesex  magistrates 
were  applied  to  to  license  rooms  where  gaming  was  to  be  carried 
on,  and  it  was  urged  that  this  undertaking  was  patronized  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  These  worthies,  rather  awe-stricken  by  the 
influence,  appealed  to  the  judge  to  take  the  matter  on  himself,  on 
which  the  latter  boldly  said,  there  was  a  rumor  that  a  gaming-house 
was  to  be  opened  under  the  patronage  of  a  very  high  and  illustrious 
personage;  he  trusted,  however,  the  magistrates  would  do  their  duty 
fearlessly  and  refuse  the  license. 

On  this  the  Prince,  with  some  spirit,  wrote  to  Lord  Kenyon  this 
following  vindication  of  himself: 

THE  PRmCE  OF  WALES  TO  LORD  KENYON. 

"  Carlton  House,  Nov.  16th,  179d. 
"My  Lord, 

"As  I  am  thoroughly  persuaded  that  in  the  administration  of 
justice  the  very  last  thing  that  could  enter  your  lordship's  thoughts 
would  be  by  any  remark  that  would  fall  from  your  lips  to  unwar- 


♦  Angelo,  "Reminls.,"  L  298. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK  341 

rantably  prejudice  the  public  mind  against  an  individual  of  any 
description  whatever,  I  am  confident  that  your  lordship  could  never 
have  used  ilw  expression  which  in  the  notion  of  every  one  so  decidedly 
alludes  to  me,  as  stated  in  a  morning  paper  of  yesterday,  which  my 
Attorney-General  has  the  honor  to  bear  you.  It  is  true  that,  from 
applications  from  many  respected  quarters,  I  have  been  induced  to 
assent  to  my  name  being  placed  among  others  as  a  member  of  a  new 
Club,  to  be  instituted  under  the  management  of  a  Mr.  Martindale, 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  social  intercourse,  of  which  I  never  can 
object  to  be  a  promoter,  and  especially  as  it  was  represented  to  me, 
that  the  object  of  this  institution  was  to  enable  his  trustees  to  render 
justice  to  various  honorable  and  fair  claimants.  But  if  these  were 
really  your  lordship's  words  (which  I  cannot  for  a  moment  suppose), 
give  me  leave  to  tell  you  that  you  have  totally  mistaken  my  char- 
acter and  turn,  for  of  all  men  universally  known  to  have  the  least 
predilection  to  play,  I  am  perhaps  the  very  man  in  the  world  who 
stands  the  strongest  and  the  most  proverbially  so  upon  that  point.  I 
shall  not  trouble  your  lordship  further  upon  this  strange  circum- 
stance, as  Mr.  Graham  will  convey  to  you  my  feelings  and  senti- 
ments upon  it,  and  I  am  well  persuaded  that  your  own  knowledge 
of  the  world,  as  well  as  the  urgency  of  the  case,  will  suggest  to  you 
the  propriety  of  taking  such  measures  in  consequence  as  are 
requisite  and  ought  to  be  adopted." 

Lord  Kenyon  answered  that  he  was  acting  according  to  what  he 
t4iought  was  his  duty,  and  that  Mr.  Martindale  was  an  improper 
person  to  receive  a  license,  "considering  what  had  passed  respect- 
ing him  judicially.  I  can  only  add  that  I  am  confident  that  I 
meant  nothing  offensive  to  you.  They  know  little  of  my  senti 
ments  who  conceive  me  capable  of  using  language  tending  to 
expose  the  higher  orders  of  the  state  to  censure  or  light  observations. 
May  I  presume  to  hope  that  your  royal  highness  will  pardon  this 
trouble." 

Turning  from  these  dilettante  pursuits,  and  disappointed  in  his 
aims  at  political  office,  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  presently  filled  with 
what  was  called  "martial  ardor,  and  a  longing  to  take  part  in  the 
general  preparations  for  the  defence  of  the  country."  It  ivas  in  1798 
that  the  enthusiasm  for  volunteering  and  enrolment  in  patriotic 
corps  became  universal.  Every  one  was  armed  and  belonged  to 
some  corps;  even  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  the 
Prime  Minister  took  service  and  were  seen  practising  their  drill. 


342  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

**My  study,"  the  former  writes,  "exhibits  a  curious  scene:  the 
journals  are  diversified  by  hehnets  and  sabres;  and  a  book  of  mili- 
tary tactics  is  now  lying  upon  my  table  in  close  contact  with  the 
orders  of  the  day." 

"  We  can  remember,"  says  Mr.  Croker,  "  that  the  fine  figure  and 
consequential  air  of  the  Speaker  emerging  from  the  wig  and  gown 
in  a  gay  cavalry  uniform  was  one  of  the  amusing  topics  of  the  day," 
Indeed  the  "martial  ardor"  at  this  time  was  so  hot  and  furious  that 
the  strange  spectacle  was  presented  of  the  Prime  Minister  resorting 
to  the  duello  in  vindication  of  his  measures  for  the  defence  of  the 
country.  This  quarrel  arose  out  of  his  comment  on  the  behavior 
of  Mr.  Tierney,  of  whom  he  said,  indignantly,  that  "  no  man  could 
oppose  it  in  the  manner  Mr.  Tierney  had  done  unless  it  were  from 
a  wish  to  impede  the  defence  of  the  country."  On  which  he  was 
challenged  by  the  offended  gentleman.  As  everything  connected 
with  this  business  was  to  be  singular,  almost  the  Premier's  f:rst  act 
was  to  send  for  the  Speaker  (!),  who  found  him  making  his  will. 
"Whitsunday  was  the  day  fixed  for  the  encounter,  and  the  represent- 
ative of  the  House  of  Commons  attended  him  to  the  ground.  "I 
went,"  says  the  latter,  "with  him  and  Ryder  down  the  Birdcage 
Walk,  up  the  steps  into  Queen  Street,  where  their  chaise  waited  to 
take  them  to  Wimbledon  Common,  Unable  to  rest,  I  then  mounted 
my  horse  and  rode  that  way.  When  I  arrived  on  the  hill,  I  knew, 
from  seeing  a  crowd  looking  down  into  the  valley,  that  the  duel  was 
then  proceeding.  After  a  time  I  saw  the  same  chaise  which  had 
conveyed  Pitt  to  the  spot  mounting  the  ascent,  and  riding  up  to  it, 
I  found  him  safe,  when  he  said,  '  You  must  dine  with  me  to-day. 
Some  one  afterwards  observed,  *  The  Speaker  knew  of  the  meeting, 
and  ought  to  have  prevented  it;'  but  Lord  Chatham  remarked  that 
I  could  not  have  taken  any  step  so  injurious  to  his  family;  in  fact, 
as  I  had  received  the  information  from  Pitt  himself,  my  interfering 
would  have  looked  too  much  like  collusion." 

For  so  decorous  and  righteous  a  man  as  Mr.  Addington,  this 
seems  a  strange  proceeding.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  four  most 
conspicuous  men,  who  all  filled  the  ofllce  of  Prime  Minister,  should, 
during  a  short  period  of  about  thirty  years,  have  condescended  to 
expose  their  lives  in  this  fashion.  Mr.  Fox  fought  Mr.  Adam;  Mr. 
Pitt,  as  we  have  seen,  Mr.  Tierney;  Mr.  Canning,  Lord  Castlereagh; 
and,  finally,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  Lord  Winchelsea.  Two,  viz., 
Pitt  and  the  Duke,  were  actually  holding  the  office  of  Prime  Minis- 
ter at  the  time.     This  seems  an  almost  incredible  state  of  things; 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  343 

yet  three  of  these  encounters  might  be  within  the  memory  of  some 
now  living. 

The  volunteer  enthusiasm  seized  on  the  nation,  and  we  find  our 
impulsive  Prince  wearing  his  uniform,  making  glowing  and  warlike 
speeches  to  the  men,  and  reviewing  his  regiment,  the  well-known 
10th.  Finally,  he  was  so  filled  with  ardor  that  he  applied  for  leave 
to  go  on  active  service.  Bonaparte  and  his  armies  were  supposed 
to  be  about  invading  England,  and  to  his  father  he  now  addressed 
the  following  appeal: 

THE  FBINCE  OF  WALES  TO  THE  KING. 

"  Carlton  House,  April  25th,  1798. 
"Sm, 

"  I  have,  from  various  considerations  of  duty  and  respect, 

delayed  to  the  latest  hour  obtruding  myself  by  a  direct  application 

to  your  Majesty;  and  it  is  now  with  an  earnestness  that  I  never 

before  ventured  to  approach  you,  sir,  that  I  presume  to  throw  my- 

self  at  your  feet,   and  to  implore  your  gracious  attention  to  the 

humble  sentiments  I  offer  in  this  letter. 

•'  The  serious  and  awful  crisis  in  which  this  country  now  stands 
calls  for  the  united  efforts  of  every  British  arm  in  the  defence  of  all 
that  can  be  dear  to  Englishmen;  and  it  is  with  glowing  pride  that 
1  behold  the  prevalence  of  this  sentiment  through  every  part  of  your 
Majesty's  kingdom. 

"  Whatever  may  some  time  back  have  been  your  Majesty's  objec- 
tions to  my  being  in  the  way  of  actual  service,  yet  at  a  crisis  like 
this,  unexampled  in  our  history,  when  every  subject  in  the  realm  is 
eagerly  seeking  for  and  has  his  post  assigned  him,  those  objections 
will,  I  humbly  trust,  yield  to  the  pressure  of  the  times,  and  your 
Majesty  will  be  graciously  pleased  to  call  me  forth  to  a  station 
wherein  I  may  prove  myself  worthy  of  the  confidence  of  my  coun- 
try, and  of  the  high  rank  I  hold  in  it,  by  staking  my  Ufe  in  its 
defence;  death  would  be  preferable  to  being  marked  as  the  07ily 
man  that  was  not  suffered  to  come  forth  on  such  an  occasion. 

*'  Should  it  be  my  fate  to  fall  in  so  glorious  a  contest,  no  injury 
could  arise  to  the  line  of  succession,  on  account  of  the  number 
happily  remaining  of  your  Majesty's  children.  At  the  same  time, 
were  there  fifty  princes,  or  were  I  the  single  one,  it  would,  in  my 
humble  judgment,  be  equally  incumbent  on  them,  or  me,  to  stand 
foremost  m  the  ranks  of  danger  at  so  decisive  a  period  as  the 
present.  "" '    " 


344  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"  I  am  the  more  induced  to  confide  that  your  Majesty's  goodness 
will  comply  with  this  humble  petition,  from  the  conviction  I  feel, 
that,  had  similar  circumstances  prevailed  in  the  reign  of  the  late 
King,  when  your  Majesty  was  Prince  of  Wales,  you  would  have 
panted,  sir,  for  the  opportunity  I  now  so  earnestly  covet.  I  know 
your  Majesty,  and  am  fixed  in  this  belief;  and  I  should  hold  myself 
unworthy  of  my  descent  and  station  if  a  tamer  impulse  could  now 
possess  me;  still  more  to  justify  this  confidence,  allow  me  to  recall 
to  your  Majesty's  recollection  the  expressions  you  were  graciously 
pleased  to  use  when  I  solicited  foreign  service  upon  my  first  coming 
into  the  army.  They  were,  sir,  that  your  Majesty  did  not  then  see 
the  opportunity  for  it;  but  that  if  anything  was  to  arise  at  home,  I 
ought  to  be  one  of  the  first  and  foremost. 

**My  character  with  the  nation,  my  honor,  my  future  fame  and 
prospects  in  life,  are  now  all  at  stake.  I  therefore  supplicate  your 
Majesty  to  afford  me  those  means  for  their  preservation  which 
affection  for  my  country  and  devotion  to  my  sovereign  would  have 
prompted  me  to  solicit,  even  though  my  birth  and  station  had  not 
rendered  it  my  duty  to  claim  them.  I  presume  in  no  respect  to 
prescribe  to  your  Majesty  the  mode  of  being  employed ;  what  I 
humbly,  but  most  earnestly,  solicit  is  the  certainty  of  acti\ne  service, 
in  such  a  character  as  to  your  Majesty  shall  seem  fit. 

*  With  the  profoundest  humility,  I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe 
myself,  your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  most  affectionate  Son  and 
Subject, 

"George  P." 

The  "  should  I  fall  "  must  have  produced  a  grim  smile  on  the  lips 
of  the  King,  whose  fixed  opinion  was  that  there  was  but  one  of  his 
family  deficient  in  personal  courage.  His  answer  was  a  blunt 
refusal,  on  the  ground  '•  tliat  military  command  was  incompatible 
with  the  situation  of  the  Prince  of  Wales." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV.  345 


'  CHAPTER  XXX 


1801. 


"We  have  now  arrived  at  the  curious  incident  which  obliged  Mr. 
Pitt  to  retire  from  office  and  brought  into  prominence  the  feeble 
Addington  and  his  family  party — the  "clan"  of  relations,  Hiley, 
Bragge  Bathurst,  and  Vansittart,  without  due  provision  for  whom 
his  services  could  never  be  obtained.  Never,  indeed,  were  the 
claims  of  family  connection  carried  so  far,  or  political  interest  made 
so  subservient  to  the  ties  of  kindred.  Mr.  Croker,  who  interspersed 
his  spirited,  though  often  truculent,  articles  with  reminiscences  of 
curious  facts  gathered  from  the  important  men  with  whom  he  had 
associated,  tells  us  how  Mr.  Bragge,  "  the  Premier's  brother-in-law, 
then  in  his  first  Parliament,  was  raised  to  the  Privy  Councillor's 
ofiice  of  Treasurer  of  the  Navy.  His  brother,  Mr.  Hiley  Adding- 
ton, was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  His  schoolfellow  and  intimate, 
Mr.  Bond,  just  come  into  Parliament,  was  a  Lord  of  the  Treasury. 
So  afterward  was  his  cousin,  Mr.  Golding,  who  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  in  Parliament  at  all.  Mr.  Adams,  another  brother-in- 
law,  was  a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  These  were  all  respectable 
gentlemen,  whose  abilities  were  equal  to  their  positions — and  we  do 
not  know  that  they  at  all  exceeded  the  proportion  of  private  friends 
that  every  first  minister  used,  and  perhaps  ought  to  have,  in  his 
administration — but  they  were  as  yet  little  known,  and  their  con- 
nection with  the  Premier  was  easily  misrepresented  as  being  their 
sole  merit.  This,  with  Addington's  own  inferiority  to  the  great 
masters  of  debate  amongst  whom  he  stood,  gave  ample  scope  to  the 
satiric  pleasantries  of  Canning,*  a  strophe  of  one  of  whose  sallies, 

*  "  The  pleasantries  of  Canning,  though  nowhere  alluded  to  in  these  vol- 
umes, and  only  now  lingering  in  a  few  failing  memories,  had  so  much  influ- 
ence in  Addington"s  defeat,  that  we  think  it  worth  while  to  preserve  two  or 
three  specimens  of  this  kind  of  small  shot.  In  allusion  to  those  specious  ora- 
tions with  which  Addington  used  to  captivate  the  country  gentlemen,  Can- 
ning quoted,  '  I  do  remember  an  apothecary  ....  culling  of  simples ! ' 
On  another  occasion,  when  Addington  was  loftily  enumerating  his  various 

15* 


346  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

caricaturing  the  style  of  the  Doctor's  oratory  and  the  class  of  its 
admirers,  had  no  small  effect  in  its  day,  and  still  clings  to  the 
memory : 

Cheer  him  when  he  hobbles  vilely. 

Brother  Bragge  and  Brother  Hiley! 

Cheer  him  when  his  audience  flag. 

Brother  Hiley— Brother  Bragge ! 

"Brother  Bragge,  however,  was  a  well-informed  and  judicious 
man,  who  spoke  with  considerable  weight;  and  we  have  heard  that, 
in  his  earlier  day,  Brother  Hiley  was  remarkably  lively  and  clever; 
and  he  certainly  was,  in  our  time,  a  sensible  as  well  as  amiable 
gentleman." 

The  wit  of  Canning  would  have  been  more  exercised  had  he 
known  that  "  Brother  Hiley  "  later  indulged  in  a  romantic  tender- 
ness for  the  fascinating  Miss  Stephens,  which  he  seemed  to  have 
even  confided  to  Mr,  Jerdan,  through  whose  good  offices  his  admir- 
ing strains  were  inserted  in  a  popular  journal. 

The  retirement  of  Pitt  was  owing,  as  is  well  known,  to  the  measure 
for  the  relief  of  the  Catholics,  the  irresponsible  question  which  was 
to  overset  or  impede  so  many  ministries.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
Prince  had  signified  to  Mr.  Pitt  his  approbation  of  the  measure,  and 
indeed  avowed,  on  several  occasions,  that  he  was  favorable  to  it. 
And  this,  of  course,  was  to  be  accounted  for,  as  Lord  Moira,  his 
present  friend,  was  an  ardent  "  Catholic."* 

But  at  this  moment  he  was  more  than  usually  reckless  in  associat- 
ing with  the  Jacobins  and  the  Opposition,  uttering  the  most  violent 

measures  of  national  defence,  Canning  interjected,  loud  enough  to  be  heard, 
*  Oh,  most  forcible  Feeble ! '  '  The  relative  merits  of  Pitt  and  Addington,'  he 
said, '  might  be  determined  by  the  Rule  of  Three  Inverse: 

" '  Pitt  is  to  Addington— 

As  London  is  to  Paddington  I ' 

And  we  have  half  forgotten  a  French  epitaph  which  concluded: 


♦• ' Cy  git 

Ministre  par  hasard  et  M^decin  malgr6  lui.' 

Mr.  Pitt  himself  would  in  private  indulge  a  smile  at  his  successor's  somewhat 
prosy  orations.  We  heard  very  lately  from  one  of  the  company  still  happily 
surviving,  that  about  this  time  Pitt,  who  was  expected  to  a  dinner-party,  did 
not  come  in  till  the  second  course,  *  begging  pardon  for  being  so  late,  as  he 
was  obliged  to  hear  Addington  out;  and  the  Doctor,  you  know,  travels  with 
his  own  horses  I ' " 
•  Rose,  •*  Diaries,"  I.  802. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT.  347 

speeches;  *  the  Duke  of  York,  however,  remained  firm  to  the  King. 
A  strange  surprise,  however,  was  at  hand,  which  was  once  more  to 
raise  his  hopes.  Unfdrtunately  the  agitation  commenced  with  the 
hite  change,  and  the  struggles  he  had  gone  througli  were  now  to 
have  their  effect  on  the  King.  Agitated  and  distracted  by  different 
forms  of  excitement,  his  life  attempted  in  the  theatre,  the  behavior 
of  his  son  and  daughter-in-law,  and  above  all,  shocked  at  the  pro- 
posals of  his  minister  to  concede  what  with  him  was  a  matter  of 
morbid  horror — indulgence  to  the  Catholics — it  had  not  been  a  sur- 
prise to  any  one  that  the  mind  of  the  King  should  have  for  the  third 
time  given  way. 

About  the  middle  of  February  he  caught  cold;  the  old  "  hurries  " 
set  in,  and  within  a  fortnight  the  fatal  Willis  had  arrived  on  the 
scene,  and  he  was  "  as  bad  as  ever."  From  his  ravings  it  was  easy 
to  learn  what  had  caused  his  disorder,  for  he  was  heard  to  mutter 
frequently,  "  I  will  be  true  to  the  Church." 

Never  was  there  such  an  awkward  contretemps,  for  the  arrange- 
ments were  only  in  progress :  Mr.  Pitt  had  not  gone  out,  or  rather 
Mr.  Addington  had  not  come  in.  All  was  confusion.  But  the 
hopes  of  the  Prince  and  his  friends  were  raised,  and  once  more  the 
regency  became  the  existing  topic.  It  is  amusing  to  find  that  the 
Prince,  bearing  in  mind  a  wholesome  recollection  of  his  encounter 
with  Mr.  Pitt  on  the  last  occasion,  took  the  first  opportunity  to 
make  eager  approaches  to  him.  On  the  23d  February  he  sent  for 
him  to  ask  his  advice,  which  the  minister — for  he  was  still  such  de 
facto — firmly  and  significantly  said  he  would  be  glad  to  give,  but  on 
this  condition:  "that  he  would  not  be  advised  by  his  friends  of  the 
Opposition."  The  Prince  agreed  at  once,  only  stipulating  that  he 
might  occasionally  consult  his  friend  Lord  Moira.f 

Pitt  added  a  further  stipulation,  that  if  unhappily  there  should 
be  a  necessity  for  a  regency,  his  royal  highness  should  acquiesce  in 
the  arrangement  as  settled  in  1789;  "that  the  Prince  seemed  to  be 
struck  at  that  being  put  to  him  so  distinctly,  and  perhaps  a  little 
averse  to  the  unqualified  tones  used  (as  if  Mr.  Pitt  was  conscious  of 
his  manner  of  stating  his  determination  having  been  severe),  and 
that  his  royal  highness  asked  how  some  of  those  now  acting  with 
Mr.  Pitt  would  feel  on  the  subject  who  had  taken  a  very  different 
line  on  the  former  occasion ;  to  which  Mr.  Pitt  replied  he  thought 
every  one  concerned  in  it,  without  excepting  his  royal  highness, 

*  Mahnesbury,  "  Diaries,"  iv.  6.  t  Rose,  *'  Diaries,"  i.  311. 


348  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

could  not  do  better  than  accord  with  what  was  most  evidently  the 
clear  sense  of  the  legislature,  expressed  so  as  not  to  be  mistaken. 
The  Prince  then  expressed  uneasiness  at  some  of  the  restrictions  as 
likely  to  be  found  extremely  inconvenient.  Nothing,  however, 
passed  conclusive  between  them  as  to  any  arrangement  of  an  admin- 
istration. The  interview  ended  with  the  Prince  saying  that  he 
must  take  time  to  consider  all  that  Mr.  Pitt  had  said ;  his  whole 
demeanor  perfectly  decorous  and  proper,  as  well  with  Mr.  Pitt  as 
at  the  Queen's  House,  when  he  was  there.  Mr.  Fox  has  certainly 
not  been  with  his  royal  highness,  and  Mr.  Pitt  thinks  he  has  not 
seen  Mr.  Sheridan." 

There  was  a  second  interview  a  few  days  later.  Both  parties 
were  inclined  to  put  aside  any  burning  question  of  principle,  and 
arrange  the  matter  by  a  sort  of  compromise.  Pitt  (Mr.  Abbott 
says),  at  one  of  the  interviews,  advised  the  Prince  to  carry  out  the 
Addington  arrangement,  -which  had  been  in  train;  to  which  the 
Prince  consented.  Neither  did  the  Prince  consult  any  of  the  Oppo- 
sition, but  with  his  usual  lack  of  propriety  he  appeared  at  a  concert 
given  by  the  notorious  Lady  Hamilton,  and  was  heard  to  say  to 
Calonne,  the  ex-minister,  "  Savez  'dous,  M.  Calonne,  mon  phe  est 
ausd  fou  que  jamais  T^  At  Carlton  House  dancing  and  singing  were 
going  on. 

As  the  Prince  found  Mr.  Pitt  on  the  whole  rather  stiff — indeed, 
he  said  "  that  no  good  came  of  it,"  as  Lord  Malmesbury  repeats, 
' '  it  was  natural  that  the  Prince's  next  step  was  to  see  what  he 
could  do  with  Addington."  Accordingly,  "Jack  Payne"  was  de- 
spatched for  him.  The  Prince  asked  him  bluntly,  "  Was  he  or 
Mr.  Pitt  minister?"  He  said  that  Mr.  Pitt  was.  "In  that  case, 
pray  send  Mr.  Pitt  to  me."  The  other  naturally  hesitated,  and 
said  something  about  consulting  the  Duke  of  York,  on  which  the 
Prince,  with  a  certain  readiness  or  smartness  which  never  deserted 
him,  replied,  "No  advice  can  be  wanting  on  such  an  occasion,  Mr. 
Addington:  if  you  decline  acceding  to  my  request,  be  so  good  as 
to  obey  my  commands."  * 

Another  account  says  the  Prince  declared  that  lie  would  look  to 
Mr.  Addington  if  necessary.f  The  Prince,  it  may  be  said,  had  no 
authority  to  give  commands  to  Mr.  Addington,  and  could  only 
"request."    Among  other  topics,  he  dwelt  on  the  improper  sign- 


♦Lord  Malmesbury,  "Diaries." 
tLorU  Colchester,  "Diaries,"  i.  249. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  349 

ing  of  a  paper  by  the  King,  which  he  had  been  made  to  do  by  one 
of  his  physicians  at  the  instigation  of  the  Chancellor,  a  matter  on 
which  the  Prince  was  eager  to  have  Mr.  Addington's  opinion ;  but 
the  latter  was  reserved  and  begged  to  be  excused.  The  Prince  was 
gracious,  and  praised  his  general  behavior.* 

All,  however,  seemed  anxious  that  the  Prince  should  "keep  him- 
self quiet"  and  be  "passive."  But  this  he  could  not  do.  He  was 
remarked  to  be  in  great  agitation  of  mind  and  spirits,  uttering  com- 
plaints of  the  way  he  was  treated  at  the  palace,  how  he  was  fur- 
nished with  no  news  of  the  King,  and  talked  "Opposition  lan- 
guage." His  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  was  remarkable  for  his 
devotion  to  the  royal  family,  and  seemed  to  be  worn  out  with  his 
affectionate  attendance.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  exhibiting  his 
natural  contending  disposition  on  this  as  on  other  occasions,  was 
going  about  uttering  sentiments  of  great  violence,  declaring  that 
the  Chancellor  who  had  procured  the  King's  signature  deserved  a 
hatchet.  This  Prince  was  busy  at  his  favorite  labor  of  embroiling 
people,  for  on  one  of  the  last  days  of  February,  when  the  King's 
life  was  despaired  of,  he  sent  at  once  for  the  Duke  of  York  but  not 
for  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  latter  protested  against  such  treat- 
ment, on  which  he  gave  the  excuse  that  the  Prince  was  not  accept- 
able to  the  King.  By  March  the  7th  the  King  had  recovered  after 
about  a  three  weeks'  illness,  so  that  once  more  the  Prince  had  been 
beguiled  into  following  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  The  first  admitted  was 
his  favorite  son,  the  Duke  of  York,  and  at  the  interview  it  is 
remarkable  that  while  questions  were  eagerly  put  as  to  all  his 
family,  there  was  no  allusion  to  his  eldest  son.f 

Not  until  March  the  11th— four  days  later — did  the  Prince  see  his 
father.  The  Court  party  malignantly  gave  out  that  this  was  his 
own  fault,  that  he  had  purposely  chosen  to  come  at  times  when  he 
knew  he  would  not  be  admitted,  etc.  We  know  enough  of  the 
feelings  of  the  Queen  and  her  faction  to  see  that  this  exclusion  was 
part  of  their  policy.     Payne,  describing  this  interview  to  Mr.  Rose, 


*  In  Dean  Pellew's  "  Life  of  Lord  Sidmouth,"  Lord  Malmesbtiry's  story  of 
the  Prince's  rebuke  is  dismissed  as  untrue;  yet,  in  the  very  account  of  the 
interview  given  by  Addington  to  Mr.  Abbott,  we  find  that  "  Mr.  Addington 
explained  that,  not  having  received  his  royal  highness's  commands  to  go 
before,  he  had  voluntarily  forborne  to  call,  as  it  must  appear  to  be  courting  a 
situation;  but  that  being  now  commanded  to  go,"  etc.  From  this  apology,  It 
is  evident  that  something  of  the  kind  had  taken  place.  \    - 

t  Malmesburj',  "Diaries,"  p.  31.  -     *~ 


350  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

declared  that  the  Prince  had  not  been  with  him  more  than  a  min- 
ute or  two  before  Doctor  Thomas  Willis  came  into  the  room  with- 
out having  been  sent  for,  and  remained  in  it  the  whole  time  his 
royal  highness  was  there,  which  of  course  prevented  any  confi- 
dential conversation;  but  that  much  passed  of  a  general  nature. 
Among  other  matters  entered  upon  by  his  Majesty,  he  said  he  was 
glad  to  find  the  inquiries  made  about  his  health  had  been  very  gen- 
eral. The  Prince  answered,  he  believed  everybody  had  been  to  the 
Queen's  house  who  could  either  go  there  or  be  carried ;  to  which  the 
King  replied,  Mr.  Fox  had  not  been,  but  that  Mr.  Sheridan  had, 
who  he  verily  thought  had  a  respect  and  regard  for  him;  particu- 
larly dwelling  on  his  conduct  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  when  the 
attempt  was  made  on  his  Majesty's  life  by  the  madman  who  had 
been  in  the  Dragoons;  which  led  his  Majesty  to  ask  whether  the 
Prince  was  in  the  house  at  the  time;  who  said  he  was  not,  but 
that  he  repaired  there  the  moment  he  heard  of  the  transaction.* 

It  would  seem  that  the  Prince  was  misinformed  as  to  Fox's 
inquiries  at  the  palace.  Fox  left  his  name  only  on  that  evening. 
Thus  he  seemed  destined  to  turn  everything  to  his  own  disadvan- 
tage, and  set  himself  in  a  worse  light  than  ever  in  his  father's  eyes. 
One  matter,  however,  arose  out  of  the  crisis  which  comes  in  aid  of 
his  consistency  later,  when  we  come  to  deal  with  his  "desertion  of 
the  Whigs,"  and  the  charge  of  his  retaining  his  father's  advisers; 
for  he  had  now  declared  to  Lord  St.  Helens,  who  repeated  it  to 
Mr.  Abbott,  that  his  purpose  had  been  "to  maintain  his  father's 
ministers  in  their  situation."!  The  Opposition,  too,  had  not  been 
very  eager  for  place;  for  Fox  and  the  rest  expressed  themselves 
glad  and  relieved  at  the  crisis  being  over.  The  Prince  was  there- 
fore the  only  one  mortified  and  discredited. 

But  there  soon  came  evidences  of  a  relapse  in  the  King's  condi- 
tion, and  at  the  Drawing  Room  held  on  March  the  2Clh  it  was 
noted  how  pale  the  Queen  was,  and  the  Princesses  seemed  as  if  they 
had  been  weeping.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  Lord  Malmesbury  states, 
behaved  rudely  to  the  Queen.  His  adviser,  Lord  Thurlow,  who 
was  talked  of  for  Chancellor  in  case  the  party  had  come  in,  was 
reported  to  have  used  shocking  language  about  the  King,  so  that 
Lord  Kcnyon,  who  heard  him,  declared  that  of  the  two  hie  was  the 
one  who  was  really  mad. 

The  Prince,  liowever,  found  it  advisable  to  be  on  good  terms 

*  Rose,  "  Diarieg, '*  1.  833.  f  Ck>lch«ster,  "  Diaries,*'  1.  MS. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  351 

with  the  Court,  as  he  was  now,  as  ever,  in  want  of  money.  He 
wished  to  make  an  arrangement  for  borrowing  a  sum  of  money  from 
the  King,  on  the  security  of  extending  for  a  year  more  the  pres- 
ent plan  for  paying  off  his  debts.  On  one  day  in  April  he  and  the 
King  rode  down  to  Kew  together,  and  after  dinner  rode  again. 
This,  or  the  discussion  during  the  exercise,  brought  on  agitation, 
and  he  was  heard  putting  questions  to  workpeople  and  others.  On 
these  rides  the  Prince  founded  an  extraordinary  legend,  for  he 
sent  for  the  Chancellor,  Lord  Eldon,  on  the  following  day,  and 
announced  to  him  that  his  Majesty  was  about  to  retire  to  Hanover 
or  to  America,  and  resign  the  government  to  him !  He  wished  the 
Chancellor,  therefore,  to  take  the  necessary  steps,  and  see  Lord 
Thurlow  for  the  purpose.  The  Queen  and  his  brothers  wished  him 
to  confine  the  King,  etc.  The  Chancellor  received  this  extraordi- 
nary communication  very  coolly  and  bluntly,  and  declined  to  adopt 
any  of  the  measures  suggested.  He  then  pressed  Lord  Eosslyn,  the 
late  Chancellor,  with  similar  proposals,  sending  him  earnest  mes- 
sages by  Payne.  This  in  itself  seemed  like  madness.  Yet  his  fore- 
cast came  true. 

In  a  few  weeks  the  poor  King  had  relapsed.  Dr.  Willis  riding 
out  with  him,  he  would  tell  his  physician  that  he  had  a  "most 
charming  night:  no  sleep  from  eleven  till  half  after  four,"  the  time 
being  passed  in  getting  out  of  bed,  opening  the  shutters,  in  praying 
at  times  violently,  and  in  making  such  remarks  as  betrayed  a  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  situation.  He  frequently  called  out:  "I  am 
now  perfectly  well,  and  my  Queen,  my  Queen  has  saved  me!"  * 

In  fact,  his  body,  mind,  and  tongue  were  all  upon  the  stretch 
every  minute,  and  his  eldest  son  and  his  eldest  son's  affairs  were 
unfortunately  too  much  connected  with  this  agitation.  Good  and 
conscientious  king  as  he  was,  he  had  now  before  his  mind  the 
trouble  of  his  little  grandchild's  future,  which  he  felt. he  alone  was 
competent  to  decide  on,  and  had  determined  to  take  the  charge  of 
her  himself. 

That  there  was  scarcely  a  more  wretched  household  in  the  king- 
dom than  that  at  Kew  will  be  seen  from  the  following  piteous 
letter: 

THE  PBINCESS   ELIZABETH  TO  THE  REV.   DR.    THOMAS  WILLIS. 

"June  6th,  1801. 

"After  receiving  one  note  you  will  be  surprised  at  this:  but 
*  " Life  of  Lord  Eldon,"  i,  376. 


352  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  lY. 

second  thoughts  are  sometimes  best:  besides  which  I  am  com- 
manded by  the  Queen  to  inform  you  by  letter  how  much  this  sub- 
ject of  the  Princess  is  still  in  the  King's  mind,  to  a  degree  that  is 
distressing,  from  the  unfortunate  situation  of  the  family;  Mama  is 
of  opinion  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  should  be  informed  of  it.  The 
Queen  commands  me  to  add,  that  if  you  could  see  her  heart,  you 
would  see  that  she  is  guided  by  every  principle  of  justice,  and  with 
a  most  fervent  wish  that  the  dear  King  may  do  nothing  to  form  a 
breach  between  him  and  the  Prince, — for  she  really  lives  in  dread 
of  it;  for,  from  the  moment  my  Brother  comes  into  the  room  till  the 
instant  he  quits  it,  there  is  nothing  that  is  not  kind  that  the  King 
does  not  do  by  him.  This  is  so  different  to  his  manner  when  well, 
and  his  ideas  concerning  the  child  so  extraordinary,  that,  to  own  to 
you  the  truth,  I  am  not  astonished  at  Mama's  uneasiness.  She  took 
courage  and  told  the  King,  that  now  my  Brother  was  quiet,  he  had 
better  leave  him  so,  as  he  never  had  forbid  the  Princess  seeing  the 
child  when  she  pleased;  to  which  he  answered,  'That  does  not  sig- 
nify; the  Princess  shall  have  her  child,  and  I  will  speak  to  Mr. 
Wyatt  about  the  building  of  the  wing  to  her  present  house.'  You 
know  full  well  how  speedily  everything  is  now  oi'dered  and  done. 
In  short,  what  Mama  wishes  is,  that  you  would  inform  the  Lord 
Chancellor  that  his  assistance  is  much  wanted  in  preventing  the 
King  doing  anything  that  shall  hurt  him.  The  Princess  spoke  to 
me  on  the  conversation  the  King  had  had  with  her,  expressed  her  dis- 
tress, and  I  told  her  how  right  she  was  in  not  answering,  as  I  feared 
the  King's  intentions,  though  most  kindly  meant,  might  serve  to 
hurt  and  injiye  her  in  the  world.  I  hope  I  was  not  wrong,  but  I  am 
always  afraid  when  she  speaks  to  me  on  such  unfortunate  subjects. 
I  think  the  king  heated  and  fatigued,  which  I  am  not  surprised  at, 
not  having  been  one  minute  quiet  the  whole  day.  I  assure  you  it 
is  a  very  great  trial,  the  anxiety  we  must  go  through ;  but  we  trust 
in  God, — therefore  we  hope  for  the  best. 

"Your  friend, 

"Elizabeth." 

the  pbencess  elizabeth,  probably  to  the  rev.  dr.  thomas 

WILLIS. 

"June  9th,  1801. 

"I  am  but  just  come  into  my  room,  where  I  found  your  very 
comfortable  letter,  which  I  return  you  many  thanks  for.  I  had 
promised  Mama  to  tell  you,  etc. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV.  353 

"She  commands  me  to  say  to  you  that  she  wishes  the  Lord 
Chancellor  would  show  Mr.  Addington,  that,  as  the  King  is  con- 
tented with  it,  that  he  had  better  not  hurry  our  going,  as  he  is  so 
much  better,  that  there  is  hope  that  in  gaining  strength  it  will 
ensure  us  from  having  a  relapse,  which  you  may  easily  believe  is 
her  earnest  and  daily  prayer.  He  has  been  very  quiet,  very  heavy, 
and  very  sleepy,  all  the  evening,  and  has  said  two  or  three  times, 
yesterday  was  too  much  for  him.  God  grant  that  his  eyes  may 
soon  open,  and  that  he  may  see  his  real  and  true  friends  in  their 
true  colors.  How  it  grieves  one  to  see  so  fine  a  character  clouded 
by  complaint !  but  He  wlio  inflicted  it  may  dispel  it,  so  I  hope  all 
will  soon  be  well.  Your  friend, 

"Elizabeth." 

A  change  of  scene,  fresh  country  air,  with  perfect  quiet,  was 
absolutely  necessary,  and  the  King,  who  delighted  in  staying  at  a 
favorite  subject's  house  for  a  few  days,  honored  Mr.  Rose  with  a 
visit  at  Cufnels.  Gradually  he  was  restored  to  health,  for  a  time 
at  least. 

It  was  when  he  was  at  Weymouth  that  the  military  taste  of  the 
kingdom  was  enlisted  by  the  behavior  of  the  First  Consul :  drill- 
ing, volunteering,  addresses  going  forward  with  great  animation. 
Mr.  Addington,  now  established  as  Prime  Minister,  was  being 
pressed  by  the  Duke  of  York  and  his  brother  for  military  employ- 
ment, the  former  proposing  to  go  down  and  urge  the  matter  on 
the  King.  Once  more  the  Prince  of  Wales's  military  ardor  flamed 
up,  and  he  addressed  the  ministers  in  the  following  strain: 

THE  PBINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MB.  ADDINGTON. 

•*  Brighton,  August  3rd,  1801. 

"Deab  Sm, 

**  In  the  present  anxious  pressure  of  public  affairs  I  am 
extremely  unwilling  to  obtrude  the  smallest  additional  weight  of 
business  upon  you,  and  more  especially  to  intrude  any  which 
could  belong  personally  to  myself.  But  the  station  you  fill  renders 
it  necessary  that  all  such  communications  as  I  have  to  state  should 
be  made  directly  to  you.  Besides,  the  zeal  which  I  am  conscious 
animates  you  in  the  cause  of  all  the  royal  family,  together  with  the 
kind  and  obliging  interest  I  believe  you  so  particularly  to  take  in 
whatever  essentially  relates  to  myself,  induce  me  to  communicate 


354  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

•with  you  in  thorough  confidence,  and  under  the  impression  of  high 
personal  opinion  and  esteem. 

"  As  I  wish  to  make  you  perfectly  master  of  the  subject  I  am 
about  to  treat  I  enclose  you  a  copy  of  a  letter*  which  I  wrote  to 
the  King  in  April,  1798,  when  the  alarm  of  invasion  was  universal, 
although  very  wide  of  the  formidable  aspect  which  this  measure 
unquestionably  wears  at  the  present  day.  I  cannot  immediately 
put  my  hand  on  the  answer  his  Majesty  wrote  me  to  this  letter 
(it  being  among  my  papers  in  London),  but  it  went  distinctly  to 
this,  that,  in  case  of  the  enemy's  landing,  my  regiment  was  to  be 
foremost  of  the  cavalry,  and  myself  at  their  head.  The  feelings 
I  have  expressed  to  the  King  in  this  letter,  as  possessing  me  at  that 
day,  be  assured  have  lived  in  my  breast  ever  since,  and  operate  at 
this  moment  with  a  tenfold  increase;  yet,  dreading  even  the  appre- 
hension of  offering  any  proposition  that  might  tend,  however 
slightly,  to  flurry  the  King,  I  have  determined  not  to  repeat  a  simi- 
lar mode  of  application  to  his  Majesty  on  the  present  occasion; 
but,  confiding  in  your  friendly  discretion,  place  these  uppermost 
wishes  of  my  heart  entirely  in  your  hands,  requesting  that  you 
will  take  the  earliest  convenient  opportunity  of  bringing  this  sub- 
ject before  his  Majesty  as  a  suggestion  from  yourself,  not  only 
founded  upon  the  infinite  anxiety  you  know  it  to  excite  in  my 
mind,  but  from  the  high  rank  I  bear  in  the  country,  as  a  measure 
of  national  expectation  at  so  eventful  a  crisis  as  the  present,  and  in 
its  consequences  materially  affecting  my  future  character  and  con- 
sequence in  life  in  the  estimation  of  the  world.  I  again  submit,  as 
before,  to  be  called  out  in  whatever  character  his  Majesty  shall 
think  fit.  I  own  that  a  command  of  cavalry  would  be  most  pleas- 
ing to  me,  because  I  think  in  that  line  I  could  best  serve  my  King 
and  country;  but  I  have  no  difficulties.  I  am  willing  and  ready  to 
serve  in  any  command  and  with  any  rank  a  letter  of  service  may 
assign  me;  or  even  to  serve  under  the  command  of  any  officer 
whatever  it  may  be  his  Majesty's  pleasure  to  place  over  me.  Inde- 
pendent of  an  ardent  love  for  actual  service,  the  consideration  of 
my  fame  and  character  with  the  world  engrosses,  as  you  may 
readily  conceive,  my  every  thought,  and  will,  I  make  no  doubt, 
insure  to  me  your  good  offices  and  cordial  co-operation  in  the 
attainment  of  an  object  I  i)avc  so  earnestly  at  heart;  for  I  can  with 
the  utmost  sincerity  conclude  this  letter  with  assuring  you  of  the 

♦^nte,p.  848. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  355 

truth  of  the  declaration  I  made  in  my  letter  to  the  King,  *  that 
death  would  be  preferable  to  the  being  marked  as  the  only  man 
that  was  not  suffered  to  stand  forth  on  such  an  occasion.' 
"I  am,  dear  Sir,  ever  very  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P." 

A  month  was  allcwed  to  elapse  before  an  answer  was  returned 
to  this  appeal.  It  was  of  the  conventional  kind.  The  King,  it 
seems,  dechired  there  was  no  situation  suited  to  the  rank  of  the 
Prince.  "The  conversation,"  the  minister  adds  significantly, 
"  from  causes  which  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  state,  was  unavoid- 
ably short;  but  he  should  have  thought  himself  justified  in  attempt- 
ing to  protract  it." 

Peace,  however,  was  presently  concluded,  due  notice  of  which 
the  minister  gave  to  the  Prince. 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.    ADDINGTON. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  Oct.  2nd,  1801. 
"  Many  thanks,  my  dear  sir,  for  your  obliging  communication. 
It  is  a  matter  of  amazing  importance,  and  upon  which  I  most 
heartily  congratulate  you.  Everything,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  smile 
upon  us  now.  ...  As  I  am  this  moment  summoned  to  his  Majes- 
ty's dinner,  excuse  my  not  adding  anything  more,  except  that  I  am, 
with  the  truest  regard,  dear  Sir, 

"Ever  most  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P." 

Indeed,  so  soon  as  Otto,  the  French  plenipotentiary,  arrived  in 
London,  we  find  the  Prince,  with  a  kind  of  emotional  view  of  the 
event,  taking  an  interest  in  the  negotiations,  and  closeted  with  the 
envoy.  Sir  John  Macphersou,  one  of  his  favorites,  was  engaged  in 
the  matter.  "  We  all  knew  and  appreciate  thoroughly,"  wrote  Otto 
to  the  latter,  "the  talents  of  the  Prince,  who  so  ably  expounded  to 
us  the  true  system  that  should  guide  the  relations  of  his  country  as 
well  as  of  all  Europe.  Peace,  founded  on  such  consideration, 
becomes  not  a  simple  exchange  of  snuff-boxes  or  a  ten  years'  truce, 
but  a  solemn  pact,  guaranteed  by  all  that  humanity  holds  most 
dear.  'AH  is  new  in  this  age  of  ours,' said  the  Prince.  All  is 
indeed  new,  and  so,  too,  was  the  language  he  used,  and  which  will 
never  be  effaced  from  my  recollection."*    We  can  sec  the  figure  of 

*  Lord  Sidmouth,  "  Life,"  ii.  25. 


356  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  Prince  as  he  thus  expatiated  at  Carlton  House,  and  fancied  he 
was  controverting  events.  Otto's  letter  was  shown  to  the  Prince 
by  Macpherson,  and  the  former,  much  gratified,  forwarded  it  to 
the  Prime  Minister: 

THE  PRmCE  OP  WALES  TO  MR.    ADDLNGTON. 

"Jan.  22nd,  1802. 

"When  the  letter  of  M.  Otto,,  which  I  have  now  the  pleasure  to 
inclose  to  you,  was  communicated  to  me,  I  desired  Admiral  Payne 
to  lay  it  before  you :  he  called  twice  in  Downing  Street,  butmissed 
you.  It  is  neither  from  the  compliments  that  M.  Otto  has  been 
pleased  to  pay  me,  nor  even  from  the  justice  which  he  renders  to 
your  administration,  that  I  am  anxious  to  draw  your  attention  to 
the  contents  of  his  letter.  It  is  the  wisdom,  the  temper,  and  the 
pleasing  harmony  of  the  political  order  which  it  embraces,  that 
have  won  my  admiration.  Fortunate  shall  I  reckon  my  own  des- 
tiny in  life,  if  I  can  in  any  way  be  useful  to  favor  a  political  sys- 
tem of  such  extensive  good.  I  know  what  you  will  naturally  feel 
on  the  subject;  and  no  one  can  wish  you  more  success  in  the 
arduous  and^'noble  duty  you  are  discharging  for  your  country. 

"George  P." 

The  minister  of  course  gratefully  acknowledged  these  compli- 
ments. On  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  in  1802,  festivities  and 
revels  of  all  kinds  followed.  The  Lord  Mayor  gave  a  magnificent 
entertainment,  which  the  Prince  attended,  whose  horses  were  taken 
off  at  Temple  Bar,  and  his  carriage  drawn  by  the  mob  to  the 
Mansion  House.  A  ball  given  by  the  Gaming  Club  in  Bond  Street 
followed. 

We  are  told  how  their  rooms  were  decorated  upon  the  most 
magnificent  scale.  "  The  windows,  by  excellent  mechanical  skill, 
served  as  so  many  entrances,  and  were  ornamented  with  flowers; 
gilt  corheiUes  depended  from  them,  containing  lights.  The  great 
room  was  illuminated  with  about  forty  lustres;  and  it  was  covered 
with  a  green  and  buff  treillage  paper.  Each  recess  formed  a  green- 
house, which  was  stocked  with  the  choicest  plants,  trees  of  consid- 
erable size,  beauty,  and  value.  A  grand  orchestra  contained  a  full 
band  of  musicians;  and  a  number  of  Indians  performed  their  war- 
dance,  battle,  and  song.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  habited  in  a 
rich  Highland  dress,  and  he  had  a  room  exclusively  for  his  own 
party.     An  adjoining  one  represented  a  subterraneous  cave  for  a 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  357 

number  of  banditti.  These  sung  several  excellent  comic  songs,  for 
the  amusement  of  his  royal  highness.  The  banditti  consisted  of 
Lord  Craven,  the  Hon.  Berkeley  Craven,  Mr.  Manners,  and  Mr.  T. 
Sheridan.  The  greater  part  of  tlie  foreign  ministers  were  present, 
and  also  several  strangers  of  distinction,  among  whom  was  the 
beautiful  Madame  Recamier.  This  was  one  of  the  most  splendid 
f^tes  ever  given  in  this  country." 

He  was  now  indeed  beginning  to  exhibit  that  curious  taste  for 
costume  and  fancy  dressing  for  which  he  was  to  be  so  remarkable. 
At  the  Lord  Mayor's  he  had  worn  "a  general's  frock  uniform," 
which,  considering  that  he  did  not  hold  the  rank,  seems  strange. 

At  one  of  these  balls  a  difficulty  had  arisen  out  of  the  position 
that  two  important  ladies,  the  Duchess  of  York  and  Mrs.  Fitzhex- 
bert,  were  to  take.  The  King  and  Queen  would  not  hear  of  them 
being  placed  at  the  same  table,  and  the  Duke  was  distracted  between 
his  father  and  brother.  It  was  arranged  by  having  separate  tables. 
Here  the  Prince's  rude  speech  to  "  Old  Baggs"  (Lord  Eldon)  caused 
much  amusement.  The  latter  was  pressing  on  him  the  necessity  of 
consulting  the  dignity  and  comfort  of  the  Princess  of  "Wales,  when 
the  Prince  declared  roughly,  "  That  he  was  not  the  sort  of  person 
to  let  his  hair  grow  under  his  wig  to  please  his  wife."  The  Chan- 
cellor answered  him  firmly:  "Your  Royal  Highness  condescends 
to  be  personal.  I  beg  leave  to  retire."  The  Prince  wrote  to  him  to 
say  that  nothing  was  intended,  that  he  had  quoted  a  proverb ;  but  it 
was  awkward  that  the  practice  alluded  to  was  one  in  which  the 
Chancellor  indulged! 

During  this  year  the  Prince  seems  to  have  been  more  than  usually 
restless,  and  some  eccentric  boutades  of  his  are  recorded.  He  seri- 
ously proposed  to  one  of  the  ministers  to  go  abroad  "and  form  a 
Northern  Confederacy."  His  plan  was  to  gain  the  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick, which  he  said  he  could  do,  and  through  him  Russia  and 
Prussia.  In  this  he  was  to  be  assisted  by  one  Baron  Hompesch, 
"a  rank  adventurer."  He  pressed  the  matter  on  Lord  Pelham, 
who  only  put  it  aside  as  one  of  the  ten  thousand  chimeras  his  royal 
highness  had  conceived.  The  following  day  Hompesch  was  de- 
spatched by  him  to  Lord  Pelham  to  talk  the  plan  over,  but  the 
latter  declined  entering  on  such  a  subject  with  the  baron.* 

*  Malmesbury,  "  Diaries,"  iv.  263. 


358  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

1802—1803. 

The  Prince's  affairs  had  now  for  some  five  or  six  years  been  sub- 
mitted to  strict  regulation,  and,  it  having  been  made  illegal  by  Act 
of  Parliament  to  trust  him,  it  was  presumed  that  he  was  secured 
against  all  relapse  into  debt.  The  public  was  now  to  be  surprised 
by  learning  that  it  was  the  father,  and  not  the  son,  that  was  in  debt; 
and  an  application  was  made  to  Parliament  to  discharge  the  arrears 
of  the  Civil  List,  amounting  to  nearly  a  million  sterling.  Lord  Hol- 
land was  bold  enough  to  suggest  that  his  Majesty  should  be  treated 
as  his  son  had  been,  and  a  portion  of  the  royal  income  set  apart.  It 
is  but  fair  to  state  that  this  deficit  was  attributed  to  public  charges 
— secret  service  money  and,  strange  to  say,  outlay  upon  elections. 
This  was  a  favorable  opening,  and  accordingly  the  old  weaiying 
subject  of  the  Prince's  situation  was  brought  forward,  and  Mr. 
Manners  Sutton,  the  Solicitor-General,  once  more  made  an  appeal 
for  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall  arrears.  This  long-disputed  claim  was 
now  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  where  it  had  remained  without 
decision  for  some  years.  The  old  arguments  were  put  forward,  and 
it  was  shown  that  the  King  had  not  only  appropriated  the  arrears,  but 
taken  fines  from  tenants  for  long  leases,  leaving  the  Prince's  powers 
as  a  landlord  much  impaired.  The  motion  for  a  committee  was 
defeated  by  a  not  very  large  majority — 160  to  103.  The  minister 
was  beginning  to  feel  the  weakness  of  the  position,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, 1802,  sent  to  consult  Mr.  Pitt  as  to  making  a  compromise  with 
the  Prince  on  the  terms  of  discharging  him  from  the  arrangement  of 
1795,  by  paying  off  whatever  debts  remained  due.  In  return,  the 
Prince  was  not  to  press  for  the  Cornwall  arrears.  Mr.  Pitt  declared 
himself  against  all  compromise.  If  the  arrears  were  justly  owing, 
he  said,  they  should  be  paid;  if  not,  the  question  of  increased  allow- 
ance should  be  considered  separately.  On  February  16th,  Mr, 
Addington  came  to  the  House  with  a  message  from  his  Majesty,  to 
this  effect:* 

*  Dean  Pellew's  mode  of  appreciating  his  hero  may  be  conceived  from  the 
following  passage:  "Speaking  of  this  event  "  (the  execution  of  the  unfortu- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  359 

The  minister  dwelt  on  the  necessity  of  the  position  of  splendor  a 
Prince  of  Wales  ought  to  hold,  and  proposed  that  a  sum  of  money, 
not  exceeding  £60,000  in  the  year,  should  be  granted  for  three 
years  from  January  5th,  1803.  This  was  not  to  affect  the  previous 
arrangement  of  1795.*  In  the  succeeding  debates  it  came  out  that 
the  legal  procceedings  for  the  arrears  had  been  suddenly  stopped,  so 
that  this  step  had  the  air  of  a  compromise.  It  was  also  announced 
that  no  less  a  sum  than  £575,000  of  debt  had  been  paid  off  by  the 
commissioners.  Mr.  Sheridan  made  himself  conspicuous  by  his 
devotion  to  his  master's  interest,  declaring  that  the  Prince  considered 
himself  bound  in  honor  to  pay  his  creditors  the  ten  per  cent,  which 
the  commissioners  had  deducted,  and  that  until  he  was  quite  clear 
he  would  decline  to  reassume  his  state  and  position.  Lord  Malmes- 
bury  seems  to  have  truly  interpreted  the  meaning  of  these  protes- 
tations, viz.,  that  the  Prince  had  incurred  a  new  tale  of  debt  in  the 
teeth  of  the  Act  of  Parliament.  And,  indeed,  it  is  evident  that  there 
would  have  been  found  persons  ready  to  advance  an  heir-apparent 
money  as  he  required,  on  usurious  terms,  in  spite  of  any  Act.f 

Mr.  Fox  boasted  in  extravagant  terms  that  the  Prince  had  now 
shown  himself  worthy  of  the  management  of  a  large  income  by  his 
prudence — the  only  virtue  he  was  ever  charged  with  wanting.  Mr. 
Erskine  declared  for  him,  that  now,  at  forty  years  of  age,  he  did  not 
owe  one  shilling  to  the  public.  Mr.  Tierney  said  he  was  the  least 
expensive  Prince  of  Wales  that  ever  existed!  However,  on  Feb- 
ruary 28th,  the  Prince's  equerry.  Colonel  Tyrwhitt,  brought  down  a 
message  to  the  House,  stating  that  the  Prince  gratefully  accepted  the 
promised  Act,  declaring  that  there  were  still  claims  on  him  for 
which  he  must  set  apart  a  portion  of  his  income.  Mr.  Calcraft  on 
March  4th  brought  forward  a  motion  in  this  spirit,  for  a  committee 
to  examine  the  Prince's  affairs,  and  enable  him  to  resume  his  posi- 
tion with  proper  state  and  dignity.     All  his  friends  declared  that 

nate  Governor  Wall),  Lord  Sidmouth  observed:  "In  the  case  of  Governor 
Wall,  Lord  Eldon  said  he  would  not  say  he  ought  to  be  hanged  and  he  would 
not  say  he  ought  not.  He  was  hanged,"  added  Lord  Sidmouth,  in  that  calm 
tone  which  marked  the  mild  decision  of  his  character.—"  Life,"  i.  478. 

*  In  1801,  Mr.  Addington  had  sanctioned  an  increased  allowance  of  £8000  a 
year  to  the  Prince.  It  becomes  difficult  to  follow  the  changes  in  the  ai'range- 
ments:  the  Prince,  however,  was  the  gainer. 

t  The  Chancellor,  however,  explained  that  there  virtually  had  been  no 
reduction,  as  they  were  given  the  full  sum  in  debentures  at  three  per  cent, 
or  the  reduced  sum  with  five  per  cent.,  no  interest  being  due  on  mere  book 
debts. 


360  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  Prince  had  not  directed  this  motion,  though  he  did  not  prevent 
it,  and  Sheridan  made  a  humorous  and  effective  speech. 

The  ministers  carried  the  previous  question  by  a  small  majority 
of  about  40.  In  the  House  of  Lords,  however,  Lord  Moira  brought 
the  matter  to  a  conclusion,  by  a  sort  of  official  acceptance  on  the 
Prince's  part.  The  Prince  also  declared,  by  the  mouth  of  Mr. 
Erskine,  his  chancellor,  that  he  could  not  think  of  adding  further 
to  the  burden  of  the  country,  and  that  he  was  perfectly  satisfied 
with  what  Parliament  had  done.*  For,  as  Lord  Malmsbury  learned 
from  Lord  Pelh am,  "  it  is  understood  the  Prince  is  to  restore  his 
establishment."  He  asked,  "Was  this  put  in  writing?"  He 
answered,  "No;  but  it  was  implied  by  the  Prince's  promise."  In 
short,  it  is  clear  that  the  whole  is  a  compromise  between  the  Prince 
and  Addington,  to  induce  the  Prince  to  waive  his  claims  on  the 
arrears  of  the  Duchy,  and  which  the  Crown  lawyers  consider  to  be 
a  fair  one,  and  so  withdraw  his  petition  of  right.  No  terms  are 
made  with  the  Prince  but  this  (Lord  Pelham  was  one  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, it  must  be  borne  in  mind):  "None  of  his  income  (which 
will  now  be  net  which  is  paid  him  by  the  public)  is  appropriated  to 
any  specific  purpose,  as  the  Civil  List  is;  and  the  whole  will  evi- 
dently be  squandered  away,  without  his  assuming  any  one  single 
extensive  work  of  royalty  or  splendor,  to  prove  that  he  and  his 
hangers-on  do  not  consider  it  a  farce,  "f 

The  reader  will  recall  Mr.  Addington  consulting  with  Mr.  Pitt 
on  the  compromise.  Yet  we  now  find  him  denying  it.  The  Prince 
also  denied  it,  and  abruptly  stopped  his  suit,  which  was  ripe  for 
decision.  The  affair,  however,  was  arranged;  the  public  were  not 
to  learn  more  of  the  matter  for  a  long  period. 

The  peace,  one  which  "  every  one  was  glad  of  and  no  one  proud 
of,"  soon  ended  in  a  violent  rupture,  and  once  more  the  kingdom 
re-echoed  with  valorous  shouts  and  the  noise  of  preparation.  Once 
more,  too,  was  our  Prince  fired  with  martial  ardor,  and  put  for- 
ward his  claim  to  be  allowed  to  serve  his  country  as  a  soldier.  He 
addressed  Mr.  Addington  in  a  number  of  letters. 


*  It  is  characteristic  that,  while  the  Prince's  friends  were  thus  clamoring  in 
his  behalf,  their  principal  should  have  arranged  matters  with  the  minister; 
to  whom  Mr.  Sutton  had  written  apologetically,  that  the  Prince  did  not  wish 
to  embarrass  the  Government  or  reflect  upon  any  one,  but  merely  to  satisfy 
the  public  that  he  had  not  been  a  burden  on  the  country,  and  that  the  state  of 
accovmts  should  be  in  his  favor.— "  Life  of  Lord  Sidmouth,"  i.  493. 

t  "  Diaries,"  iv.  206. 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBGE  IK  361 

THE  PRINCE  OF   WALES  TO  MR.   ADDINGTON. 

"  Carlton  Hoxise,  July  18th,  1803. 

"Sir, 

**  The  subject  on  which  I  address  you  presses  so  heavily  on 
my  mind,  and  daily  acquires  such  additional  importance,  that,  not- 
withstanding my  wish  to  avoid  any  interference  with  the  disposition 
made  by  his  Majesty's  ministers,  I  find  it  impossible  to  withhold  or 
delay  an  explicit  statement  of  my  feelings,  to  which  I  would  direct 
your  most  serious  consideration. 

"  When  it  was  officially  communicated  to  Parliament  that  the 
avowed  object  of  the  enemy  was  a  descent  on  our  kingdoms,  the 
question  became  so  obvious  that  the  circumstances  of  the  times 
required  the  voluntary  tender  of  personal  services;  when  Parlia- 
ment, in  consequence  of  this  representation,  agreed  to  extraordinary 
measures  for  the  defence  of  these  realms  alone,  it  w^as  evident  the 
danger  was  not  believed  dubious  nor  remote.  Animated  by  the 
same  spirit  which  pervaded  the  nation  at  large,  conscious  of  the 
duties  which  I  owed  to  his  Majesty  and  the  country,  I  seized  the 
earliest  opportunity  to  express  my  desire  of  undertaking  the  respon 
sibility  of  a  military  command;  I  neither  did  nor  do  presume  on 
supposed  talents  as  entitling  me  to  such  an  appointment.  I  am 
aw^are  I  do  not  possess  the  experience  of  actual  warfare ;  at  the 
same  time  I  cannot  regard  myself  as  totally  unqualified,  nor  defi- 
cient in  military  science,  since  I  have  long  made  the  service  my 
particular  study.  My  chief  pretensions  were  founded  on  a  sense 
of  those  advantages  which  my  example  might  produce  to  the  State, 
by  exciting  the  loyal  energies  of  the  nation,  and  a  knowledge  of 
those  expectations  which  the  public  had  a  right  to  form  as  to  the 
personal  exertion  of  their  princes  at  a  moment  like  the  present. 
The  more  elevated  my  situation,  in  so  much  the  efforts  of  zeal 
became  necessarily  greater;  and  I  confess,  that  if  duty  has  not 
been  so  paramount,  a  reflection  on  the  splendid  achievements  of 
my  predecessors  would  have  excited  in  me  the  spirit  of  emulation. 
When,  however,  in  addition  to  such  recollections,  the  nature  of 
the  contest  in  which  we  are  about  to  engage  was  impressed  on  my 
consideration,  I  should  indeed  have  been  devoid  of  every  virtuous 
sentiment  if  I  felt  no  reluctance  in  remaining  a  passive  spectator  of 
armaments  which  have  for  their  object  the  very  existence  of  the 
British  empire. 

"  Thus  was  I  influenced  to  make  my  offer  of  service,  and  I  did 
16 


362  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

hope  that  his  Majesty's  ministers  would  have  attached  to  it  more 
value.  But  when  I  find  that,  from  some  unknown  cause,  my 
appointment  seems  to  remain  so  long  undetermined;  when  I  feel 
myself  exposed  to  the  obloquy  of  being  regarded  by  the  country  of 
passing  my  lime  indifferent  to  the  events  which  menace,  and  insen- 
sible to  the  call  of  patriotism,  much  more  of  glory,  it  then  becomes 
me  to  examine  my  rights,  and  to  remind  his  Majesty's  ministers 
that  the  claim  which  I  have  advanced  is  strictly  constitutional,  and 
justified  by  precedent;  and  that  in  the  present  situation  of  Europe, 
to  deny  my  exercising  it  is  fatal  to  my  own  immediate  honor  and 
the  future  interests  of  the  crown. 

"  I  can  never  forget  that  I  have  solemn  obligations  imposed  on 
me  by  my  birth,  and  that  I  should  ever  show  myself  foremost  in 
contributing  to  the  preservation  of  the  country.  The  time  is  arrived 
when  I  may  prove  myself  sensible  of  the  duties  of  my  situation, 
and  of  evincing  my  devotion  to  that  sovereign,  who  by  nature  as 
well  as  public  worth  commands  my  most  affectionate  attachment. 

"  I  repeat  that  I  should  be  sorry  to  embarrass  the  Government  at 
any  time,  most  particularly  at  such  a  crisis;  but  since  no  event  in 
my  future  life  can  compensate  me  for  the  misfortune  of  not  parti- 
cipating in  the  honors  and  dangers  that  await  the  brave  men  des- 
tined to  oppose  an  invading  enemy,  I  cannot  forego  the  earnest 
renewal  of  my  application. 

"  All  I  solicit  is  a  more  ostensible  situation  than  that  in  which  I 
am  at  present  placed ;  for,  situated  as  I  am — a  mere  colonel  of  a 
regiment — the  major-general  commanding  the  brigade,  of  which 
such  regiment  must  form  a  part,  would  justly  expect  and  receive 
the  full  credit  of  prearrangement  and  successful  enterprise. 
"  I  am,  Sir,  very  sincerely  yours, 

"G.  P." 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  MR.  ADDINGTON. 

'•July  26th,  1803. 

"  A  week  has  now  elapsed  since  the  Prince  of  Wales  transmitted 
to  Mr.  Addington  a  letter  on  the  subject  of  the  liighest  importance. 
Though  he  cannot  anticipate  a  refusal  to  so  reasonable  a  demand,  he 
must  still  express  some  surprise  that  a  communication  of  such  a 
nature  should  have  remained  so  long  unanswered. 

"When  the  Prince  of  Wales  desired  to  be  placed  in  a  situation 
which  might  enable  him  to  show  the  people  of  England  an  example 
of  zeal,  fidelity,  and  devotion  to  his  sovereign,  he  naturally  thought 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  363 

that  he  was  only  fulfilling  his  appropriate  duty  as  the  first  subject  of 
the  realm,  in  which,  as  it  has  pleased  Providence  to  cause  him  to  be 
born,  so  he  is  determined  to  maintain  himself,  by  all  those  honor- 
able exertions  which  the  exigencies  of  these  critical  times  peculiarly 
demand.  The  motives  of  his  conduct  cannot  be  misconceived  nor 
misrepresented ;  he  has,  at  a  moment  when  everything  is  at  stake 
that  is  dear  and  sacred  to  him  and  to  the  nation,  asked  to  be  advanced 
m  military  rank,  because  he  may  have  his  birthright  to  fight  for,  the 
throne  of  his  father  to  defend,  the  glory  of  the  people  of  England 
to  uphold,  which  is  dearer  to  him  than  life,  which  has  yet  remained 
unsullied  under  the  princes  of  the  house  of  Brunswick,  and  which, 
he  trusts,  will  he  transmitted  pure  and  unsullied  to  the  latest  genera- 
tions. Animated  by  such  sentiments,  he  has  naturally  desired  to  be 
placed  in  a  situation  where  he  can  act  according  to  the  feelings 
of  his  heart  and  the  dictates  of  his  conscience. 

"In  making  the  offer,  in  again  repeating  it,  the  Prince  of  Wales 
considers  that  he  has  only  performed  his  duty  to  himself,  to  the 
State,  to  the  King,  and  to  Europe,  whose  fate  may  be  involved  in 
the  issue  of  this  contest.  If  this  tender  of  his  services  is  rejected, 
he  shall  ever  lament  that  all  his  efforts  have  been  fruitless,  and  that 
he  has  been  deprived  of  making  those  exertions  which  the  circum- 
stances of  the  empire,  his  own  inclinations,  and  his  early  and  long 
attention  to  military  affairs,  would  have  rendered  so  peculiarly 
grateful  to  himself,  and,  he  trusts,  not  entirely  useless  to  the 
pubhc." 

Mr.  Addington  explained  that  though  a  verbal  answer  had  been 
sent  he  could  now  declare  that  the  King  ' '  applauded  "  the  Prince's 
spirit,  but  referred  him  to  the  answers  given  before. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  then  desired  Mr.  Addington  to  lay  his  note 
of  the  26th  of  July  before  the  Kmg. 

MR.    ADDINGTON  TO  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

"  Downing  Street,  August  1,  1803. 
*'SlR, 

"  In  obedience  to  the  commands  of  your  Royal  Highness,  I 
laid  before  his  Majesty  the  letter  dated  the  26th  of  July,  with  which 
your  Royal  Highness  honored  me ;  and  I  have  it  in  command  from 
his  Majesty  to  acquaint  your  Royal  Highness,  that  the  King  had 
referred  Mr.  Addington  to  the  orders  he  had  before  given  him, 


364  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

with  the  addition,  that  the  King's  opinion  being  fixed  he  desired 
that  no  further  mention  should  be  made  to  him  upon  the  subject. 

"I  liave  the  honor  to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of  respect  and 
deference,  Sir,  your  Royal  Highness's  most  humble  Servant, 

* '  Henky  Addington." 

the  prince  op  wales  to  the  king. 

"  Brighthelmstone,  Aug.  6, 1803. 

"Sm, 

"A  correspondence  has  taken  place  between  Mr.  Addington 
and  myself  on  a  subject  which  deeply  involves  my  honor  and  char- 
acter. The  answers  which  I  have  received  from  that  gentleman, 
the  communication  which  he  has  made  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
leave  me  no  hope  but  an  appeal  to  the  justice  of  your  Majesty.  I 
make  that  appeal  with  confidence,  because  I  feel  that  you  are  my 
natural  advocate,  and  with  the  sanguine  hope  that  the  ears  of  an 
affectionate  father  may  still  be  opened  to  the  applications  of  a  duti- 
ful son. 

"I  ask  to  be  allowed  to  display  the  best  energies  of  my  charac- 
ter; to  shed  the  last  drop  of  my  blood  in  support  of  your  Majesty's 
person,  crown,  and  dignity,  for  this  is  not  a  war  for  empire,  glory, 
or  dominion,  but  for  existence.  In  this  contest,  the  lowest  and 
humblest  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  have  been  called  on ;  it  would 
therefore  little  become  me,  who  am  the  first,  and  who  stand  at  the 
very  footstool  of  the  throne,  to  remain  a  tame,  an  idle,  and  a  life- 
less spectator  of  the  mischiefs  which  threaten  us,  unconscious  of 
the  dangers  which  surround  us,  and  indifferent  to  the  consequences 
which  may  follow.  Hanover  is  lost — England  is  menaced  with  in- 
vasion— Ireland  is  in  rebellion — Europe  is  at  the  foot  of  France. 
At  such  a  moment  the  Prince  of  Wales,  yielding  to  none  of  youi 
servants  in  zeal  and  devotion — to  none  of  your  subjects  in  duty—, 
to  none  of  your  children  in  tenderness  and  affection — presumes  to 
approach  you,  and  again  to  repeat  those  offers  which  he  has  already 
made  through  your  Majesty's  minister.  A  feeling  of  honest  am- 
bition, a  sense  of  what  I  owe  to  myself  and  to  my  family — and, 
above  all,  the  fear  of  sinking  in  the  estimation  of  that  gallant 
army,  which  may  be  the  support  of  your  Majesty's  crown  and  my 
best  hope  hereafter,  command  me  to  persevere,  and  to  assure  your 
Majesty  with  all  humility  and  respect,  that,  conscious  of  the  justice 
of  my  claim,  no  human  power  can  ever  induce  me  to  relinquish  it. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBQE  IV.  365 

"Allow  me  to  say,  Sir,  that  I  am  bound  to  adopt  this  line  of 
conduct  by  every  motive  dear  to  rae  as  a  man,  and  sacred  to  me  as 
a  Prince.  Ought  I  not  to  come  forward  in  a  moment  of  unexam- 
pled difficulty  and  danger?  Ought  I  not  to  share  in  the  glory  of 
the  victory  when  I  have  everything  to  lose  by  defeat?  The  highest 
places  in  your  Majesty's  service  are  filled  by  the  younger  branches 
of  the  Royal  family :  to  me  alone  no  place  is  assigned.  I  am  not 
thought  worthy  to  be  the  junior  major-general  of  your  army.  If 
I  could  submit  in  silence  to  such  indignities,  I  should  indeed 
deserve  such  treatment,  and  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  your  ene- 
mies, and  my  own,  that  I  am  entirely  incapable  of  those  exertions 
which  my  birth  and  the  circumstances  of  the  times  peculiarly  call 
for.  Standing  so  near  the  throne,  when  I  am  debased,  the  cause  of 
royalty  is  wounded;  I  cannot  sink  in  the  public  opinion  without 
the  participation  of  your  Majesty  in  my  degredation.  Therefore 
every  motive  of  private  feeling  and  of  public  duty  induces  me  to 
implore  your  Majesty  to  review  your  decision,  and  to  place  me  in 
that  situation  which  my  birth,  the  duties  of  my  station,  the  exam- 
ple of  my  predecessors,  and  the  expectations  of  the  people  of  Eng- 
land entitle  me  to  claim. 

"Should  I  be  disappointed  in  the  hope  which  I  have  formed, 
should  this  last  appeal  to  the  justice  of  my  sovereign,  and  to  the 
affection  of  my  father,  fail  of  success,  I  shall  lament  in  silent  sub- 
mission his  determination;  but  Europe,  the  world,  and  posterity 
must  judge  between  us. 

"I  have  done  my  duty;  my  conscience  acquits  me;  my  reason 
tells  me  that  I  was  perfectly  justified  in  the  request  which  I  have 
made,  because  no  reasonable  arguments  have  ever  been  adduced  in 
answer  to  my  pretensions.  The  precedents  in  our  history  are  in 
my  favor;  but  if  they  were  not,  the  times  in  which  we  live,  and 
especially  the  exigencies  of  the  present  moment,  require  us  to  be- 
come an  example  to  our  posterit5\ 

"No  other  cause  of  refusal  has  or  can  be  assigned,  except  that 
it  is  the  will  of  your  Majesty.  To  that  will  and  pleasure  I  bow 
with  every  degree  of  humility  and  resignation;  but  I  can  never 
cease  to  complain  of  the  severity  which  has  been  exercised  against 
me,  and  the  injustice  I  have  suffered,  till  I  have  ceased  to  exist. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself,  with  all  possible  devo- 
tion, your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  affectionate  Son  and  Subject, 

"G.  P." 


366  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  PRENCE  OF  WALES. 

"  Windsor,  August  7,  1808. 

"My  DEAR  Son, 

"Though  I  applaud  your  zeal  and  spirit,  of  which,  I  trust, 
no  one  can  suppose  any  of  my  family  wanting,  yet,  considering  the 
repeated  declarations  I  have  made  of  my  determination  on  your 
former  applications  to  the  same  purpose,  I  had  flattered  myself  to 
have  heard  no  further  on  the  subject. 

"  Should  the  implacable  enemy  so  far  succeed  as  to  land,  you  will 
have  an  opportunity  of  showing  your  zeal  at  the  head  of  your  regi- 
ment; it  will  be  the  duty  of  every  man  to  stand  forward  on  such 
an  occasion,  and  I  shall  certainly  think  it  mine  to  set  an  example, 
in  defence  of  everything  that  is  dear  to  me,  and  to  my  people. 

"1  ever  remain,  my  dear  Son,  your  most  affectionate  Father, 

"  George  R." 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  THE  KING. 

"  Brighthehnstone,  August  23, 1803. 
"Sir, 

"I  have  delayed  thus  long  an  answer  to  the  letter  which 
your  Majesty  did  me  the  honor  to  write,  from  the  wish  to  refer  to 
a  former  correspondence  which  took  place  between  us  in  the  year 
1798.  Those  letters  were  mislaid,  and  some  days  elapsed  before  I 
could  discover  them.  They  have  since  been  found.  Allow  me 
then.  Sir,  to  recall  to  your  recollection  the  expressions  you  were 
then  graciously  pleased  to  use,  and  which  I  once  before  took  the 
liberty  of  reminding  you  of,  when  I  solicited  foreign  service,  upon 
my  first  entering  into  the  army.  They  were,  Sir,  that  your  Majesty 
did  not  then  see  the  opportunity  for  it,  but  if  anything  was  to  arise 
at  home,  'I  ought  to  be  first  and  foremost.'  There  cannot  be  a 
stronger  expression  in  the  English  language,  or  one  more  consonant 
to  the  feelings  which  animate  my  heart.  In  this  I  agree  most  per- 
fectly with  your  Majesty — '  I  ought  to  be  first  and  foremost.'  It  is 
the  place  which  my  birth  assigns  me — which  Europe — which  the 
English  nation — expect  me  to  fill — and  which  the  former  assurances 
of  your  Majesty  might  naturally  have  led  me  to  hope  I  should 
occupy.  After  such  a  declaration  I  could  hardly  expect  to  be  told 
that  my  place  was  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  dragoons. 

"I  understand  from  your  Majesty,  that  it  is  your  intention.  Sir, 
in  pursuance  of  that  noble  example  which  you  have  shown  during 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  367 

the  course  of  your  reign,  to  place  yourself  at  the  head  of  the  people 
of  England.  My  next  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  commands  the 
army;  the  younger  branches  of  my  family  are  either  generals  or 
lieutenant-generals;  and  I,  who  am  Prince  of  Wales,  am  to  remain 
colonel  of  dragoons.  There  is  something  so  humiliating  in  the  con- 
trast that  those  who  are  at  a  distance  would  either  doubt  the  reality, 
or  suppose  that  to  be  my  fault  which  is  only  my  misfortune. 

"Who  could  imagine  that  I,  who  am  the  oldest  colonel  in  the  ser- 
vice, had  asked  for  the  rank  of  a  general  officer  in  the  army  of  the 
King,  my  father,  and  that  it  had  been  refused  me? 

"I  am  sorry,  much  more  than  sorry,  to  be  obliged  to  break  in 
upon  your  leisure,  and  to  trespass  thus,  a  second  time,  on  the  atten- 
tion of  your  Majesty;  but  I  have.  Sir,  an  interest  in  my  character 
more  valuable  to  me  than  the  throne,  and  dearer,  far  dearer  to  me, 
than  life.  I  am  called  upon  by  that  interest  to  persevere,  and  pledge 
myself  never  to  desist,  till  I  receive  that  satisfaction  which  the  jus- 
tice of  my  claim  leads  me  to  expect. 

"In  these  unhappy  times,  the  world,  Sir,  examines  the  conduct 
of  princes  with  a  jealous,  a  scrutinizing,  a  malignant  eye.  No  man 
is  more  aware  than  I  am  of  the  existence  of  such  a  disposition,  and 
no  man  is  therefore  more  determined  to  place  himself  above  all  sus- 
picion. 

"In  desiring  to  be  placed  in  a  forward  situation,  I  have  performed 
one  duty  to  the  people  of  England ;  I  must  now  perform  another, 
and  humbly  supplicate  your  Majesty  to  assign  those  reasons  which 
have  induced  you  to  refuse  a  request  which  appears  to  me  and  to 
the  world  so  reasonable  and  so  rational. 

"I  must  again  repeat  my  concern,  that  I  am  obliged  to  continue 
a  correspondence  which,  I  fear,  is  not  so  grateful  to  your  Majesty 
as  I  could  wish.  I  have  examined  my  own  heart — I  am  convinced 
of  the  justice  of  my  cause— of  the  purity  of  my  motives.  Reason 
and  honor  forbid  me  to  yield  =  where  no  reason  is  alleged  I  am  justi- 
fied in  the  conclusion  that  none  can  be  given. 

"In  this  candid  exposition  of  the  feelings  which  have  agitated 
and  depressed  my  wounded  mind,  I  hope  no  expressions  have 
escaped  me  which  can  be  construed  to  mean  the  slightest  disrespect 
to  your  Majesty.  I  most  solemnly  disavow  any  such  intention, 
but  the  circumstances  of  the  times — the  danger  of  invasion,  the 
appeal  which  has  been  made  to  all  your  subjects,  oblige  me  to  recol- 
lect what  I  owe  to  my  own  honor  and  to  my  own  character,  to 
state  to  your  Majesty,  with  plainness,  truth,  and  candor,  but  with 


368  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

all  the  submission  of  a  subject  and  the  duty  of  an  affectionate  son, 
the  injuries  under  which  I  labor,  and  which  it  is  in  the  power  of 
your  Majest}'^  alone  at  one  moment  to  redress. 

"  It  is  with  sentiments  of  the  profoundest  veneration  and  respect 
that  I  have  the  honor  to  subscribe  myself, 

"Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful  and  most  affectionate 
"  Son  and  Subject, 

*'G.  P." 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  the  Prince  addressing  these  official  pro- 
tests assisted  by  his  political  friends.  But  now  we  shall  find  him 
adopting  his  own  characteristic  style  in  continuing  this  singular 
controversy  with  his  "dear  brother"  of  York.  This  interchange 
of  ideas  had  something  ludicrous. 

THE    PRINCE  OF  WALES    TO   THE  DUKE  OF  YORK. 

"Brighton,  October  2, 1803. 
**Mt  dear  Brother, 

"By  last  night's  Gazette,  which  I  have  this  moment  re- 
ceived, I  perceive  that  an  extensive  promotion  has  taken  place  in 
the  army,  wherein  my  pretensions  are  not  noticed;  a  circumstance 
which,  wliatever  may  have  happened  on  other  occasions,  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  pass  by,  at  this  momentous  crisis,  without 
observation. 

"My  standing  in  the  army,  according  to  the  most  ordinary  rou- 
tine of  promotion,  had  it  been  followed  up,  would  have  placed  me 
either  at  the  bottom  of  the  list  of  generals,  of  at  the  head  of  the 
list  of  lieutenant-generals.  When  the  junior  branches  of  my 
family  are  promoted  to  the  highest  military  situations,  my  birth, 
according  to  the  distinctions  usually  conferred  on  it,  should  have 
placed  me  first  on  that  list. 

"I  hope  you  know  me  too  well  to  imagine  that  idle,  inactive 
rank  is  in  my  view;  much  less  is  the  direction  and  patronage  of 
the  military  departments  an  object  which  suits  my  place  in  the 
State  or  my  inclinations;  but  in  a  moment  when  the  danger  of  the 
country  is  thought  by  Government  so  urgent  as  to  call  forth  the 
energy  of  every  arm  in  its  defence,  I  cannot  but  feel  myself  de- 
graded, both  as  a  Prince  and  a  soldier,  if  I  am  not  allowed  to  take 
a  forward  and  distinguished  part  in  the  defence  of  that  empire  and 
crown,  of  the  glory,  prosperity,  and  even  existence  of  that  people, 
in  all  which  mine  is  the  grrii?  -t  -lake. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  369 

"To  be  told  I  may  display  this  zeal  solely  and  simply  at  the 
head  of  my  regiment  is  a  degrading  mockery. 

"If  that  be  the  only  situation  allotted  me,  I  shall  certainly  do 
my  duty,  as  others  will;  but  the  considerations  to  which  I  have 
already  alluded  entitle  me  to  expect,  and  bind  me  every  way  to 
require,  a  situation  more  correspondent  to  the  dignity  of  my  own 
character,  and  to  the  public  expectation.  It  is  for  the  sake  of  ten- 
dering my  services  in  a  way  more  formal  and  official  than  I  have 
before  pursued,  that  I  address  this  to  you,  my  dear  brother,  as  the 
Commander-in-chief,  by  whose  counsels  the  Constitution  pre- 
sumes that  the  military  department  is  administered. 

"If  those  who  have  the  honor  to  advise  his  Majesty  on  this  oc- 
casion shall  deem  my  pretensions,  among  those  of  all  the  royal 
family,  to  be  the  only  one  fit  to  be  rejected  and  disdained,  I  may 
at  least  hope,  as  a  debt  of  justice  and  honor,  to  have  it  explained 
that  I  am  laid  by  in  virtue  of  that  judgment,  and  not  in  conse- 
quence of  any  omission  or  want  of  energy  on  my  part. 

"Etc.  etc.  etc., 

"G.  P.  W." 

The  Duke  of  York  replied  to  his  "dearest  brother,"  regretting 
"the  impossibility  there  is,  upon  the  present  occasion,  of  my  exe- 
cuting your  wishes  of  laying  the  representation  contained  in  your 
letter  before  his  Majesty.  SuJBfer  me,  my  dearest  brother,  as  the 
only  answer  that  I  can  properly  give  you,  to  recall  to  your  mem- 
ory what  passed  upon  the  same  subject  soon  after  his  Majesty  was 
graciously  pleased  to  place  me  at  the  head  of  the  army;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that,  with  your  usual  candor,  you  will  yourself  see  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  my  declining  it."  He  then  explained  that  "in  the 
year  1795,  upon  a  general  promotion  taking  place,  at  your  instance 
I  delivered  a  letter  from  you  to  his  Majesty,  urging  your  preten- 
sions to  promotion  in  the  army;  to  which  his  Majesty  was  pleased 
to  answer,  that,  before  ever  he  had  appointed  you  to  the  command 
of  the  10th  Light  Dragoons,  he  had  caused  it  to  be  fully  explained 
to  you  what  his  sentiments  were  with  respect  to  a  Prince  of  Wales 
entering  into  the  army,  and  the  public  grounds  upon  which  he 
could  never  admit  of  your  considering  it  as  a  profession,  or  of  your 
being  promoted  in  the  service.  And  his  Majesty,  at  the  same  time, 
added  his  positive  commands  and  injunctions  to  me,  never  to  men- 
tion this  subject  again  to  him,  and  to  decline  being  the  bearer  of 
any  application  of  the  same  nature,  should  it  be  proposed  to  me; 

16* 


370  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

which  message  I  was,  of  course,  under  the  necessity  of  delivering 
to  you,  and  have  constantly  made  it  the  rule  of  my  conduct  ever 
since;  and,  indeed,  I  have  ever  considered  it  as  one  of  the  greatest 
proofs  of  affection  and  consideration  towards  me,  on  the  part  of  his 
Majesty,  that  he  never  allowed  me  to  become  a  party  in  this  busi- 
ness. Having  thus  stated  to  you,  fairly  and  candidly,  what  has 
passed,  I  must  trust  you  will  see  that  there  can  be  no  ground  for 
the  apprehension  expressed  in  the  latter  part  of  your  letter,  that 
any  slur  can  attach  to  your  character  as  an  officer,  particularly  as  I 
recollect  your  mentioning  to  me  yourself,  on  the  day  on  which 
you  received  the  notification  of  your  appointment  to  the  10th  Light 
Dragoons,  the  explanation  and  condition  attached  to  it  by  his 
Majesty." 

THE    PRINCE    OP    WALES    TO    THE    DUKE    OF    YORK. 

"  My  dear  Brother,  "  Brighton,  Oct.  9,  I80a 

"I  have  taken  two  days  to  consider  the  contents  of  your 
letter  of  the  6th  instant,  in  order  to  be  as  accurate  as  possible  in  my 
answer,  which  must  account  to  you  for  its  being  longer,  perhaps, 
than  I  intended  or  I  could  have  wished. 

"I  confide  entirely  in  the  personal  kindness  and  affection  ex- 
pressed in  your  letter;  and  am,  for  that  reason,  the  more  unwilling 
to  trouble  you  again  on  a  painful  subject,  in  which  you  are  not  free 
to  act  as  your  inclination,  I  am  sure,  would  lead  you.  But  as  it  is 
not  at  all  improbable  that  every  part  of  this  transaction  may  be 
publicly  canvassed  hereafter,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  my 
honor,  without  which  I  can  have  no  happiness,  that  my  conduct  in 
it  shall  be  fairly  represented  and  correctly  understood.  AVhen  I 
made  a  tender  of  my  services  to  his  Majesty's  ministers,  it  was  with 
a  just  and  natural  expectation  that  my  offer  would  have  been  ac- 
cepted in  the  way  in  which  alone  it  could  have  been  most  beneficial 
to  my  country,  or  creditable  to  myself;  or,  if  that  failed,  that  at 
least  (in  justice  to  me)  the  reasons  for  a  refusal  would  have  been 
distinctly  stated ;  so  that  the  nation  might  be  satisfied  that  nothing 
had  been  omitted  on  my  part,  and  enabled  to  judge  of  the  validity 
of  the  reasons  assigned  for  such  a  refusal.  In  the  first  instance,  I 
was  referred  to  his  Majesty's  will  and  pleasure,  and  now  I  am  in- 
formed by  j^our  letter  that,  before  '  he  had  appointed  me  to  the 
command  of  the  10th  Light  Dragoons,  he  had  caused  it  to  be  fully 
explained  to  me  what  his  sentiments  were  with  respect  to  a  Prince 
of  Wales  entering  into  ilic  .uniy.' 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  371 

"It  is  impossible,  my  dear  brotlier,  that  I  should  know  all  that 
passed  between  the  King  and  yon;  but  I  perfectly  recollect  the 
statement  you  made  of  the  conversation  you  had  with  his  Majesty, 
and  which  strictly  corresponds  with  that  in  your  letter  now  before 
me.  But  I  must,  at  the  same  time,  recall  to  your  memory  my 
positive  denial,  at  that  time,  of  any  condition  or  stipulation  having 
been  made  upon  my  first  coming  into  the  army;  and  I  am  in  pos- 
session of  full  and  complete  documents,  which  prove  that  no  terms 
whatever  were  then  proposed,  at  least  to  me,  whatever  might  have 
been  the  intention :  and  the  communications  which  I  have  found  it 
necessary  subsequently  to  make  have  ever  disclaimed  the  existence 
of  such  a  compromise  at  any  period,  as  nothing  could  be  more 
averse  to  my  nature,  or  more  remote  from  my  mind. 

"  As  to  the  conversation  you  quote  in  1796  (when  the  King  was 
pleased  to  appoint  me  to  succeed  Sir  William  Pitt),  I  have  not  the 
most  slight  recollection  of  its  having  taken  place  between  us.  My 
dear  brother,  if  your  date  is  right,  you  must  be  mistaken  in  your 
exact  terms,  or  at  least  in  the  conclusion  you  draw  from  it;  for,  in 
the  intimacy  and  familiarity  of  private  conversation,  it  is  not  at  all 
unlikely  that  I  should  have  remembered  the  communication  you 
made  me  the  year  before;  but  that  I  should  have  acquiesced  in,  or 
referred  to,  a  compromise  which  I  never  made,  is  utterly  impos- 
sible. 

"Neither  in  his  Majesty's  letter  to  me,  nor  hi  the  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Addington  (of  which  you  may  not  be  fully  informed),  is 
there  one  word,  or  the  most  distant  allusion  to  the  condition  stated 
in  your  letter;  and  even  if  I  had  accepted  the  command  of  a  regi- 
ment on  such  terms,  my  acquiescence  could  only  have  relation  to 
the  ordinary  situation  of  the  country,  and  not  to  a  case  so  com- 
pletely out  of  all  contemplation  at  that  time,  as  the  probable  or 
projected  invasion  of  this  kingdom  by  a  foreign  force  sufficient  to 
bring  its  safety  into  question.  When  the  King  is  pleased  to  tell 
me,  '  that,  should  the  enemy  land,  he  shall  think  it  his  duty  to  set 
an  example  in  defence  of  the  country ' — that  is,  to  expose  the  only 
life  which,  for  the  public  welfare,  ought  not  to  be  hazarded — I  re- 
spect and  admire  the  principles  which  dictate  that  resolution ;  and 
as  my  heart  glows  with  the  same  sentiments,  I  wish  to  partake  in 
the  same  danger — that  is,  with  dignity  and  effect.  Whenever  his 
Majesty  appears  as  King,  he  acts  and  commands;  you  are  Com- 
mander-in-chief; others  of  my  family  are  high  in  military  stations; 
and  even  by  the  last  brevet,  a  considerable  number  of  junior  oflB- 


372  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

cers  are  put  over  me.  In  all  these  arrangements,  the  Prince  of 
Wales  alone,  wliose  interest  in  the  event  yields  to  none  but  that  of 
the  King,  is  disregarded,  omitted — his  services  rejected :  so  that,  in 
fact,  he  has  no  post  or  station  whatsoever  in  a  contest  on  which  the 
fate  of  the  crown  and  the  kingdom  may  depend. 

"  I  do  not,  my  dear  brother,  wonder  that,  in  the  hurry  of  your 
present  occupation,  these  considerations  should  have  been  over- 
looked. They  are  now  in  your  view,  and,  I  think,  cannot  fail  to 
make  a  due  impression. 

"As  to  the  rest,  with  every  degree  of  esteem  possible  for  your 
judgment  of  what  is  due  to  a  soldier's  honor,  I  must  be  the  guardian 
of  mine  to  the  utmost  of  my  power.  Etc.  etc., 

"G.P." 

The  Duke  of  York  replied: 

"  Horse  Guards,  Oct.  11, 1803, 
•'My  dear  Brother, 

"I  have  this  moment,  upon  my  arrival  in  town,  found  your 
letter,  and  lose  no  time  in  answering  that  part  of  it  which  appears 
to  me  highly  necessary  should  be  clearly  understood.  Indeed,  my 
dear  brother,  you  must  give  me  leave  to  repeat  to  you,  that,  upon  the 
fullest  consideration,  I  perfectly  recollect  your  having  yourself  told 
me  at  Carlton  House,  in  the  year  1793,  on  the  day  on  which  you  were 
informed  of  his  Majesty's  having  acquiesced  in  your  request  of  being 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  10th  Regiment  of  Light  Dragoons, 
the  message  and  condition  which  was  delivered  to  you  from  his 
Majesty.  And  I  have  the  fullest  reason  to  know  that  there  are 
others  to  whom,  at  that  time,  you  mentioned  the  same  circumstance; 
nor  have  I  the  least  recollection  of  your  having  denied  it  to  me, 
when  I  delivered  to  you  the  King's  answer;  and  I  conceive  that 
your  mentioning  in  your  letter  my  having  stated  a  conversation 
to  have  passed  between  us  in  1798,  must  have  arisen  from  some 
apprehension,  as  I  do  not  find  that  year  ever  adverted  to  in  my 
letter. 

"I  have  thought  it  due  to  us  both,  my  dear  brother,  thus  fully 
to  reply  to  those  parts  of  your  letter  in  which  you  appear  to  have 
mistaken  mine;  but  as  I  am  totally  unacquainted  with  the  corre- 
spondence which  has  taken  place  upon  this  subject,  I  must  decline 
entering  any  further  into  it." 


TKE  LIFE  OF  QEOBQE  IV,  373 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK. 

"  Brighton,  Oct.  22, 1803. 
**  My  dear  Brother, 

"By  my  replying  to  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  which 

contained  no  sort  of  answer  to  mine  of  the  second,  we  have  fallen 

into  a  very  frivolous  altercation  upon  a  topic  which  is  quite  foreign 

to  the  present  purpose.     Indeed,  the  whole  importance  of  it  lies 

in  a  seeming  contradiction  in  the  statement  of  a  fact,  which  is 

unpleasant  even  upon  the  idlest  occasion. 

"I  meant  to  assert,  that  no  previous  condition  to  forego  all  pre- 
tensions to  ulterior  rank,  under  any  circumstances,  had  been 
imposed  upon  me,  or  even  submittted  to  me,  in  any  shape  whatso- 
ever, on  my  first  coming  into  the  service ;  and  with  as  much  confi- 
dence as  can  be  used  in  maintaining  a  negative,  I  repeat  that 
assertion. 

"When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  his  Majesty's  purpose  to 
withhold  from  me  further  advancement,  it  is  impossible  to  recollect; 
but  that  it  was  so  early  as  the  year  1793, 1  do  not  remember,  and,  if 
your  expressions  were  less  positive,  I  should  add,  nor  believe;  but 
I  certainly  knew  it,  as  you  well  knew,  in  1795,  and  possibly  before. 
We  were  then  engaged  in  war,  therefore  I  couid  not  think  of  resign- 
ing my  regiment,  if  under  other  circumstances  I  had  been  disposed 
to  do  so;  but,  in  truth,  my  rank  in  the  nation  made  military  rank, 
in  ordinary  times,  a  matter  of  little  consequence,  except  to  my  own 
private  feelings.  This  sentiment  I  conveyed  to  you  in  my  letter  of 
the  2d,  saying  expressly  that  mere  idle,  inactive  rank  was  in  no  sort 
my  object;  but  upon  the  prospect  of  an  emergency,  when  the  King 
was  to  take  the  field,  and  the  spirit  of  every  Briton  was  roused  to 
exertion,  the  place  which  I  occupy  in  the  nation  made  it  indispen- 
sable to  demand  a  post  correspondent  to  that  place,  and  to  the  pub- 
lic expectation.  This  sentiment  I  have  the  happiness  to  be  assured, 
in  a  letter  on  this  occasion,  made  a  strong  impression  upon  the 
mind,  and  commanded  the  respect  and  admiration,  of  one  very  high 
in  Government. 

"  The  only  purpose  of  this  letter,  my  dear  brother,  is  to  explain, 
since  that  is  necessary,  that  my  former  ones  meant  not  to  give  you 
the  trouble  of  interceding  as  my  advocate  for  mere  rank  in  the 
army.  Urging  further  my  other  more  important  claims  upon  Gov- 
ernment, would  be  vainly  addressed  to  any  person,  who  can  really 
think  that  a  former  refusal  of  mere  rank,  under  circumstances  so 


374  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

widely  different,  or  the  most  express  waiving  of  such  pretensions, 
if  that  liad  been  the  case,  furnishes  the  slightest  color  for  the 
answer  I  have  received  to  the  tenders  I  have  now  made  of  my  ser- 
vices. 

"Your  department,  my  dear  brother,  was  meant,  if  I  must 
repeat  it,  simply  as  a  channel  to  convey  that  tender  to  Government, 
and  to  obtain  either  their  attention  to  it,  or  their  avowed  refusal, 
etc. 

"G.  P." 

THE  DUKE  OP  YORK  TO  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

"  Horse  Guards,  October  13,  1803. 
'*Dear  Brother, 

"I  have  received  your  letter  this  morning,  and  am  sorry  to 
find  that  you  think  that  I  have  misconceived  the  meaning  of  your 
first  letter,  the  whole  tenor  of  which,  and  the  military  promotion 
which  gave  rise  to  it,  led  me  naturally  to  suppose  your  desire  was, 
that  I  should  apply  to  his  Majesty,  in  my  official  capacity,  to  give 
you  military  rank,  to  which  might  be  attached  the  idea  of  subse- 
quent command. 

"That  I  found  myself  under  the  necessity  of  declining,  in  obedi- 
ence to  his  Majesty's  pointed  orders,  as  I  explained  to  you  in  my 
letter  of  the  16th  instant.  But  from  your  letter  of  to-day,  I  am  to 
understand  that  your  object  is  not  military  rank,  but  that  a  post 
should  be  allotted  to  you,  upon  the  present  emergency,  suitable  to 
your  situation  in  the  state.  This  I  conceive  to  be  purely  a  political 
consideration,  and  as  such  totally  out  of  my  department;  and  as  I 
have  most  carefully  avoided,  at  all  times,  and  under  all  circum- 
stances, ever  interfering  in  any  political  points,  I  must  hope  that 
you  will  not  call  upon  me  to  deviate  from  the  principles  by  which 
I  have  been  invariably  governed. 

"  Believe  me,  my  dear  Brother, 

"  Your  most  affectionate  Brother, 

"Frederick." 

THE  prince  of  WALES  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK. 

*'Oarlton  House,  October  14, 1808. 
•'  My  DEAR  Brother, 

"  It  cannot  but  be  painful  to  me  to  be  reduced  to  the  neces- 
sity of  further  explanation  on  the  subject  wliich  it  was  my  earnest 
wish  to  have  closed,  and  which  was  of  so  clear  and  distinct  a 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  375 

nature,  as,  in  my  humble  judgment,  to  have  precluded  the  possi- 
bility of  either  doubt  or  misunderstanding. 

"Surely  there  must  some  strange  fatality  obscure  my  language 
in  statement,  or  leave  me  somewhat  deficient  in  the  powers  of 
explanation,  when  it  can  lead  your  mind,  my  dear  brother,  to  such 
a  palpable  misconstruction  (for  far  be  it  from  me  to  fancy  it  wilful) 
of  my  meaning,  as  to  suppose,  for  a  moment,  I  had  unconnected 
my  object  with  efficient  military  rank,  and  transferred  it  entirely  to 
the  view  of  a  political  station,  when  you  venture  to  tell  me  'my 
object  is  not  military  rank,  but  that  a  post  should  be  allotted  to  me, 
upon  the  present  emergency,  suitable  to  my  situation  in  the  state.' 
Upon  what  ground  you  can  hazard  such  an  assertion,  or  upon  what 
principles  you  can  draw  such  an  inference,  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  to 
determine;  for  I  defy  the  skilful  logician,  in  torturing  the  English 
language,  to  apply  with  fairness  such  a  construction  of  any  word 
or  phrase  of  mine,  contained  in  any  one  of  the  letters  I  have  ever 
written  on  this,  to  me,  most  interesting  subject,  I  call  upon  you 
to  reperuse  the  correspondence.  In  my  letter  of  the  2d  instant,  I 
told  you  unequivocally  that  I  hoped  you  knew  me  too  well  to 
imagine  that  idle,  inactive  rank  was  in  my  view;  and  that  senti. 
ment,  I  beg  you  carefully  to  observe,  I  have  in  no  instance  what* 
ever,  for  one  single  moment,  relinquished  or  departed  from. 

"Giving,  as  I  did,  all  the  considerations  of  my  heart  to  the  deli- 
cacy and  difficulties  of  your  situation,  nothing  could  have  been 
more  repugnant  to  my  thoughts,  or  to  my  disposition,  than  to  have 
imposed  upon  you,  my  dear  brother,  either  in  your  capacity  as  com- 
mander-in-chief, or  in  the  near  relationship  which  subsists  between 
us,  the  task,  much  less  the  expectation,  of  causing  you  to  risk  any 
displeasure  from  his  Majesty,  by  disobeying  in  any  degree  his  com- 
mands, although  they  were  even  to  militate  against  myself.  But, 
with  the  impulse  of  my  feelings  towards  you,  and  quickly  conceiv- 
ing what  friendship  and  affection  may  be  capable  of,  I  did  not,  I 
own,  think  it  entirely  impossible,  that  you  might,  considering  the 
magnitude  and  importance  which  the  object  carries  with  it,  have 
officially  advanced  my  wishes,  as  a  matter  of  propriety,  to  military 
rank  and  subsequent  command,  through  his  Majesty's  ministers,  for 
that  direct  purpose;  especially  when  the  honor  of  my  character 
and  my  future  fame  in  life  w^ere  so  deeply  involved  in  the  considera- 
tion: for  I  must  here  again  emphatically  repeat,  that  idle,  inactive 
rank  was  never  in  my  view;  and  that  military  rank,  with  its  con- 
sequent command,  was  never  out  of  it. 


376  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOMGE  IV. 

"  Feeling  how  useless,  as  well  as  ungracious,  controversy  is,  upon 
every  occasion,  and  feeling  how  fatally  it  operates  upon  human 
friendship,  I  must  trust  that  our  correspondence  on  this  subject 
shall  cease  here;  for  nothing  could  be  more  distressing  to  me,  than 
to  prolong  a  topic,  on  which  it  is  now  clear  to  me,  my  dear  brother, 
that  you  and  I  can  never  agree,  etc.  etc. 

**  G.  P." 

While  this  odd  controversy  was  going  on  between  the  brothers, 
serious  news  of  invasion  reached  the  Prime  Minister,  who  sent  off 
a  despatch  to  the  Prince. 

MB.  ADDINGTON  TO  THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES. 

"  Richmond  Park,  Oct.  23, 1803. 

*'  In  consequence  of  some  intelligence  which  has  reached  me, 
I  am  impelled  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  your  Royal  Highness,  and  to 
the  public,  to  express  an  earnest  and  anxious  hope,  that  you  may 
be  induced  to  postpone  your  return  to  Brighton  until  I  shall  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  making  further  inquiries,  and  of  stating  the 
results  of  them  to  your  Royal  Highness. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  utmost  deference  and  re- 
spect, Sir,  your  Royal  Highness's  most  faithful  and  most  humble 
Servant, 

*'  Henry  Addington." 

The  Prince  at  once  availed  himself  of  the  opening  this  communi- 
cation offered,  and  replied : 

THE  PRINCB  OP  WALES  TO  MR.  ADDINGTON. 

"Carlton  House,  Oct.  24,  1803. 

"Sm, 

"By  your  grounding  your  letter  to  me  upon  intelligence 
which  has  just  reached  you,  I  apprehend  that  you  allude  to  infor- 
mation which  leads  you  to  expect  sonfie  immediate  attempt  from 
the  enemy.  My  wish  to  accommodate  myself  to  anything  which  you 
represent  as  material  to  the  public  service  would  of  course  make  me 
desirous  to  comply  with  your  request;  but  if  there  be  any  reason  to 
imagine  that  invasion  will  take  place  directly,  I  am  bound  hy  the 
King's  precise  order,  and  by  that  honest  zeal,  which  if  not  a11o\v(  d 
any  fitter  sphere  for  its  action,  to  hasten  instantly  to  my  regiment. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  377 

If  I  learn  that  my  construction  of  the  word  '  intelligence '  be  right, 
1  must  deem  it  necessary  to  repair  to  Brighton  immediately,  etc.  etc. 

"G.P." 

The  first  letters  to  Addington  were  supposed  to  have  been  written 
by  Sheridan,  but  one,  Mr.  Moore  states,  was  the  work  of  Sir  R. 
Wilson,  the  second  of  Lord  Hutchinson.*  It  has  been  stated,  how- 
ever, in  TJie  Morning  Chronicle,  that  they  were  written  by  Mr. 
Fonblanque,  who  was  then  in  the  Prince's  confidence.f  On  the 
other  hand,  in  one  of  Sir  Philip  Francis's  letters  he  alludes  to  his 
claim  of  having  written  letters  for  the  Princes;  and  his  family 
always  maintained  that  he  was  the  author  of  these  offers  of  military 
service. 

The  correspondence  between  the  brothers  shows  that  the  Duke 
had  chosen  his  line,  and  cast  his  lot  with  the  King.  But  there  was 
only  a  coolness  between  them,  and  the  affection  between  the  Prince 
and  his  brother  continued  to  the  last. 

Unfortunately,  this  refusal  inflamed  the  Prince  still  more  against 
the  King.  He  showed  the  correspondence  to  every  one,  and  uttered 
the  most  violent  complaints  of  the  treatment  he  had  met  with.  In 
the  House  of  Commons  the  matter  was  taken  up,  and  on  December 
2nd  direct  allusions  were  made  to  the  proscription  of  the  Prince,  the 
matter  becoming  so  delicate  that  strangers  were  excluded.  The 
question  arose  on  a  motion  of  Colonel  Crawford  as  to  the  defences 
of  the  country,  and  became  of  an  exciting  kind,  owing  to  the 
episode  being  prolonged  till  nearly  three  in  the  morning — then 
unusual.  A  report  of  what  took  place,  however,  got  into  the  news- 
papers, where  we  find  Colonel  Tyrwhitt  indiscreetly  disclosing 
what  had  passed  with  the  King. 

From  this  communication  we  learn  that  Colonel  Tyrwhitt  said: 
"  I  esteem  it  my  duty,  sir,  here  to  declare  (deprecating  any  imputa- 
tion that  might  be  thrown  upon  a  character  of  such  value  to  us  all 
to  preserve  unshaded),  that  if  the  services  of  the  illustrious  person- 
age alluded  to  have  been  rejected,  I  have  proof  that  the  fault  does 
not  lie  at  his  door."  "Several  members,  and  in  particular  Mr, 
Fox,  having,  upon  this,  pressed  ministers  to  give  an  explanation  of 
their  reasons  for  refusing  the  services  of  the  heir-apparent,  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  rose,  and,  it  is  said,  spoke  nearly  as 
follows:  'No  man  is  more  ready  to  bear  attestation  to  feelings  so 

♦  "  Life  of  Sheridan,"  ii.  317.  t  Hiash,  i.  444. 


378  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 

worthy  of  the  rank  and  character  of  the  illustrious  personage  alluded 
to  than  I  am.  Having  made  this  declaration,  I  must  here  pause, 
and  declare  that  nothing  short  of  the  commands  of  the  King,  and 
the  united  authority  of  this  House,  shall  in  future  ever  compel  me 
to  say  one  word  more  upon  the  subject.' " 

Mr.  Calcraft  observed,  that  "  the  Prince  of  "Wales  had  been  a 
colonel  in  the  army  from  the  year  1782.  His  brother  was  a  field- 
marshal  and  commander-in-chief.  Three  younger  brothers  were 
lieutenant-generals.  And  you  leave  the  heir-apparent  to  the  mon- 
archy to  fight  for  that  crown  which  he  is  one  day  to  wear,  as  the 
colonel  of  the  regiment,  under  the  command  of  a  major-general,  his 
own  equerry." 

A  few  days  later,  public  curiosity,  thus  irresistibly  stimulated, 
was  further  gratified  by  the  correspondence  being  published.  It 
appeared  in  Tlie  Morning  Chronicle  of  December  7th,  Lords  Thurlow 
and  Hutchinson,  with  Mr.  Francis,  who  were  then  his  guides  and 
directors,  having  advised  the  proceedings.  Its  effect  on  the  King 
was  extraordinary,  and  gave  the  last  touch  to  the  hateful  and 
degrading  picture  he  had  conceived  of  his  son.  He  looked  on 
it  as  an  affront — as  it  were,  something  unbecoming  and  ungentle- 
manly.  Often  afterwards  he  would  allude  to  this  crowning  insult 
on  the  part  of  his  son — that  "  he  had  published  his  letters." 

The  Prince  consoled  himself  by  making  martial  addresses;  and 
on  one  occasion  harangued  a  corps  of  volunteers  to  this  effect: 
"Volunteers, — It  is  with  the  highest  satisfaction  I  take  upon  me 
the  honorable  office  of  presenting  the  Royal  Spelthorn  Legion  this 
day  with  their  colors.  When  I  view  so  respectable  a  corps,  and 
consider  the  high  character  attached  to  it,  it  would  be  superlluous  in 
me  to  point  out  those  duties  and  obligations  which  have  been  so 
fully  exemplified  in  its  conduct.  When  you  behold  these  colors," 
taking  them  in  his  hand,  * '  they  will  remind  you  of  the  common  cause 
in  which  you  are  engaged  for  your  King,  your  country,  your 
religion,  your  laws,  liberty,  and  property,  your  children  and  your 
wives— nay,  in  short,  for  everything  dear  to  Englishmen!  Accept, 
then,  this  pledge,  this  sacred  pledge,  which  you  will  take  care  to 
defend  with  your  last  drop  of  blood,  and  only  resign  with  your 
lives!"* 

♦  His  brother,  the  *  sailor  prince,"  on  a  similar  occasion,  was  brief  and  to 
the  point.  "  My  friends  and  neighbors,  wherever  duty  calls  us  I  will  go  with 
you,  fight  in  your  ranks,  and  never  return  without  you."  This,  it  must  be  said« 
had  more  of  the  true  ring  than  the  Prince's  elaborate  periods. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV.  379 

After  the  declaration  of  war  in  1803,  Fox  was  living  in  retirement, 
when  some  views  of  the  Prince  were  communicated  to  him  through 
Mr.  Adair.  It  will  be  amusing  to  peruse  them,  and  see  that  Fox 
only  considered  them  worth  notice  from  a  sort  of  good-natured 
toleration.  By  this  time  he  had  found  there  could  be  no  union 
between  him  and  a  person  directed  by  Moiras  and  Sheridans. 

Mr.  Fox  wrote  in  answer:  "  I  can  only  say  that  if  the  P.  of  W 
wants  to  see  me  it  will  of  course  be  my  duty  to  wait  upon  him, 
either  in  London,  or  wherever  else  he  chooses  to  appoint-  but  that 
as  to  attending  Parliament  at  present,  it  appears  to  me  impossible 
that  any  good  can  come  of  it.  It  is,  as  the  P.  very  properly  says, 
respecting  the  war,  both  too  soon  and  too  late;  too  soon  for  any- 
thing like  a  junction  and  strength,  and  too  late  for  opposing  the 
Defence  Bill,  etc.  At  the  same  time  you  may  tell  H.R.H.  that  I 
am  very  happy  to  find  that  my  general  opinions  are  nearly  the  same 
as  his.  To  add  the  conscripts  to  the  regulars  would  be  far  the  best 
plan,  but  whether  his  mode  of  raising  recruits  be  at  all  right,  even 
for  the  purpose  which  I  best  like  of  a  regular  army,  is  another 
question.  If  the  conduct  of  ministers  respecting  Hanover  be  as 
blamable  as  H.R.H.  supposes  (and  I  have  little  doubt  but  he  is 
right),  a  motion  of  inquiry  may  certainly  be  made  on  that  subject; 
and  indeed  this  is  the  only  thing  like  a  parliamentary  measure  that 
can  be  now  taken. 

"The  part  of  the  P.'s  opinions  in  which  I  most  heartily  concur 
is  that  which  relates  to  the  propriety  he  thinks  there  would  have 
been  m  waiting  for  some  cause  of  war  in  which  other  nations 
would  have  concurred.  Now  as  to  men,  you  know  I  have  no 
objection  to  any  set,  and  to  some  of  those  mentioned  I  have  some- 
thing like  partiality;  but  you  know  the  strong  impressions  which 
many  of  my  friends  entertain  against  Windham, and  everything  of  the 
name  of  Grenville.  That  these  prejudices  must,  if  there  is  occasion, 
be  resisted,  I  am  most  ready  to  admit;  but  until  there  seems  some 
opportunity  of  doing  good,  there  is  no  use  in  doing  violence  to  the 
feelings  of  friends.  Lord  Spencer's  influence  with  the  K.  I  suspect 
to  exist  only  in  the  P.'s  imagination,  nor  do  I  conceive  that  any 
influence  can  turn  him  against  a  ministry  made  in  a  manner  so 
agreeable  to  him.  What,  then,  is  to  be  done  ?  Alas!  I  know  not; 
but  I  think  the  best  chance  is  to  wait  for  the  effect  which  these 
violent  measures  and  outward  events  will  produce,  and  then  if 
much  discontent  should  arise,  a  junction,  such  as  the  P.  seems  to 
wish,  maybe  produced,  and  the  exertion  of  H.R.H. 's  influence  may 


380  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

very  mucTi  contribute  to  give  strength — ay,  and  cordiality  too — to 
such  a  junction. 

"One  thing,  however,  it  maybe  necessary  to  premise,  viz.:  tliat 
I  cannot  be  one  of  any  party  who  do  not  see  the  possibility  and  tlie 
eligibility  of  being  at  peace  with  Bonaparte  upon  certain  conditions. 
The  only  question  with  me  at  all  doubtful  is,  whether  in  the  expec- 
tation of  the  propriety  of  such  a  junction  as  has  been  hinted  at, 
hereafter,  it  might  not  be  advisable  soon  to  have  some  concert  pro- 
visionally, if  I  may  so  express  myself,  between  the  P.  and  some  at 
least  of  the  Grenvilles,  Lord  Spencer,  etc.,  in  order  that  our  respec- 
tive modes  of  conduct  might  be  such  as  at  least  not  to  create  new 
diflficulties,  if  not  to  facilitate  a  union  next  session.  One  good  conse- 
quence of  such  an  understanding  might  be  to  put  a  stop  to  Moira's 
rhodomontades,  and  other  things  of  the  kind.  I  am  sensible  all 
this  is  a  proceeding  far  too  slow  for  the  Prince's  impetuosity,  an 
impetuosity  which  upon  this  occasion,  however,  is  much  to  his 
credit.  If  he  and  those  most  immediately  connected  with  him  can 
suggest  any  plan  of  more  rapid  operation,  I  am  sure  I  have  no 
unwillingness  to  listen  to  it  with  all  imaginable  deference.  In  the 
mean  time  pray  say  everything  from  me  to  H.R.H.  that  is  respecta- 
ble and  affectionate,  and  if  I  might  venture  one  piece  of  advice,  it 
would  be  to  take  great  care  not  to  say  or  do  anything  that  can  tend 
to  declare  a  personal  enmity  between  him  and  Bonaparte.     I  am 

sure  this  advice  is  unnecessary,  but  the  follies  of and 

make  one  feel  an  inclination  to  give  it. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  communication  how  uncertain  Fox  was 
as  to  his  royal  friend  and  patron,  and  that  he  was  in  fact  humoring 
him.  He  might  have  had  suspicions  as  to  his  fealty,  for  in  this 
very  year  Mr.  Pitt  was  astonished  at  receiving  a  message  from  him 
in  a  circuitous  manner,  to  the  effect  that  his  royal  highness  had  not 
the  slightest  disinclination  towards  him;  that  he  had  entertained  the 
thought,  when  he  came  to  power,  of  giving  his  confidence  to  Lord 
Moira,  and  at  one  time  he  had  intended  employing  Mr.  Fox;  but 
now  he  was  satisfied,  from  the  parties  themselves,  that  he  could  not 
do  better  than  employ  him,  Mr.  Pitt.  But  he  could  not  make  way 
with  the  haughty  statesman,  who  never  compromised  what  he  felt 
towards  him— sometlimg,  it  would  seem,  bordering  on  contempt. 
He  merely  replied  that  he  entertained  a  "due  respect  and  proper 
sense  of  duty"  towards  the  Prince,  but  gave  liim  what  was  only  a 
rebuke,  saying  he  trusted,  as  he  was  certain  his  royal  highness  did, 
that  the  occasion  for  coming  to  a  decision  on  such  matters  was  very 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV,  381 

far  off,  and  ftiaX  in  the  mean  time  he  might  give  his  confidence  to 
such  ministers  as  had  his  father's  confidence.  Relating  this  to  Mr. 
Rose,  Mr.  Pitt  set  the  overture  down  to  a  wish  to  win  his  support 
during  this  very  discussion  of  his  offer  to  take  a  command.*  This 
was  a  harsh  and  prejudiced  view,  and  we  may  rather  accept  the 
idea  that  it  was  a  caprice,  that  came  of  anger  and  disgust  at  his 
treatment  by  the  Prime  Minister. 

*  Kose,  "  Diaries,"  ii.  68, 


382  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

1801—1803. 

Unfortunately  in  January,  1804,  the  King,  agitated  and 
harassed  by  political  difficulties  and  family  quarrels,  was  once 
more  to  hover  on  the  gulf  of  derangement.  The  publication  of 
his  letter  to  his  son,  which  amounted,  as  he  considered  it,  to  an 
attempt  to  excite  the  nation  against  him,  had  sunk  into  his  heart,  and 
helped  to  disorder  his  intellect.  Once  more  the  hopes  of  the  Prince 
and  his  friends  were  excited.  Though  the  King  "recovered,"  as 
it  was  considered,  in  a  few  weeks,  his  intellect  seems  to  have  con- 
tinued disordered  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  Nor  can  we 
think  it  surprising  when  we  consider  how  the  unfortunate  monarch 
was  baited  and  worried  both  within  and  without  his  household. 
Instead  of  approaching  him  with  tlie  most  soothing  and  tender 
treatment,  the  Queen,  affecting  to  dread  some  outburst,  avoided  his 
presence,  and  assumed  a  perpetual  silence.  His  own  family  looked 
on  him  with  distrust.  The  proper  doctors  (the  Willises),  who  un- 
derstood his  case,  were  not  suffered  to  attend,  and  his  mind  was 
hopelessly  distracted  with  ministerial  changes. 

All  students  of  political  life  are  familiar  with  the  curious  attitude 
of  Mr.  Pitt,  the  real  leader  of  the  party  now  in  power,  and  who 
had  allowed  the  faineant  Addington  to  take  his  place  until  the 
moment  came  when  it  suited  to  thrust  him  out  of  office.  More 
amusing,  however,  were  the  airs  of  the  substitute,  who,  with  an 
exquisite  self-complacency,  began  to  take  the  matter  seriously,  and 
to  think  that  it  was  owing  to  his  own  force  that  he  was  where  he 
was.  However,  the  nation  was  not  inclined  to  endure  him  longer, 
and  were  calling  loudly  for  his  deposition. 

The  Prince,  who  had  been  declaring  that  his  father's  illness 
would  last  many  months  ("The  wish,  Harry,  was  fathex  to  the 
thought!"  exclaimed  Pitt  scornfully  when  this  was  reported  to  him), 
had  been  closeted  with  Mr.  Addington  on  several  occasions,  but 
was  soon  to  learn  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained.     We,  how- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  383 

ever,  now  find  him  engaged  in  negotiating  arrangements  about  a 
regency  with  the  Premier.  Slieridan,  on  the  question  of  the 
Prince's  inability  to  command,  had  taken  Mr.  Addington's  side, 
■which  produced  a  coolness  between  him  and  his  royal  patron.  But 
he  was  now  once  more  in  high  favor.  The  post  of  receivership  of 
the  Duchy  of  Cornwall  had  fallen  vacant  on  the  death  of  Lord 
Elliot,  and  the  Prince,  unsolicited,  now  conferred  it  on  Sheridan 
"as  a  trifling  proof  of  that  sincere  friendship  he  had  always  pro- 
fessed and  felt  for  him  during  a  long  series  of  years.  I  wish  to 
God,"  he  added  fervently,  "it  was  better  worth  your  acceptance." 
The  person  to  whom  the  recipient,  full  of  gratitude,  wrote  the  news 
was  Mr.  Addington,  as  "a  person  who  would  be  glad  of  it." 

"It  has  been  my  pride  and  pleasure  to  have  exerted  my  humble 
efforts  to  serve  the  Prince  without  ever  accepting  the  slightest  obli- 
gation from  him;  but  in  the  present  case,  and  under  the  present 
circumstances,  I  think  it  would  have  been  really  false  pride  and 
apparently  mischievous  affectation  to  have  declined  this  mark  of  his 
royal  highness's  confidence  and  favor.  I  'will  not  disguise  that,  at 
this  peculiar  crisis,  I  am  greatly  gratified  at  this  event.  Had  it 
been  the  result  of  a  mean  and  subservient  devotion  to  the  Prince's 
every  wish  and  object,  I  could  neither  have  respected  the  gift,  the 
giver,  nor  myself.  I  trust  I  need  not  add,  that  whatever  small  por- 
tion of  fair  infiuence  I  may  at  any  time  possess  with  the  Prince,  it 
shall  be  uniformly  exerted  to  promote  those  feelings  of  duty  and 
affection  towards  their  Majesties,  which,  though  seemingly  inter- 
rupted by  adverse  circumstances,  I  am  sure  are  in  his  heart  warm 
and  unalterable — and,  as  far  as  I  may  presume,  that  general  con- 
cord throughout  his  illustrious  family,  which  must  be  looked  to  by 
every  honest  subject  as  an  essential  part  of  the  public  strength  at 
this  momentous  period."* 

This  office  was  worth  £2000  a  year;  but  it  is  curious  to  find 
that  on  the  appointment  being  made  a  claim  was  made  to  it  by 
Lord  General  Lake,  whose  brother  produced  a  formal  deed  promis- 
ing the  reversion !  f 

It  is  not  easy  to  gather  up  the  threads  of  these  advances.  The 
clue,  however,  will  be  found  in  what  we  fear  was  the  clue  to  most 
of  the  transactions  in  which  the  unsteady  Prince  engaged,  viz.,  his 
own  immediate  interest,  and  the  chance  of  succeeding  to  the  re- 


*  Moore,  "  Life  of  Sheridan,"  ii.  321. 
tLord  Colchester,  "Diary,"  i.  481. 


384  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

gency.  As  it  seemed  to  be  at  hand,  he  would  take  the  shortest 
and  readiest  mode  to  the  issue ;  as  it  became  remote,  he  abandoned 
what  he  had  undertaken.  Thus,  as  the  King's  illness  seemed  gain- 
ing ground,  we  find  him  eagerly  negotiating  with  the  minister. 
As  he  recovered,  he  returned  to  the  old  Opposition  principles. 
This  may  seem  a  harsh  view,  but  it  is  the  only  one  that  makes  all 
consistent. 

Sheridan  (says  Mr.  Moore,  who  had  seen  all  the  letters  and 
papers)  formed  a  sort  of  connecting  link  between  Carlton  House 
and  the  minister,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  the  negotiations  for 
the  regency.  The  Prince  was  indeed  a  little  alarmed  at  a  rumor 
that  got  abroad  that  it  was  intended  associating  the  Queen  and  the 
Duke  of  York  in  the  Government,  but  was  reassured  on  this  point 
by  Fox.  The  latter,  as  is  well  known,  took  a  wholly  different  view, 
and  possessed  with  a  sort  of  hatred  of  "the  Doctor,"  founded  on 
the  lowest  possible  opinion  of  his  "  lies  "  and  taste  for  scheming, 
was  for  the  sounder  and  broader  policy  of  joining  with  the  old 
Whigs,  or  semi-Tories,  the  Grenvilles,  and  the  rest,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ejecting  the  obnoxious  minister.  An  address  got  up  at 
Carlton  House  by  Sheridan  and  his  friends  was  presented  to  Fox, 
entreating  him  not  to  adopt  such  a  course,  "his  royal  highness 
deprecating  all  party  struggle  at  a  moment  when  the  defence  of  all 
that  is  dear  to  Britons  ought  to  be  the  single  sentiment  that  should 
fill  the  public  mind."* 

Mr.  Tierney  had  already  joined  the  administration;  Sheridan, 
Moore  says,  was  willing  to  do  so;  and  now  Erskine,  being  offered 
the  Attorney- Generalship,  might  naturally  suppose  he  was  at  liberty 
to  accept.  He,  however,  consulted  the  Prince  through  Sheridan, 
and  received  a  reply  that  no  doubt  astonished  him.  "  While  he 
expressed  the  most  friendly  feelings  towards  Erskine  he  declined  at 
the  same  time  giving  any  opinion  as  to  either  his  acceptance  or  refusal 
of  the  office  of  Attorney-General,  if  offered  to  him  under  the  present 
circumstances.  He  also  added  the  expression  of  his  regret  that  a 
proposal  of  this  nature  should  have  been  submitted  to  his  considera- 
tion by  one,  of  whose  attachment  and  fidelity  to  himself  he  was  well 
convinced,  but  who  ought  to  have  felt,  from  the  line  of  conduct 
adopted  and  persevered  in  by  his  royal  highness,  that  he  was  the 
very  last  person  that  should  have  been  applied  to  for  either  his 
opinion  or  countenance  respecting  the  political  conduct  or  connec- 

•  "  Life  of  Sheridan."  II.  886. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  ^85 

tions  of  any  public  character,  especially  of  one  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  him,  and  belonging  to  his  family. "  * 

He  was  now  much  under  the  influence  of  this  new  favorite — 
Lord  Moira.  He  had  generally  some  such  friend  of  the  kind,  whom 
he  look  up  in  this  almost  romantic  style,  and  discarded  as  speedily. 
In  due  course  Lord  Moira  fell,  and  Lord  Wellesley  succeeded;  in- 
deed, a  long  list  could  be  made  of  those  privileged  whom  he  affec- 
tionately called  by  their  Christian  names,  and  soon  grew  tired  of. 
By  Lord  Moira's  direction  he  was  now  regulating  his  conduct. 

There  was  another  of  his  friends  and  boon  companions  who  had 
begun  to  complain  of  the  fickleness  of  a  Prince's  attachments,  un- 
der the  sense  of  obligations  unrequited,  of  promises  unkept.  The 
fierce  and  uncontrolled  Francis,  the  habitue  at  the  Pavilion,  whose 
children  had  been  fondled  by  his  royal  highness,  was  now  a  bitter 
disappointed  man — discontented  with  Fox,  with  his  party,  with  all 
things.  There  was  some  just  retribution,  however,  in  the  fact  that 
he,  who  had  been  so  pitiless  and  even  cruel,  should  himself  feel 
some  sharp  pangs,  taking  the  shape  of  neglect  and  mortification. 
It  may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  Prince  that  it  must  have  been  difll- 
cult  to  live  on  harmonious  tenns  with  such  a  man.  One  that  would 
impatiently  quicken  his  royal  host  when  lagging  through  some 
rambling  story,  with  a  "Well,  sir;  well,  sir;  what  then?"— (to  be, 
however,  thus  rebuked:  "If  Sir  Philip  Francis  will  let  me  pro- 
ceed")—or  thunder  unceremoniously  if  kept  waiting  too  long  at 
Carlton  House  gate;  or,  as  we  have  seen,  burst  out  laughing  during 
the  Prince's  song,  must  have  been  rather  a  trying  companion.  Tiiere 
were  claims  and  promises.  When  Francis  was  offered  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Cape,  the  Prince  engaged — we  are  now  anticipating — 
impulsively,  if  he  accepted  the  post,  to  get  him  promoted  to  some- 
thing substantial.  In  one  of  his  letters  he  shows  an  almost  piteous 
obsequiousness. 

"  September  34, 180t 
■'  8m, 

"  Confiding  in  your  Royal  Highness's  constant  goodness  to 

me,  I  cannot  restrain  myself  from  taking  the  liberty  to  express  to 

you  the  concern  and  anxiety  with  which  I  heard  last  night  of  the 

unfortunate  accident  your  Royal  Highness  has  met  with.     The 

same  intelligence  says  that,  although  you  suffer  considerable  pain, 

it  is  not  attended  with  danger.     I  hope  soon  to  have  the  honor  of 


*  '•  Life  of  Sheridan, "  ii.  323. 
17 


386  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  JV. 

waiting  on  your  Royal  Highness,  and  the  happiness  of  finding  you 
perfectly  recovered.  Believe  me,  Sir,  that  in  every  event  in  which 
your  Royal  Highness  is  concerned  I  take  the  part  that  belongs  to 
the  sincterest  atlachment  to  you.  It  was  inclination  before  it  was 
gratitude,  and  assuredly  will  live  as  long  as  I  do 

"  There  is  another  subject,  Sir,  on  which  I  have  nothing  to  ex 
press  to  you  but  pleasure  and  thankfulness.  1  have  just  heard  of 
your  generous  intentions  in  favor  of  Ralph  Johnson.  What  the 
young  man's  engagements  or  views  may  be,  or  those  of  his  guar- 
dians for  him,  I  do  not  know;  but  I  can  answer  for  him  that  he 
feels  the  honor  done  him  by  your  Royal  Highness  more  sensibly 
and  with  deeper  acknowledgment  than  perhaps  he  may  submit  to 
you  in  proper  terms  for  himseK. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc. 

"P.  Fkancis.'* 

But  his  bitterness  seems  to  have  been  chiefly  against  Fox,  against, 
whom  he  inveighed  and  nourished  the  deepest  resentment.  In  1798 
Fox  had  withdrawn  from  politics,  thus  causing  the  division  in  his 
party.  And,  d  jwapos  of  this  secession,  Francis  entered  into  a  cor- 
respondence with  the  attractive  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  who,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  devoted  to  the  man  of  the  people.  The  mix- 
ture of  serious  argument  and  gallantry  is  here  well  illustrated,  and 
makes  us  lament  that  the  talent  of  writing  in  such  a  strain  seems 
now  to  be  almost  a  lost  art. 

"  I  am  particularly  vexed,"  she  wrote  to  him,  on  November  29th, 
1798,  "at  having  been  prevented  writing,  lest  you  should  think  I 
was  affronted  or  unworthy  of  your  kindness.  But,  besides  having 
been  at  a  country  ball,  and  having  had  a  house  full  of  Derbyshire 
savages,  I  have  been  vexed  to  my  heart's  core.  Oh !  my  dear  Mr. 
Francis,  you  must  have  spoilt  me,  since  I  feel  a  pleasure  in  telling 
you  how  worried  I  have  been,  though  1  cannot  tell  you  the  cause, 
though  you  can  do  me  no  good,  and  though  my  poor  heart  has  been 
torn  to  pieces.  You  know  not  what  you  have  done  in  taking  some 
interest  in  such  a  being  as  I  am;  you  must  often  listen  to  hunen- 
talion,  because,  though  in  reality  an  old  woman,  my  heart  and 
mind  are  still  childish;  nor  can  I  encounter  without  pain  a  world 
that  is  too  wise  for  me.  I  must  feel  unkinduess  when  I  meet  with 
it,  and  anxiety  when  it  presses  round  me.  Do  not  be  angry  at  my 
boring  you  with  all  this  stuff;  indeed,  if  you  knew  me  such  as  I 
am,  you  would  know  that  I  pay  you  a  compliment  in  writing  thus. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  It.  387 

"  How  can  you  suppose  me  angry  for  your  averring  your  opin^ 
ion!  I  knew  it  long  ago,  and  wished  to  bring  you  to  own  it, 
that  I  might  attack  it;  but  low  spirits,  which  have  taken  from  me 
the  power  of  writing  for  these  ten  days,  have  also  weakened  my 
strength  as  a  champion.  You  are  wrong,  indeed  you  are.  Charles 
has,  and  always  had,  faults  of  heedlessness,  that  may  injure  him, 
and  have,  as  a  statesmen,  but  never  as  the  greatest  of  men.  Who, 
at  one  glance,  took  in  the  view  of  the  French  Revolution?  Who 
saw  its  consequence,  and  warned  us  of  the  inutility  of  opposing  its 
progress?  Will  not  posterity  remember  this  and  bless  him?  Will 
not  they  remember  his  merciful  wishes  on  the  condemnation  of 
Louis  XVI.,  and  the  various  times  he  would  have  checked  (and  it 
could  have  been  done  then)  our  wild  career?  Who  has  sacrificed 
even  his  darling  popularity  to  his  principles?  His  standard  is  in 
the  hearts  of  men,  in  my  heart  of  hearts,  in  your  own,  for  you  are 
one  of  those  formed  by  Nature  with  the  fire,  the  animation  that,  I 
am  sure,  must  make  you  shrink  from  any  other  cause.  I  blame 
not  George  Ticrney;  but  he  is  no  great  man.  A  man  who  is  only 
bright  in  the  absence  of  superior  merit  is  in  the  right  to  make  use 
of  his  opportunity,  for  it;  will  not  last  long.  No,  would  I  were  a 
man,  to  unite  my  talents,  my  hopes,  my  fortune  with  Charles's,  to 
make  common  cause,  and  fall  or  rule,  with  him. 

"  The  confidence  of  men  is  with  Pitt;  they  respect  him,  as  often 
a  wife  does  her  husband;  think  him  a  very  disagreeable  fellow,  but 
a  good  manager  of  their  views  and  happiness;  and  now,  though  they 
think  he  has  been  going  and  going  on  too  far,  yet  they  still  cling 
to  their  spouse,  lest  the  separation  or  divorce  should  bring  on  im- 
mediate ruin ;  for  they  have  given  up  all  their  settlements,  jointure, 
and  even  pin-money  into  his  hands;  but,  whilst  they  are  mingled 
in  the  interests  of  il  caro  sposo,  their  hearts  are  with  Charles.  He 
is  not  rich  enough  for  an  elopement  with  him;  and  the  husband,  by 
extreme  jealousy  and  misrepresentation,  has  hurt  him  a  little  in 
their  opinion;  but  still  they  love  him  in  secret.  He  has  a  heart, 
Pitt  has  none.  Now  I  cannot  think  that  they  will  look  on  Tierney 
or  Lord  Moira,  or  any  pretender  I  know  of,  even  in  the  light  of  a 
gallant,  or  even  flirt.  They  feel  tharnselves  in  a  bad  situation,  and, 
if  long  trial  at  last  engages  the  people  to  break  all  connection  with 
Pitt,  it  will  be  for  no  petty  intrigue,  but  for  the  lover  whose  abilities 
and  genius  could  save  them  by  some  vast  effort  of  genius,  and 
whom  they  have  so  long  felt  to  be  their  destiny. 

**  As  I  am  very  sure  you  do  not  think  that  I,  as  a  woman,  ever 


388  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

was,  could  be,  or  am,  in  love  with  Charles  Fox,  you  will  allow 
that,  in  fervor,  enthusiasm,  and  devotion,  I  am  a  good  friend .  and 
I  assure  you.  dear  Mr.  Francis,  short  as  our  acquaintance  has  been, 
I  could  and  would  make  a  very  noble  battle  for  you,  should  any- 
body attack  you,  which  hitherto  has  not  been  the  case,  as  all  I 
have  seen  admired  you  as  I  do.  Tell  me  that  you  are  not  angry, 
and  that  I  may  write  on  as  I  think.  Form  no  judgment  of  my  dear 
sister;  for  she  is  ill  and  low,  as  she  too  often  is  at  the  beginning  of 
the  cold  weather. " 

He  replied  in  the  same  strain:  '*  Some  cruel  words  in  the  letter  I 
received  from  you  yesterday  have  filled  me  with  deep  and  serious 
anxiety,  and  the  more  as  I  cannot,  if  I  would,  conjecture  what 
grief  they  relate  to,  or  what  is  the  nature  or  extent  of  it.  Do  not 
believe  it  possible  that  your  heart  can  be  '  torn  in  pieces,'  and  that 
mine  can  be  unwounded.  On  a  subject  so  described,  it  would  be 
equally  unbecoming  and  useless  in  me  to  ask  a  question,  or  to  so- 
licit an  explanation.  Sorrow  is  certainly  softened  by  participation. 
To  share  the  burden  is  to  lighten  it;  but  that  case  supposes  a  long 
and  mutual  intimacy,  and  cannot  be  extended  to  many.  From 
woman  to  woman,  it  is  most  dangerous.  In  a  few  minutes,  1  have 
hated  at  first  sight.  In  others,  as  you  perhaps  may  think  possible 
enough,  I  have  loved  without  waiting  for  a  second.  But  mere 
love  should  beware  of  confessing  anything  to  its  object,  except  its 
own  passion.  The  party  that  desires  more  intends  to  command. 
With  all  these  wise  considerations  before  you,  it  is  for  yourself  to 
judge  whether  any  service,  or  council,  or  consolation,  of  mine  can 
be  of  any  use  to  you.  If  not,  you  ought  not  to  tell  me;  for  though 
I  know  you  would  be  safe,  you  do  not.  Religion  comes  late,  and 
serves  only  to  console.  Can  you  endure,  and  will  you  forgive, 
these  moral  airs  in  a  man  who  never  pretended  to  be  anything,  and 
to  be  a  moralist  least  of  all?  With  all  possible  veracity,  I  do  con 
fees  to  you  that  I  am  very  wise  for  everybody  but  myself.  Wis- 
dom has  been  beaten  into  me  by  experience,  of  which  no  man,  I  do 
believe,  has  had  more  than  I  have  had,  to  my  cost,  crowded  into 
the  same  number  of  years.  Yet,  born  and  bred  as  1  was  in  adver- 
sity, and  traversed  by  disappointment  in  every  pursuit  of  iny  life,  I 
never  should  have  been  unhappy  if  it  had  been  possible  for  me  never 
to  be  imprudent.  My  mind  is  come  at  last  to  maturity,  of  which  you, 
if  you  please  and  if  yon  want  it,  may  at  all  times  have  the  benefit. 
Should  I  fail  in  judgment,  you  will  find  me  safe,  faithful,  and  dis. 
creet.    You  talk  of  the  shortness  of  our  acquaintance,  why,  then, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  389 

if  all  this  be  not  mere  moonshine,  and  if  we  are  really  and  seriously 
to  be  friends,  we  have  no  lime  to  lose.  The  fact,  however,  is  that 
I  have  known  you  many  years,  and  long  before  the  date  of  our  ac- 
quaintance. It  is  true  I  saw  you  at  a  great  distance,  and  as  a  bird 
of  passage.  The  planet  passed  by,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  poor 
astronomer  who  watched  her  motions  and  waited  for  the  transit. 
Hereafter,  I  hope  you  will  not  insist  on  my  seeing  you  through  a 
telescope.  Honestly  and  honorably,  I  believe  I  meant  nothing  but 
that,  while  you  were  writing  to  me,  you  thought  of  nobody  but  C.  F. 
Not  at  all,  however,  in  the  sense  of  being  in  love  with  him.  That 
idea  never  entered  into  my  thoughts.  On  that  subject,  I  begin  to  be 
what  fine  ladies  call  nettled,  by  your  eternally  answering  me  at 
cross  purposes,  or  telling  me,  as  you  do  in  effect,  that  six  and  four 
do  not  make  nineteen,  and  as  if  I  had  maintained  the  contrary.  My 
allegation  is  that  I  am  forsaken,  etc.  Your  defence  is  that  he  is  a 
man  of  transcendent  abilities,  and  externally  amiable  in  private  life. 
I  admire  the  discovery,  but  it  gives  me  no  sort  of  consolation.  .  .  . 
I  feel  like  gummed  velvet,  and  wish  I  could  hate  you  for  half  an 
hour,  that  I  might  cut  you  into  a  thousand  little  stars,  and  live  under 
the  canopy.  On  Monday  I  wrote  till  I  could  not  see,  without  saying 
half  what  I  intended.  You  say  I  must  have  spoilt  you.  Will  you 
be  so  good  as  to  tell  me  what  sort  of  being  you  were  before  you  were 
spoiled?  As  for  me,  it  is  a  clear  case  that  I  must  be  bewitched,  or 
I  never  would  trust  a  declared  enemy  with  such  a  letter  as  the  en- 
closed. .  .  .  You  say,  '  I  knew  your  opinion  long  ago,  and  wish  to 
bring  you  to  own  it,  that  I  might  attack  it.'  Most  dear  insidious 
person !  I  had  no  disposition  to  inveigh  against  Mr.  Fox's  conduct, 
nor  should  I  have  said  anything  about  it  if  you  had  not  provoked 
me  on  one  side  and  ensnared  me  on  the  other.  Will  you  now  be 
honorable,  and  can  you  be  just?  Did  such  a  letter  deserve  no  an- 
swer?" 

With  much  more  in  the  same  style.  Both  these  gay  and  gallant 
personages  passed  through  a  life  of  trouble  and  disappointment: 
the  " Beautiful  Duchess"  was  to  close  her  life  entangled  in  embar- 
rassments, chiefly  owing  to  play.* 

In  the  preceding  year  the  Prince  had  sent  a  gracious  message  to 
Mr.  Pitt,  which  had  been  coldly  received.     In  view  of  the  serious 


*  I  have  given  these  extracts  at  this  length,  because  they  illustrate  the 
almost  elegant  style  of  communication  between  an  accomplished  man  and 
woman  of  the  time. 


590  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

condition  of  the  King,  the  Prince  seems  to  have  recurred  to  th!i 
idea — or  at  least  hoped  to  conciliate  the  great  commoner;  but  his 
advances  seemed  to  lack  sincerity  and  found  no  favor.  This  will 
be  seen  by  following  the  course  of  the  intrigues  his  confidants  set 
on  foot.  In  March,  1804,  Lord  Moira,  who  was  at  Edinburgh, 
opened  himself  to  the  Lord  Advocate  (Hope),  who  reported  to  Lord 
Melville,  who  in  his  turn  reported  to  Pitt.  The  Prince,  Lord  Moira 
said  with  a  curious  confidence,  had  early  sent  a  message  to  Fox  and 
Grey,  assuring  them  that  he  was  sensible  of  their  attachment,  but 
that  in  the  event  of  a  regency  he  intended  to  throw  himself  into 
Lord  Moira's  hands.  He  would  not  therefore  see  them.  He  (Lord 
Moira)  had  on  this  assured  him  that  Addington  and  the  present 
ministry  were  incapable  (i.e.  of  doing  anything  for  him).  A  union 
of  all  talents  was  necessary:  "  Stretch  forth  your  hand  to  Mr.  Pitt! 
Have  you  the  magnanimity  and  good  sense  to  lay  aside  all  feeling 
of  estrangement?"  The  Prince  at  first  put  this  aside,  saying  that 
Mr.  Pitt  would  not  act  with  others,  and  declaring  that  Lord  Moira 
and  no  other  should  be  his  minister.  "But  let  me  know  your  feel- 
ing as  to  Mr.  Pitt,"  persisted  Lord  Moira;  but  the  Prince  declared 
that  "Fox  and  Pitt  would  never  act  together."  The  other  again 
urging  it,  and  adding  that  he  thought  it  for  his  good,  the  Prince 
exclaimed  ardentl}'^:  "  Then  I  submit  entirely  to  your  opinion — to 
have  the  broadest  ministry  possible,"  though  he  still  thought  the 
elements  too  discordant,  and  that  Pitt  would  never  be  subordiuato 
in  the  Cabinet.  "  But,"  he  added,  "  I  shall  moderate  between  Pitt 
and  Fox!"  This  being  duly  transmitted  to  Pitt,  it  is  curious  to  see 
with  what  cold  coiUempt  he  received  it. 

"  With  respect  to  the  Prince's  intentions,  I  must  also  say  to  you 
confidentially  that  I  fear  no  very,  certain  dependence  is  to  be  placed 
on  any  language  which  he  holds.  The  conversation  which  Lord 
Moira  reports  is  certainly  at  variance  with  the  assurances  which  I 
have  good  reason  to  believe  the  Prince  has  held  out  in  other  quar- 
ters. He  has  certainly  seen  both  Fox  and  Grey.  The  former,  I 
have  good  reason  to  believe,  understands  that  in  the  event  of  the 
Prince  having  the  Government  in  his  hands,  it  is  by  his  (Fox's) 
advice  that  he  would  be  guided,  and  I  believe,  too,  that  his  advice 
is  likely  to  be  to  apply  to  me."  He  added  that  he  could  not  take 
part  in  any  Government  of  which  he  was  not  the  head.* 

*  Lord  Stanhope,  "  Life  of  Pitt,"  Jv.  137. 


TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  iT.  391 

Fox  seems  to  have  been  kept  in  the  dark,  for  we  find  him  writ- 
ing, much  puzzled  at  what  was  going  on: 

"Since  last  Monday  I  have  not  heard  one  word  but  from  the 
newspapers,  from  which  I  understand  that  the  P. 's  visit  to  Windsor, 
Friday  (of  whicM,  by  the  way,  he  had  apprised  me),  was  prolonged 
till  this  day.  Moira  must,  I  think,  have  seen  Pitt  by  this  lime,  as 
he  said  he  was  in  a  hurry  to  return  to  Scotland.  I  saw  Sheridan, 
and  I  need  not  tell  you  that  he  was  in  a  terrible  fidget.  My  opin- 
ion is  that,  notwithstanding  all  these  intrigues,  the  R  will  be  in 
essentials  quite  steady.  I  think,  too,  that  Pitt  and  Melville  will 
not  be  able  to  get  authority  to  offer  him  anything  that  will  shake 
him.  I  have  this  day  intelligence  (which  I  believe)  of  an  event 
which  will  bring  all  these  matters  to  a  crisis — and  which,  on  that, 
as  well  as  many  other  accounts,  I  shall  think  a  very  good  one.  I 
hear  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  Irish  Catholics  will  petition  both 
Houses  for  complete  Emancipation.  Upon  that  question,  the  P. 
and  Moira  must  declare  themselves,  and  what  will  be  most  satis- 
factory to  me,  the  Opposition  will  be  marshalled  together  in  a  cause 
that  is  not  merely  of  a  personal  nature ;  for  to  have  so  much  stress 
laid  upon  my  coming  or  not  coming  into  office  is,  to  say  the  least, 
very  unpleasant."* 

This  scheme  having  failed,  we  next  learn  that  upon  the  critical 
attacks  upon  "the  milk-and-water  Addington"  (as  Mr.  Fox  styled 
him),  whose  majorities  were  hourly  lessening,  the  Prince,  with 
much  wavering,  had  made  up  his  mind.  He  was  heard  expressing 
great  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  the  Doctor's  overthrow,  and  in- 
deed he  helped  to  drive  the  minister  with  whom  he  had  been  nego- 
tiating from  power.  It  is  clear  that  Fox's  influence  had  asserted 
itself. 

Yet  what  was  the  end,  after  all  these  months  of  busy  intrigue 
ivcid  finesse,  but  failure  and  discredit!  The  King,  as  is  well  known, 
laid  Fox  under  a  ban.  Mr.  Pitt,  the  uncompromising,  came  into 
office,  and  the  Prince,  baffled,  disappointed,  and  hopeless,  was  left 
to  console  himself  with  his  Moiras  and  Sheridans. 

It  was  evident  that  the  King  was  still  anything  but  restored.  He 
was  seized  with  a  suspicious  mania  for  dismissing  everybody  about 
him — old  and  faithful  servants,  lords-in-waiting,  and  others.  In  all 
these  illnesses  their  divisions  and  jealousies  seemed  to  have  hin- 
dered due  and  proper  care  being  taken,  and  the  eagerness  of  his 


*  "Memorials  of  Fox,"  iv.  63. 


892  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

friends  to  defeat  their  foes,  dragged  him  from  his  retirement  before 
he  was  restored. 

At  the  Drawing  Room  held  in  June,  he  was  not  well  enough  to 
be  present:  neither  was  his  son,  who,  however,  was  seen  driving 
through  the  town  on  the  box  of  his  barouche.  The  baffled  Prince 
was  himself  only  recovering  from  one  of  those  serious  sudden 
attacks  to  which  he  was  subject  all  his  life,  and  which  he  treated 
with  profuse  bleeding. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  XV.  593 


CHAPTER  XXXin. 

1804. 

"We  now  turn  to  another  household  which  for  a  time  has  been 
lost  sight  of.  The  young  Princess  Charlotte  was  now  eight  years 
old;  a  very  pleasing  child  from  the  high  spirit  and  character,  that 
gave  some  anxiety  to  her  aunt,  the  Princess  Royal,  in  Germany. 
She  exhibited  a  hot  and  rather  uncontrolled  temper,  but  in  other 
respects  was  most  engaging.  Her  grandfather  appeared  to  dote 
upon  her.  Miss  Berry  sketches  her  at  this  lime:  "Her  face  dam- 
aged by  small-pox  to  an  extent  rarely  seen  at  the  time  among  the 
higher  classes;  saying  she  was  afraid  of  dark  and  dismal  stories, 
and  telling  a  good  one  herself."  She  had  a  taste  for  the  "little 
accomplishments,"  could  speak  French,  knew  music,  but  she  had  a 
nervous  hesitation  or  stammer  in  her  speech,  which  she  never 
wholly  lost.  Indeed  it  was  rather  increased  in  late  years,  owing  to 
the  agitation  of  dreaded  intervals  with  her  father. 

This  amiable  and  interesting  young  creature  seems  indeed  to  owe 
her  defects  to  the  intolerant  system  under  which  she  was  brought 
up:  her  father  and  mother  being  at  war,  her  mother  at  war  with 
her  grandmother,  her  grandfather  at  war  with  her  father,  she  her- 
self— in  hackneyed  phrase — a  bone  of  contention  among  them  all. 

Miss  Gale  had  succeeded  Miss  Hayman  as  sub-governess;  Mrs. 
Gagarin  (a  worthy  German  who  had  been  deceived,  like  Angelica 
Kauffman,  by  a  false  marriage)  was  dresser;  Mrs.  Trew  was  tutor; 
while  Lady  Elgin  directed  all.  She  lived  at  a  country-place  known 
as  Shrewsbury  House,  near  Shooter's  Hill. 

Her  mother,  residing  at  Montagu  House,  and  enjoying  the 
powerful  protection  and  favor  of  the  King,  was  living  a  sober  and 
exemplary  life,  quiet  and  rational.  We  find  her  cultivating  a  taste 
for  music,  painting,  and  modelling.  Among  the  friends  now 
gathered  around  her  were  tlie  Mintos,  Carnarvons,  Hawkesburys, 
Dundases,  Windhams,  Grenvilles,  Cannings,  besides  Lords  Eldon 
and  Loughborough,  the  former  of  whom,  perhaps,  had  rallied  to 
Jier  because  of  his  **dear  old  master."    These  she   received    at 

ill* 


"394  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOItGE  lY. 

dinner  and  seemed  to  have  attached  to  her  and  the  only  objection 
that  could  be  taken  to  her  behavior  was  a  certain  indiscretion  of 
speech — talking  loudly,  and  abusing  the  Prince  at  her  own  table. 
The  first  ride  taken  by  the  King  after  his  recovery  in  1801  was 
down  to  Blackheath  to  see  her,  nor  did  he  tell  any  one  whither  he 
was  going  till  he  just  reached  her  door.  She  was  not  up,  but 
jumped  out  of  bed  to  receive  him,  arrayed  in  her  bedgown  and 
nightcap!  He  told  Lord  Uxbridge  that  she  ran  in  his  head  perpet- 
ually during  his  illness,  and  he  had  resolved  to  visit  her  the  first 
time  he  went  out,  without  telling  anybody.*  It  was  owing  to  his 
prevision  that  the  Princess  was  allowed  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her 
child,  with  suitable  restraint,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  prog- 
ress of  her  education. 

Lord  Albemarle  gives  some  child-letters  of  the  young  Princess 
that  are  singularly  interesting  and  engaging.  Like  her  father,  she 
had  violent  likings  and  dislikes;  her  special  aversion  being  the 
Bishop  of  Salisbury  (Dr.  Fisher),  whom  she  nicknamed  the  Great 
"U-p,"  and  Mrs.  Udney.  A  most  amusing  incident  connected 
with  this  prejudice  is  the  will  the  little  girl  drew  up,  excluding 
them  from  any  share  in  her  property. f 

This  harmless  pleasantry  caused  much  agitation  among  her  gov- 
erning powers,  and  it  seemes  incredible  that  it  could  be  treated 
seriously.  In  the  journal  of  Lady  Susan  O'Brien,  heroine  of  the 
well-known  runaway  episode,  what  occurred  is  thus  described: 

"While  I  was  in  town,  I  was  informed  of  a  curious  transaction 


*  Sir  G.  Elliot,  "  Life,"  iii.  217. 

+  "  I  make  my  will.  First,  I  leave  all  my  best  books,  and  all  my  books  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Nott.  Secondly,  to  Mrs.  Campbell  my  three  watches  and  half 
my  jev.els.  Thirdly,  I  beg  Mr.  Nott,  whatever  money  he  finds  me  In  posses- 
sion of,  to  distribute  to  the  poor,  and  I  leave  with  Mr.  Nott  all  my  papers, 
which  he  knows  of.  I  beg  the  Prayer  Book  which  Lady  Elgin  gave  me  may 
be  given  to  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  and  that  the  Bible  Lady  Elgin  gave  me  may 
be  given  to  him  also.  Also  my  playthings  the  Miss  Fishers  are  to  have;  and 
lastly,  concerning  Mrs.  Gagarin  and  Mrs.  Lewis,  I  beg  they  may  be  very  hand  • 
somely  paid,  and  that  they  may  have  an  house.  Lady  de  Clifford  the  rest  of 
my  jewels,  except  those  that  are  most  valuable,  and  these  my  father  and 
mother,  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales,  are  to.  take.  Nothing  to  Mrs. 
Udney  for  reasons.  I  have  done  my  Will,  and  trust  that  after  I  am  dead,  a 
great  deal  may  be  done  for  Mr.  Nott.  I  hope  the  King  will  make  him  a 
Bishop.  Charlotte. 

•*  March,  1800. 

"  My  birds  to  Mrs,  Gagarin,  and  my  4og  or  dogs  to  Mrs.  Aime  ^^tto^,  my 
c}iambermaid,'' 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  395 

going  on  at  Carlton  House,  on  account  of  a  cliildish  "v\'ill  the  Prin- 
cess Charlotte  had  made,  in  which  she  left  half  her  jewels  to  Lady 
de  Clifford,  half  to  Mrs.  Campbell,  and  all  her  valuable  jewels  to 
her  papa  and  mamma.  They  suppose  Mrs.  Campbell  concerned  in 
making  it,  and  told  the  bishop  of  it,  who  smiled.  [Dr.  Fisher, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  preceptor  to  the  Princess  Charlotte.]  The 
Prince  was  displeased,  and  said  *  it  was  high  treason,'  and  called 
Mr.  Adam,  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  who  answered: 
'Your  Royal  Highness  has  a  just  conception  of  the  matter.'  All 
this  nonsense  has  been  before  the  Privy  Council,  whose  time  might 
be  better  employed.  The  will  expresses  a  wish  that  Mr.  Nott,  sub- 
preceptor,  might  be  miade  a  bishop."* 

In  short,  the  matter  led  to  the  dismissal  of  the  worthy  Mrs. 
Campbell. 

There  are  many  stories  of  her  waywardness,  of  her  affection,  of 
her  amusing  insubordination.  She  used  to  leave  the  doors  wide 
open,  rushing  tumultuously  into  her  governess's  room.  "  My  dear 
Princess!"  would  exclaim  the  latter,  "you  should  always  shut  the 
door  after  you."  "Not  I,  indeed,"  she  answered,  "if  j'ou  want 
the  door  shut,  ring  the  bell;"  and  then  rushed  away.  Self-willed 
enough,  she  would  commit  some  forbidden  act,  and  then  say  defi- 
antly, "I  have  done  it,  now  punish  me."  She  went  to  dine  on 
fixed  days  with  her  mother.  We  find  the  Princess  of  Wales  giving 
her  daughter  such  excellent  advice  as  this:  "  It  must  have  been  an 
honor  and  pleasure  to  you  that  your  father  wished  to  see  you  on 
his  birthday,  and  I  trust  you  will  never  in  any  day  of  your  life 
deviate  from  the  respect  and  attachment  which  is  due  to  the  Prince, 
your  father."! 

But  the  good  King,  hovering  as  he  often  was  between  recovering 
stages  of  his  malady,  saw  enough  to  convince  him  that  this  situa- 
tion of  a  child  of  ten  years  old  was  dangerous  enough.  The  life 
led  by  the  father  made  him  quite  unsuitable  as  director  of  her  edu- 
cation, or  even  as  inmate  of  the  same  house.  Her  mother,  for  other 
reasons,  was  equally  undesirable.  He  determined  to  take  lier  edu- 
cation into  his  own  hands,  acting  as  trustee  for  the  nation. 

Mr.  Pitt,  now  in  the  plenitude  of  power,  feeling  that  this  state 
of  discord  would  not  suit  a  well-ordered  Government,  began  at 
once  to  try  and  reconcile  the  parlies.    As  a  preparatory  step,  the 

*  She  had  a  childish  attachment  to  Dr.  Nott. 
t  Lady  Rose  Weigall,  *'  Princess  Charlotte,"  283, 


896  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Lord  Chancellor,  who  was  high  in  favor  at  Court,  labored  to  rec- 
oncile the  Queen  to  her  son.  This  was  not  so  difficult  a  task.  It 
will  be  seen  that  the  Prince  was  eager  "to  be  friends"  with  his 
father  by  the  following  letter: 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  THE  QUEEN. 

"  Carlton  House,  July  4th,  1804. 
'♦  My  DEAREST  Mother, 

"It  is  impossible  for  me,  when  so  many  embarrassing  cir- 
cumstances surround  us,  to  refrain  longer  from  assuring  you  of  my 
undiminished  and  unalterable  tenderness.  Believe  me  that  I  deeply 
regret  the  not  having  it  in  my  power  to  do  that  in  person ;  for, 
independent  of  what  I  suffer  from  such  a  cruel  privation,  as  the 
being  separated  from  you  and  my  sisters,  I  lament  heavily  the  not 
paying  my  duty  to  the  King.  Were  this  allowed  me,  I  should  fly 
to  throw  myself  at  the  King's  feet,  and  offer  to  him  the  testimony 
of  my  ever-unvarying  attachment.  I  have  long  grieved  that  mis- 
representations have  estranged  his  Majesty's  mind  from  me;  and 
the  most  anxious  wish  of  my  heart  is  for  the  opportunity  of  dis- 
pelling that  coldness.  Every  consideration  renders  this  distance 
most  severely  painful.  My  first  object  is  the  gratification  of  the 
feelings  of  affection,  leaving  all  else  to  the  spontaneous  dictates  pf 
my  father's  kindness;  and,  if  any  public  view  can  mingle  with  this 
sentiment,  it  is  the  incalculable  importance  to  his  Majesty,  and  to 
the  country,  of  the  whole  Royal  Family  appearing  united  in  a 
moment  so  awful  as  the  present. 

"  I  am  ever,  my  dearest  Mother, 

"Your  dutiful  and  affectionate  Son, 

"George  P." 

Not  the  Prince  only,  but  ministers,  whenever  their  position  was 
imperilled,  were  fond  of  resorting  to  the  appeal  of  "  the  present 
awful  position  of  the  country." 

THE  QUEEN  TO  THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

"Kew,  July  4th,  1804. 
"  My  DEAREST  Son, 

"  I  have  this  instant  received  through  the  hands  of  Lady 
Aylesbury,  your  most  affectionate,  and  I  must  say,  most  joyful 
Jetter. 

f*  I  am  anxious  to  acquaint  the  King  with  the  contents,  which  I 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  397 

■will  da  at  the  first  opportunity.  Assuring  you  that  I  shall  not  be 
behindhand  to  seize  that  moment,  for  which  I  have  so  long  anx- 
iously prayed,  and  I  trust  will  be  the  means  of  again  uniting  our 
too  long  separated  family,  in  which  event  no  one  has  suffered  more 
than, 

"  My  dearest  Son, 

"Your  most  affectionate  Mother  and  Friend, 

"Charlotte. 
"  1  cannot  say  more  at  present,  being  in  such  a  hurry." 

This  was  a  natural  and  touching  reply,  showing  "  heart."  The 
King,  however,  was  not  to  be  at  once  beguiled,  and  the  bitterness 
of  his  reply  to  the  proposal  made  to  him,  shows  how  deeply  he  felt 
the  treatment  he  had  received.  The  Prince  had  determined  to  give 
earnest  of  his  desire  to  be  on  good  terms  with  his  father  by  offering 
him  the  complete  charge  of  the  little  Princess,  and  he  perhaps  as- 
sumed that  this  spontaneous  gift  would  be  received  gratefully. 

THE   KING   TO   LORD   ELDON. 

"  Kew,  July  18th,  1804, 10  m.  past  4  p.m. 
"  The  King  has  this  instant  received  the  Lord  Chancellor's  note, 
enclosing  the  one  from  the  Earl  of  Moira.  Undoubtedly  the  Prince 
of  Wales's  making  the  offer  of  having  the  dear  little  Charlotte's 
education  and  principles  attended  to,  is  the  best  earnest  he  can  give 
of  returning  to  a  sense  of  what  he  owes  to  his  father,  and  indeed  to 
his  country,  and  may,  to  a  degree,  mollify  the  feelings  of  an  injured 
father;  but  it  will  require  some  reflection  before  the  King  can  an- 
swer how  soon  he  can  bring  himself  to  receive  the  publisher  of  his 
letters.  So  much  he  can  add  at  present,  that  if  he  takes  the  supei"- 
intendence  of  his  granddaughter,  he  does  not  mean  to  destroy  the 
rights  of  the  mother;  that  therefore  the  Princess  of  Wales,  whose 
Injuries  deserve  the  utmost  attention  of  the  King,  as  her  own  con- 
duct has  proved  irreproachable,  and  the  attention  to  what  sum  the 
Prince  is  to  pay  for  the  maintenance  of  the  child,  though  anything 
which  exceeds  what  he  receives  on  that  head  from  the  public  must 
undoubtedly  be  exonerated  by  the  King.  George  R." 

However,  more  than  a  month  passed  away,  and  father  and  son 
had  not  met.  As  the  King  told  Mr.  Rose  at  Ciufnels,  he  was  not 
willing  to  meet  his  son,  feeling  tliat  "no  good  could  come  of  it." 
He  seems  to  have  sagaciously  suspected  that  there  was  some  object 


398  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  JF. 

behind;  and  indeed  there  was  a  sort  of  wish  expressed  that  Lord 
Moira  should  receive  office  as  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  and  thus 
the  Prince  would  have  his  "friends"  in  the  ministry,  though  he 
himself  would  not  have  joined.  However,,  persuaded  by  the  Chan- 
cellor and  Mr,  Pitt,  the  King  at  last  consented  to  an  interview. 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

"  Windsor,  August  20th,  1804. 
'*  Though  the  King  trusts  his  excellent  Lord  Chancellor,  he  felt 
himself  authorized  on  Saturday  to  acquaint  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
that  in  consequence  of  what  the  Earl  of  Moira  had  been  authorized 
to  express,  his  Majesty  is  willing  to  receive  the  Prince  of  Wales  on 
Wednesday  at  Kew,  provided  no  explanation  or  excuses  are 
attempted  to  be  made  by  the  Prince  of  Wales;  but  that  it  is  merely 
to  be  a  visit  of  civility,  as  any  retrospect  could  but  oblige  the  King 
to  utter  truths,  which,  instead  of  healing,  must  widen  the  present 
breach.  His  Majesty  will  have  the  Queen,  Princesses,  and  at  least, 
of  his  sons,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  preseni  on  the  occasion.  The 
Lord  Chancellor  is  to  fix  on  twelve  o'clock  for  the  hour  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  coming  to  Kew.  The  King  cannot  conclude 
without  expressing  his  earnest  wishes  that  the  union  to  take  place 
on  Wednesday  in  the  Scott  family  may  prove  a  source  of  happiness 
to  them,  as  his  Majesty  must  ever  be  a  sharer  in  any  event  that  may 
add  to  the  domestic  felicit}'-  of  his  Lord  Chancellor. 

"George  R" 

Another  letter,  written  on  the  same  day,  is  devoted  to  praises  of 
the  Princess  of  Wales,  who  at  an  interview  had  given  him  the  great- 
est satisfaction.  "  She  will  be  entirely  guided  by  the  King,  who 
has  directed  her  to  state  whatever  she  pleases  to  the  Chancellor,  as 
the  person  alone  to  bo  trusted  by  her  in  any  difficult  occasion  that 
may  arise."  A  charge  that  fully  explains  the  zeal  shown  by  that 
fnnctionary  in  her  cause.*  Mr.  Pitt,  however,  complained  that 
though  she  had  promised  an  alteration  in  her  bearing  towards  the 
Prince,  she  had  stated  "particulars  in  the  Prince's  behavior  that 


♦  "  What  think  you  now,  my  Lord,"  said  the  Prince  to  Lord  Thurlow  in  one 
of  these  contentions,  ' '  of  your  old  friend  Scott,  whom  you  puffed  to  me  as  a 
sound  lawyer  and  an  honest  man*"  "  Indeed,  sir,"  answered  Thur!ow,  whose 
advanced  age  had  abated  neither  his  convenient  courtliness  nor  his  jocular 
coarseness,  "  1  think  he  has  lost  the  little  law  he  once  had,  and  is  hecome  a 
verj'  great  scoundrel." 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  399 

created  alarms  in  her  mind  of  wliicli  slie  could  not  get  the  better." 
The  minister  uttered  gloomy  prognostications  as  to  her  future,  but 
admitted  that  her  behavior  might  be  prompted  by  jealousy.*  But 
in  the  interval  the  Prince  seems  to  have  changed  his  mind,  pleading 
indisposition.     The  King  came  specially  to  Kew  for  the  interview. 

THE  KING  TO    LORD  ELDON. 

"  Kew,  August  22nd,  1804, 

"  10  m.  past  1  P.M. 

**  The  King,  soon  after  his  arrival  here  with  tlie  Queen  and  liis 
daughters,  found  the  Dukes  of  Kent  and  Cambridge;  since  which 
the  Lord  Chancellor's  letter  has  been  brought  by  a  servant  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  The  King  authorizes  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  ex- 
press to  the  Prince  of  Wales  his  sorrow  at  his  being  unwell;  that 
in  consequence  of  this  his  Majesty  will  postpone  his  intervievv'  with 
the  Prince  of  Wales  until  his  return  from  Weymouth ;  and  then,  as 
was  now  intended,  it  will  be  in  presence  of  his  family  at  Kew,  of 
which  the  Lord  Chancellor  will  be  empowered  to  give  due  notice  to 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  George  R." 

There  is  here  an  air  of  relief  at  being  spared  the  meeting.  The 
Prince  did  not  write,  but  he  sent  the  Chancellor's  letter  by  a  groom, 
which  was  much  remarked  on.  The  Chancellor  naturally  remon- 
strated at  his  disrespect  to  the  King,  when  the  Prince,  in  his  rough- 
est mood,  said,  "  Sir,  who  gave  you  authority  to  advise  me?"  The 
sturdy  Eldon  answered  him  as  haughtily,  telling  him  he  was  his 
Majesty's  Chancellor,  that  he  must  get  some  one  else  to  take  mes- 
sages of  the  kind — "  I  will  not."  The  Prmce,  however,  wrote  to 
one  of  the  Princesses,  announcing  that  the  meeting  might  take  place 
after  the  King's  return,  and  in  presence  of  the  Queen  and  Princesses.f 

Indisposition  was  not  the  cause  of  this  change.  The  Prince  had 
learned  what  an  increase  of  favor  had  been  extended  to  his  wife, 
and  that  if  he  gave  up  his  daughter  to  the  King  the  Princess  of 
Wales  was  to  benefit  b}^  the  step.  The  little  Princess  had  been 
asked  to  a  ball  at  the  Castle,  and  being  told  that  she  might  bring  a 
friend,  instantly  named  her  mother.:}:  A  house,  too,  had  been 
already  secured  for  her,  with  apartments  for  her  mother  whenever 
she  should  choose  to  visit  her. 


*  Rose,  "  Diaries,"  if.  173. 

+  Auckland,  "  Correspondence,"  iv.  209  %  Ibid. 


400  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT. 

The  Prince's  relations  to  Fox  since  the  later  crisis  had  consider- 
ably improved.  On  Fox's  rejection  by  ihe  King,  the  Prince  had 
taken  ihe  matter  up  warmly,  assuring  Sil-  Philip  Francis  of  his 
"entire  and  perfect  approbation  of  these  resolutions,  and  desires 
further  that  it  may  be  known,  and  understood,  and  published  to  all 
the  world  in  his  name  and  authority  that,  in  this  personal  rejection 
of  Mr.  Fox,  he  considers  himself  as  the  party  injured;  that  he  is 
not  at  all  the  dupe  of  Mr.  Pitt's  excuses  and  explanations;  that  he 
sees  clearly  that  Mr.  Fox  is  rejected  as  his  friend,  and  that  it  was 
meant  to  wound  him  through  his  side." 

It  should  be  slated,  however,  that  old  Mr.  Coke,  of  Norfolk, 
told  Haydon  that  when  he  heard  that  Fox  was  willing  enough  to 
join  the  Government,  he  had  declared  to  him  that  he  would  sever 
himself  from  him;  and  that  Fox  on  this  had  written,  assuring  him 
that  he  was  determined  never  to  join  Mr.  Pitt. 

"You  may  think,  perhaps,  that  I  might  have  written  on  the 
Prince's  negotiation,  if  it  may  be  so  called  "  (wrote  Mr.  Fox  to  his 
friend  Grey  in  September);  "  but  I  cannot  make  out  the  facts,  and 
still  less  all  the  motives,  to  my  own  satisfaction.  Lauderdale 
would,  of  course,  tell  you  all  he  knew,  when  he  left  London,  and 
I  knew  no  more  till  my  return  from  Cheltenham,  when  the  thing 
was  quite  over,  and  I  am  not  sorry  (as  you  may  suppose)  that  I  had 
no  advice  to  answer  for.  It  originated  with  Tierney;  and  Sheridan 
was,  I  believe,  kept  out  of  it  till  quite  towards  the  close.  My 
judgment  is,  that  if  a  reconciliation  could  have  taken  place  by  tlie 
Queen  it  was  right,  if  by  Pitt  it  was  wrong;  but  Tierney  saw  no 
such  distinction.  The  refusal  to  see  the  King  had  gone  before  I 
knew  anything  more  than  when  I  went  to  Cheltenham:  I  should 
not  have  advised  it.  It  seems  to  be  all  over;  and  the  only  thing 
that  is  of  any  consequence  is  to  know  how  far  Moira  acted  fairly  in 
it,  or  indeed  how  far  he  was  concerned  at  all.  His  advice  to  the 
Prince  to  offer  the  young  Princess  to  the  King  was  certamly  very 
bad,  but  I  believe  it  was  only  folly;  and  the  Prince  has  (upon  good 
pretences  enough)  done  away  the  offer  completely.  Some  accounts 
from  Weymouth  say  the  King  is  very  well,  others  the  reverse.  My 
way  of  reconciling  them  is,  that  he  is  better  in  health,  but  still 
insane." 

Fox  himself,  or  some  one  inspired  by  Fox,  now  pointed  out  to 
the  Prince  this  danger.  The  King  thought  that  Sheridan  had  inter- 
fered. 

The  King  had  repaired  later  to  Mr.  Rose's  place  at  Cufncls,  whcro 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  401 

he  had  many  interesting  conversations  witli  liis  host,  which  give  a 
high  opinion  of  his  sagacity  and  observation,  and  show  what  a 
pleasant  companion  he  could  be  In  these  interviews  were  also 
revealed,  with  a  terrible  intensity,  the  state  of  his  feelings  towards 
his  son. 

When  his  daughter  was  thrown  from  her  horse  on  the  road,  he 
peremptorily  required  her  to  take  her  choice  if  hurt,  to  drive 
home ;  but  if  not,  to  remount  and  drive  on.  When  remonstrated 
with,  he  answered  quietly  that  "he  could  not  bear  that  any  of  his 
family  should  w^ant  courage."  It  being  urged  that  driving  home 
after  such  an  accident  scarcely  amounted  to  lack  of  courage,  he 
made  the  remarkable  speech*.  "  Perhaps  it  may  be  so;  but  I  thank 
God  there  is  but  one  of  my  children  who  wants  courage,  and  I  will 
not  name  him  because  he  is  to  succeed  me !" 

This  most  painful  utterance  of  course  came  of  an  excited  state  of 
mind;  and  rationally  as  the  King  could  discourse,  it  seems  he 
uttered  many  incoherences.  And  when  he  was  at  Weymouth,  Sir 
R  Wilson,  later  one  of  the  Prince's  faction,  was  busily  engaged  in 
noting  down  the  most  extravagant  of  his  speeches,  which  was 
shown  about,  to  the  Prince  among  others,  who  sent  back  a  very 
civil  message  to  the  effect  that  "  he  would  make  it  as  public  as  he 
could,"* 

The  King,  however,  felt  quite  satisfied  that  he  was  to  have  the 
charge  of  his  favorite,  the  young  Princess;  and  in  his  rides  with 
his  host  explained  the  plans  he  had  formed.  He  had  thought  of 
Lady  George  Murray  as  governess,  widow  of  a  bishop  of  St.  David's. 
In  one  very  pleasing  conversation  he  discussed  the  point  in  all  its 
bearings,  suggesting  that  there  might  be  a  danger  of  the  Duke  of 
Athole  having  an  influence  over  her,  with  other  matters,  which 
showed  that  he  had  weighed  the  subject  carefully. 

On  November  7th,  the  King  wrote  to  "  his"  Lord  Chancellor,  to 
inform  him  that  he  was  now  ready  to  receive  the  Prince,  as  had 
been  proposed. 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  THE  LORD  CHANCELLOR. 

"  Brighton,  November  8th,  1804. 

*'The  Prince  of  Wales  without  delay  acknowledges  the  receipt 
of  the  Chancellor's  letter,  and  will,  in  consequence  ot  the  gracious 
intention  signified  from  his  Majesty,  be  in  London  to-morrow  even- 

*  "  Life  of  Sir  R.  Wilson,"  p.  387, 


402  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  17, 

ing  with  Lord  Moira,  who  has  just  arrived  at  Brighthelmstone. 
The  Earl  of  Moira  is  authorized  by  the  Prince  to  wait  upon  the 
Chancellor  at  any  hour  on  Saturday  morning  that  his  lordship  may 
please  to  appoint."* 

Lord  Moira  accordingly  saw  the  Chancellor,  and  begged  him  to 
assure  the  King  of  his  son's  dutiful  and  affectionate  sentiments. 

The  meeting  at  last  took  place  between  the  father  and  son  oa 
November  12th,  and  the  first  person  to  whom  the  King  communi- 
cated the  result  was  his  favorite,  the  Princess  of  Wales.  It  will  be 
seen  how  warmly  he  wrote  to  her: 

"  Windsor  Castle,  November  13th,  1804. 

**My  dearest  Daughter-in-law  and  Niece, 

"  Yesterday  I  and  the  rest  of  the  family  had  an  interview  with 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  at  Kew.  Care  was  taken  on  all  sides  to  avoid 
all  subjects  of  altercation  or  explanation,  consequently  the  conver- 
sation was  neither  instructive  nor  entertaining;  but  it  leaves  the 
Prince  of  Wales  in  a  situation  to  shew  whether  his  desire  to 
return  to  the  family  is  only  verbal  or  real,  which  lime  alone  can 
prove.  I  am  not  idle  in  my  endeavors  to  make  inquiries  that  may 
enable  me  to  communicate  some  plan  for  the  advantage  of  the  dear 
child.  You  and  I,  with  so  much  reason,  must  interest  ourselves; 
and  its  effecting  my  having  the  happiness  of  living  more  with  you 
is  no  small  incentive  to  my  forming  some  ideas  on  the  subject,  but 
you  may  depend  on  their  not  being  decided  upon  without  your 
thorough  and  cordial  concurrence;  for  your  authority  as  a  mother 
it  is  my  object  to  support. 

"Believe  me,  at  all  times,  my  dearest  daughter-in-law  and  niece, 
"Your  most  affectionate  Father-in-law  and  Uncle, 

"George  R." 

To  "my"  Lord  Chancellor,  as  he  always  rather  affectedly  styled 
Lord  Eldon,  he  wrote  that  the  interview  had  been  "decent."  But 
Mr.  Pitt  learned  that  the  Prince  was  "uttering  great  lamentations 
at  having  found  the  King  so  broken  in  all  respects."  The  minister, 
however,  had  reason  to  believe  that  intrigues  were  on  foot  to  undo 
what  had  been  done,  clearly  pointing  at  Fox. 

Mr.  Fremantle,  who  was  present,  thus  describes  the  meeting: 

•  E14on  MS.,  quoted  in  Mr.  Jesse's  "  Reign  of  George  III," 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  403 

"The  royal  party  consisted  of  the  King,  Queen,  Prince  of  Wales, 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  York,  Lady  Ilderton  and  General  Fitzroy^ 
the  other  Princes  and  Princesses  at  different  tables  in  the  same  room. 
1  was  very  near  the  King's  table,  and  nothing  could  be  better  acted 
than  his  manner.  I  can't  say  the  same  of  the  Prince.  He  was  evi- 
dently very  much  out  of  spirits  and  in  ill-humor,  hardly  spoke  a 
word  to  anybody,  and  looked  very  ill.  It  is  quite  impossible  this 
reconciliation  can  last."* 

This  is  explained  by  a  sort  of  negotiation  which  was  being  carried 
on  simultaneously;  there  being  thus,  according  to  the  hackneyed 
phrase,  wheels  within  wheels. 

The  heaven-born  minister  was  now  very  anxious  to  gain  over  the 
section  of  the  Opposition  known  as  "the  Prince's  friends." 

This  curious  incident  is  thus  described  in  a  letter  of  Fox's:  "The 
P.  sent  for  me  to  tell  me  of  the  message  he  had  had  from  the  K., 
and  of  an  interview  which  Lord  Moira  had  had  with  Pitt.  With 
regard  to  the  first,  it  seemed  only  a  continuation  of  what  had  passed 
before  the  Weymouth  journey,  and  when  he  did  see  the  King  (al- 
most all  the  family  present)  at  Kew,  he  says  there  was  no  cordiality 
or  pretended  affection,  but  common  talk  on  weather,  scandal,  etc. 
— ^a  great  deal  of  the  latter,  and  as  the  P.  thought,  very  idle  and 
foolish  in  the  manner,  and  running  wildly  from  topic  to  topic 
though  not  absolutely  incoherent.  With  respect  to  Lord  ]\Ioira's 
meeting  with  Pitt,."  Fox  goes  on,  "he  said  that  Pitt  had  expressed 
a  particular  desire  of  having  him  (Moira)  in  the  Cabinet,  and  a  gen- 
eral wish  to  admit  many  of  the  P.'s  friends.  I  rather  think  Moira, 
whom  I  saw  separately,  added  hopes  of  time  bringing  about  all. 
That  Moira  had  declared  explicitly  that  he  could  do  nothing  with- 
out me  and  my  friends.  I  asked  whether  it  was  considered  that 
any  proposition  had  come  from  Pitt,  to  which  cither  H.R.H.  or  I 
were  to  give  any  answer;  this  was  answered  by  a  most  explicit 
negative;  so  that  there  was  no  difficulty  for  us — nothing  having 
been  said  to  us,  tiiere  was  nothing  for  us  to  say  or  do.  Here  there 
seemed  to  be  an  end,  and  a  very  good  end,  of  all  this  folly;  but  I 
understood  from  Moira  that  he  was  again  to  see  either  Pitt  or  Mel- 
ville, and  to  know  positively  whether  or  no  the  P.  was  to  have  a 
military  command  offered  him." 

This  seems  to  disclose  the  motive  for  the  Prince's  eagerness  for  the 
reconciliation,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  something  substantial,  and 

*  ••  Court  aijd  Cabinets,"  p.  366, 


404  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

which  he  had  set  his  heart  upon.  Mr.  Fox  thought  that,  *'  not- 
withstanding all  these  intrigues,  the  P.  will  be  in  essentials  quite 
steady.  But  he  also  thought  that  Pitt  would  not  get  aii«i»ority  to 
offer  him  anything  that  will  shake  him."* 

The  King  now  assuming  that  all  had  been  arranged  a?  regards 
the  transfer  of  the  young  Princess  to  his  care,  drew  up  a  plan  for 
her  education: 

"Enclosure. — The  Prince  of  Wales  having,  through  the  Earl  of 
Moira,  expressed  his  wish  that  the  education  and  care  of  the  person 
of  his  daughter  should  be  placed  under  the  immediate  inspection 
of  the  King,  his  Majesty  is  willing  to  take  this  charge  on  himself, 
and  has  prepared  a  house  at  Windsor  for  the  reception  of  the 
Princess  Charlotte.  The  sum  now  issued  each  quarter,  out  of  his 
Majesty's  Civil  List,  for  the  maintenance  and  education  of  the 
young  Princess,  should  in  future  be  paid  into  the  hands  of  the 
person  who  shall  be  named  by  the  King  to  defray  those  expenses; 
and  such  additional  charges  as  may  arise  from  the  change  of  estab- 
lishment will  be  defrayed  by  the  King. 

"His  Majesty  proposes  to  name  a  bishop  to  superintend  Princess 
Charlotte's  education,  as  it  cannot  be  that  alone  of  a  female;  but 
she,  being  the  presumptive  heir  of  the  crown,  must  have  one  of  a 
more  extended  nature.  His  Majesty  also  thinks  it  desirable  that 
the  bishop  should  fix  on  a  proper  clergyman  to  instruct  the  young 
Princess  in  religion  and  Latin,  and  daily  to  read  prayers  that  there 
should  be  another  mstructor  for  history,  geography,  belles-lettres, 
and  French;  and  masters  for  writing,  music,  and  dancing;  that  the 
care  and  behavior  of  the  Princess  should  be  entrusted  to  a  gcvern. 
ess;  and  (as  she  must  be  both  day  and  night  under  the  care  of 
responsible  persons)  that  a  sub-governess  and  assistant  sub-governess 
should  be  named. 

"These  seem  the  necessary  outlines,  to  form  such  a  plan  as  may 
make  so  promising  a  child  turn  out,  as  it  is  the  common  interest  of 
the  King  and  his  family,  and  indeed  the  whole  nation,  eagerly  to 
wish." 

When  this  paper  was  handed  to  the  Prince  he  received  it  with 
much  discontent.  Mr.  Fox  learned  from  him  what  had  occurred 
on  the  occasion : 

"The  Prince  expressed,  in  a  written  note,  his  surprise  that,  aftex 
what  had  passed,  such  a  proposition  should  be  made  to  htm,  and 


♦  "  Memorials  of  Fox,"  iv.  68. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  405 

sent  it  back.  Both  Pitt  and  the  Chancellor  replied,  first  insinuating 
that  the  Prince  ought  to  have  shown  more  respect  to  a  paper  coming 
directly  from  his  Majesty,  and  saying  they  had  not  understood 
Moira  as  the  Prince  did.  The  Prince  sent  an  answer,  disclaiming 
of  course  all  intentional  disrespect  to  the  King,  refusing  perempto- 
rily to  give  up  his  daughter,  and  for  what  had  passed  referring  them 
to  Moira,  to  wliom  he  said  he  transmitted  their  rotes.  Luckily 
enough,  Moira  had  left  with  the  Prince  a  written  summary  of  what 
had  passed  between  Pitt  and  him,  which  entirelj'-  justified  the 
Prince's  interpretation.  Since  this  I  have  heard  no  more;  but  I 
read  in  the  newspaper  that  the  preparations  making  for  the  Princess 
of  Wales  and  the  child  at  Windsor  are  discontinued." 

From  another  account  we  find  that  Pitt  sent  the  Prince  a  very 
harsh  and  uncivil  rebuke  for  making  such  a  reply  to  the  King. 

A  very  painful  dispute  then  arose,  in  which  a  question  of  vera- 
city was  concerned,  and  as  to  whether  the  Prince  had  ever  agreed 
to  consign  his  daughter  to  the  charge  of  the  King.  It  was  insisted 
that  he  had  done  so  through  Lord  Moira.  The  truth  seems  to  be, 
that  the  Prince  was  disgusted  at  the  mode  in  which  his  advances 
had  been  received,  and  at  not  receiving  anything  by  way  of  consid- 
eration for  his  concessions.  Finding  that  all  was  to  turn  to  the 
profit  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  he  was  now  eager  to  withdraw  from 
what  he  had  engaged.  In  such  cases  there  almost  inevitably  arises 
a  question  of  what  has  been  promised  or  conceded.  The  version 
that  his  friends  gave  out  now  follows ;  but  Lord  Grenville,  dining 
at  Carlton  House  on  November  29th,  had  from  the  Prince  himself  a 
fuller  account  of  his  grievances: 

"  He  laid  his  principal  stress  on  the  following  points — viz.  fhat 
Lord  Moira  had  been  pressed  to  accept  a  Cabinet  place,  which  he 
had  refused,  on  the  ground  that  the  Prince  would  not  separate 
himself  from  those  whom  he  had  advised  with  at  the  end  of  last 
session;  that  it  had,  therefore,  been  understood  that  the  recon- 
ciliation was  to  have  no  political  reference  whatever;  that  he  had 
found  things  at  Windsor  as  bad  as  they  had  been  represented — 
no  cordiality  (hardly  common  civility)  towards  himself;  a  power 
of  restraining  himself  [i.e.  the  King's]  and  talking  rationally  for 
some  time,  and  on  some  points,  but  no  day  passing  without  much 
of  a  different  description,  and  many  points  very  prevalent  in  his 
mind  of  a  character  extremely  irrational;  not  a  word  said  to  him 
during  three  days'  stay  at  Windsor  of  the  arrangements  making 
respecting  his  daughter,  and  on  his  return  to  town  a  message  sent 


406  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOUQE  IV. 

to  him  through  the  Chancellor,  referring  to  and  misrepresenting 
what  had  before  passed  on  the  subject  between  Lord  Moira  and  Mr. 
Pitt,  which  the  Kiug  construes  into  a  wish  expressed  by  the  Prince 
that  his  Majesty  should  take  upon  himself  the  entire  direction  of 
her  education.  This  wish  has  been  positively  denied  by  the  Prince, 
and  thereupon  they  are  at  issue,  the  Prince  having  referred  to  Lord 
Moira,  who  is  in  Scotland,  for  the  truth  of  his  statement,  and  de- 
claring that  nothing  shall  induce  him  to  put  his  child  out  of  his 
own  control,  particularly  under  circumstances  so  little  auspicious 
as  those  which  result  from  the  King's  present  state  of  mind.  He 
desired  you  might  know  all  this.  How  it  is  to  end,  I  do  not  even 
guess. " 

The  annoyance  and  even  rage  of  the  King  at  this  sudden  turn  in 
matters  is  shown  by  his  bitter  letter  of  December  16th,  to  Lord 
Eldon.  " The  King,"  it  ran,  "  though  he  has  banished  every  spark 
of  irritation  and  impatience,  from  feeling  truth  and  fair  dealing  is 
the  honorable  line  to  combat  misapprehension,  chicane,  and  untruth, 
has  with  stoical  indifference  waited  the  arrival  of  some  informa- 
tion," etc. 

Lord  Moira  having  arrived,  the  controversy  w^armed  afresh ;  but 
it  would  seem  that  the  harsh  construction  put  on  the  Prince's 
behavior  was  not  warranted,  for  it  turns  out  that  in  the  original 
proposal  the  young  Princess  was  offered  to  the  care  of  the  King 
exclusively.  This,  as  Lord  Moira  explained,  was  intended  to  bar 
all  interference  on  the  part  of  the  Princess  of  Wales.* 

It  was  soon  felt  that  this  state  of  things  could  not  continue.  Some 
interviews  followed  between  Mr.  Pitt  and  Lord  Moira,  and  soon 
proposals  for  mutual  accommodation  wTre  made.  Explanations 
took  place  between  them,  in  which  the  former  admitted  that  the 
Prince's  view  was  more  or  less  correct,  and  showed  himself  very 
anxious  to  come  to  an  arrangement.  The  King,  however,  showed 
his  bitterness  by  refusing  to  see  Lord  Moira. 

This  result,  according  to  all  accounts,  was  owing  to  Lord  Moira, 
whose  position  was  rather  an  awkward  one.  Discussions  followed 
between  the  Prince  and  Chancellor,  in  which  the  former,  referring 
to  the  statement  that  he  had  refused  to  see  the  Chancellor,  used 
singular  language,  saying  that  it  was  "a  strange  fabrication  of  the 


•  In  May,  1805,  the  King  showed  his  regard  for  the  Princess  of  Wales  by  pre- 
senting her  with  two  beautiful  Arabian  horses  and  an  elegant  service  of  gold. 
H«  had  also  given  her  the  rangership  of  Qreenwich  Park. 


THE  LTFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  407 

King,"  or  a  "malicious  suggestion  of  some  other  person."  He 
also  stated  very  plainly  that  he  had  had  legal  advice  as  to  his  rights. 
However,  he  ended  by  graciously  saying  that  his  view  was  to 
gratify  the  King's  wishes.  In  this  happy  disposition,  though  the 
King  remained  cold  and  wounded,  it  was  not  difficult  to  arrange 
matters. 

The  Prince  had  already  a  little  encounter  in  the  House  of  Lords 
with  the  Chancellor.  In  one  instance  the  Duke  of  Clarence 
reminded  the  latter  of  the  irregular  frequency  with  which  he  left 
the  "Woolsack  to  address  the  House  upon  the  same  question.  The 
Chancellor  made  no  reply  at  the  moment,  but  referred  on  a  subse- 
quent night  to  the  expressions  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence.  Upon  this 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  in  explanation,  disclaimed,  on  the  part  of  the 
Duke,  all  personal  offence,  and  declared  that  "he  understood  his 
noble  relation  as  merely  illustrating  the  necessity  of  a  liberal  and 
indulgent  constructicm  of  the  orders  of  the  House."  "The  obser- 
vations of  the  Prince  of  Wales  were  made  with  a  facility  and  pro- 
priety which  produced  expressions  of  regret  that  he  addressed  the 
House  so  rarely." 

THE  KING  TO  THE  LORD   CHANCELLOR. 

"(End  of  December,  1804.) 

"His  Majesty,  in  the  paper  which  the  Lord  Chancellor  commu- 
nicated by  the  King's  command  on  the  23rd  November  to  the  Prince, 
refen-ed  in  the  preamble  to  the  Prince's  wish,  expressed  through  the 
Earl  of  Moira.  That  wish  was  expressed  in  the  Earl's  letter  of  the 
17th  July  last,  in  which  the  Lord  Chancellor  was  requested  to  tender 
the  Prince's  humble  duty  to  his  Majesty,  with  the  profession  that, 
if  it  was  his  Majesty's  inclination,  nothing  could  be  more  highly 
gratifying  to  the  Prince  than  to  see  the  Princess  Charlotte  taken 
under  the  King's  especial  direction. 

"His  Majesty,  therefore,  in  the  preamble  of  the  paper,  referred 
to  the  wish  which  had  been  so  communicated  on  the  part  of  the 
Prince,  and  has  accordingly  considered  the  communication  through 
the  Earl  of  Moira  as  representing  that  the  Prince  wished  to  see  the 
Princess  Charlotte  taken  under  his  Majesty's  special  direction,  in 
consequence  of  the  Prince's  understanding  that  such  was  his  Majes- 
ty's wish  and  desire. 

"The  King  repeats,  what  he  has  before  stated  to  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor and  Mr.  Pitt,  and  which  he  has  been  informed  they  repre- 
Minted  to  the  Earl  of  Moira,  that  his  Majesty  regarded  the  commu- 


408  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

nication  from  the  Prince,  founded  upon  his  desire  to  grat'fy  what 
he  understood  to  be  the  King's  wishes,  as  a  step  very  acceptable  to 
his  Majesty,  and  conformable  to  the  sentiments  of  duty  which  the 
Prince  had  expressed. 

•*  His  Majesty  has  uniformly  stated  that,  in  his  taking  upon  him- 
self the  care  and  management  of  the  Princess  Charlotte,  he  must  be 
understood  to  do  so  in  a  sense  consistent  with  all  the  attention  due 
to  each  of  the  parents  of  the  Princess. 

"His  meaning  was  to  form  the  best  plan  he  could  for  the  educa- 
tion and  governance  of  the  Princess,  and  to  refer  that  plan  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Prince,  and  to  make  such  communications 
respecting  it  to  the  Princess  of  Wales  as  the  nature  of  their  respect- 
ive relations  to  the  Princess  Charlotte  seemed  to  require.  It  will  be 
his  Majesty's  earnest  desire  to  act  according  to  this  principle. 

"His  Majesty  has  great  satisfaction  in  believing  that  there  is 
reason  to  think  that  the  Prince  is  likely  to  concur  in  the  measures 
proposed  by  his  Majesty,  if  the  misapprehensions  which  have  been 
entertained  are  removed;  and  he  trusts  that  the  explanations  which 
have  taken  place  may  effectually  remove  them.  If  that  should 
happily  be  the  case,  his  Majesty  will  proceed  to  state,  for  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Prince,  the  names  of  the  persons  who  may  appear 
proper  to  fill  the  very  important  stations  mentioned  in  his  Majesty's 
paper;  and  as  this  measure  originated  and  has  been  carried  on  in 
consequence  of  the  Prince's  having  expressed  a  wish  to  meet  his 
Majesty's  inclination,  it  will  be  most  satisfactory  to  the  King  that 
the  arrangement  should  be  completed  upon  the  same  footing,  and 
that  his  Majesty's  choice  should  be  made  with  the  Prince's  entire 
concurrence. " 

The  Prince's  answer  to  this  document  has  not  been  found;  but 
its  purport  appears  from  the  following  letter  of  the  King: 

THE  KING  TO   LORD  ELDON. 

"Windsor  Castle,  Jan.  6th,  1806. 
"  The  King  received  the  Lord  Chancellor's  note,  accompanying 
the  paper  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  intended  as  an  answer  to  the  one 
drawn  up  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Mr.  Pitt;  which  having  met 
with  his  Majesty's  approbation,  he  sent  a  copy  of  it  on  the  31st  of 
last  month  to  be  delivered  or  sent  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  His  Majesty  entirely  joins  in  opinion  with  the 
Lord  Chancellor  and  Mr.  Pitt,  that  undoubtedly  the  paper  contains 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  409 

expressions  liable  to  observations;  but,  if  the  King  was  to  enter 
into  such  minute  discussion,  the  main  object  might  be  retarded; 
and,  as  truth,  and  what  he  owes  to  his  subjects,  have  alone  dictated 
his  conduct,  provided  right  is  effected,  he  will  not  stoop  to  cavilling 
on  words,  which  is  ever  the  path  of  those  actuated  by  meaner  senti- 
ments. The  King  has  therefore  drawn  up  a  paper  this  morning, 
which  he  trusts  is  consonant  with  the  opinion  contained  in  the 
Lord  Chancellor's  note,  which  if  the  Lord  Chancellor  views  in  the 
same  light,  he  desires  may  be  forwarded  to  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

"Geokge  R." 

18 


410  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

1805. 

The  person  appointed  to  succeed  Lady  Elgin  in  the  charge  of 
the  young  Princess  was  the  Dowager  Lady  de  Clifford,  a  lady  who 
had  seen  much  of  the  French  Court,  and,  while  remarkable  for 
firmness,  and  even  intrepidity  of  character,  seems  to  have  possessed 
a  charm  and  graciousness  that  was  very  attractive.  Once  travel- 
ling with  her  dying  husband  in  France,  she  surprised  a  robber 
stealing  into  his  room.  She  seized  him  by  the  collar  and  flung 
him  down  stairs.  She  is  pleasantly  described  in  her  grandson's 
(Lord  Albemarle)  agreeable  "  Recollections."* 

On  March  1st,  1805,  the  King  had  written  to  direct  the  Chan- 
cellor to  inform  the  Prince.  It  is  painful  to  find  that  he  could  not 
bring  himself  to  communicate  directly  with  his  son,  for  he  had 
harshly  declared  that  "  he  could  never  forgive  his  conduct  because 
it  was  impossible  to  forget  it;"  that  in  a  week  or  two  the  Court 
Lodge  would  be  ready  to  receive  the  Princess.  The  same  evening 
Lady  de  Clifford  received  the  following  communication: 

THE  PRINCB  OF  WALES  TO  LADY  DE  CLIFFORD. 

"  My  DEAREST  Lady  de  Clifford, 

"  I  am  only  this  instant  returned  home,  and  I  have  so  many 
letters  to  write  and  so  much  to  do  this  evening  that  will  not  admit 
of  delay,  in  order  to  summon  an  early  meeting  to-morrow  morning, 
that  it  will  be  too  late  before  I  have  finished  all  my  business  to 
attempt  to  come  and  see  your  little  charge  and  you.    However,  at 


♦  Under  her  there  were  two  sub-governesses,  Mrs.  Udney  and  Mrs.  Camp- 
bell, Dr.  Fisher,  then  Bishop  of  Exeter,  was  the  preceptor;  and  it  is  curious 
to  find  that  Lady  Pembroke,  for  whom  the  King  had  always  a  sort  of  pen- 
chant, was  originally  named  as  governess.  Lady  George  Murray,  whom  he 
had  spoken  of  so  warmly  to  Mr.  Rose,  he  seems  not  to  have  thought  of.  Mrs. 
Campbell  had  lamented  her  own  unfitness  for  the  post  to  the  King,  who  replied 
in  Johnsonian  phrase:  "Madam,  I  hope  we  can  afford  to  purchase  accom- 
plishments, but  we  camiot  buy  principles," 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBGE  IV.  411 

one  to-morrow  you  may  be  certain  of  seeing  me  and,  I  hope,  Mrs. 
Udney. 

"Pray,  if  possible,  let  me  have  the  little  watch  that  I  may  give 
it  to  Charlotte  in  your  presence.  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  do  so 
for  every  reason,  but  I  shall  consider  myself  most  fortunate  the 
having  it  in  my  power  thus  early  in  life,  after  your  very  short  ac- 
quaintance with  her,  not  only  to  prove  to  her  my  readiness  to  ac- 
quiesce in,  and  to  forward  every  reasonable  wish  she  may  entertain, 
but  also  the  implicit  confidence  I  place  in  you,  as  well  as  that  you 
are  the  medium,  and  ever  must  be  the  properest  medium,  through 
which  her  wishes  and  inclinations  must  be  conveyed  to  me.  Ex- 
cuse my  saying  anything  more  at  present,  for  I  am,  as  you  may 
believe  after  so  long  and  so  very  irritating  a  day,  quite  worried  to 
death.  If  you  wish  for  me  later  this  evening — I  mean  by  that  be- 
tween eleven  and  twelve  o'clock — you  will  know  where  to  find  me.* 
"Ever  most  affectionately  yours, 

"George  P. 

'*  Carlton  House,  Friday,  8  o'clock,  March  1, 1805. 
"P.S. — Say  everything  that  is  most  kind  to  the  child  and  to  Mrs, 
Udney,  whose  goodness  in  temporizing  with  her  present  situation 
I  can  never  forget. " 

Here  was  again  the  recommencement  of  the  old  tortuous  system ; 
and  it  is  scarcely  surprising  that  the  King  wrote  angrily  to  Lord 
Eldon,  to  declare  that  he  must  have  full  control  over  the  child,  de- 
claring too  his  suspicions  that  the  Prince  "meant  further  chica- 
nery." 

Further,  a  few  days  before  the  Prince  had  been  using  language 
to  his  "dearest  Lady  de  Clifford,"  which  the  King  declared  "he 
could  not  sanction."  The  latter  seems  to  have  had  an  idea  of  plac- 
ing his  grandchild  under  the  formal  guardianship  of  Lord  Eldon, 
declaring  also,  that  it  was  "quite  charming  to  see  the  mother  and 
daughter  together,  which  he  had  seen  on  the  day  before."  This 
extravagant  partiality  of  the  sovereign,  which  blinded  him  to  her 
defects,  explains,  as  was  before  hinted,  the  devotion  of  the  Tories 
to  the  cause. 

A  few  days  later  the  Prince,  full  of  good  purposes,  furnished 
Lady  ae  Clifford  with  a  paper  of  instruction    for  her  guidance. 

*  At  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  in  Tilney  Street, 


412  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


MEMORANDUM  FOR  LADY  DE  CLIFFORD  FROM  THE  PRINCE  OF 
WALES 

"  March  4,  1805. 

"Lady  de  Clifford  and  the  Bishop  of  Exeter  having  now  entered 
upon  the  important  functions  committed  to  them,  the  Prince  is  de^ 
sirous  that  they  should  from  time  to  time  lay  before  his  Majesty 
such  ideas  as  occur  to  him  as  to  the  details  necessarj--  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  general  opinion  adopted  respecting  the  education 
of  Princess  Charlotte.  This  memorandum  is  intended  to  apprise 
them  of  the  present  state  of  the  business,  and  to  serve  as  a  guide 
for  them  in  such  conversations  as  his  Majesty  may  honor  them  with 
on  this  subject. 

"In  consequence  of  some  previous  intimation  which  the  Prince 
had  received  of  his  Majesty's  wishes,  the  Prince  has  expressed  that 
without  meaning  to  discharge  himself  in  any  degree  of  that  duty  of 
superintendence  and  control  which  nature  imposes  upon  a  father 
in  all  that  relates  to  the  education  of  his  child,  he  was  at  the  same 
time  desirous  of  receiving  the  benefit  of  his  Majesty's  gracious  as- 
sistance and  advice  in  a  matter  so  interesting  to  his  feelings,  and  of 
giving  the  Princess  Charlotte  the  full  advantage  of  that  affectionate 
interest  which  his  Majesty  is  graciously  pleased  to  take  in  her  wel- 
fare. But  a  reason  which  it  is  not  here  necessary  to  particularize 
compelled  the  Prince  to  require  that  the  person  through  whom  this 
communication  was  made  should  respectfully  but  distinctly  explain 
to  his  Majesty  that  the  Prince  could  on  no  account  agi'ce  to  the  in- 
terference of  any  other  person  whatever  except  his  Majesty  in  the 
dispositions  to  be  made  on  this  subject,  and  that  this  point  must  at 
all  times  be  considered  as  the  indispensable  condition  of  the  Prince's 
consent  to  any  arrangement  present  or  future. 

"What  has  hitherto  been  done  on  the  subject  has,  as  the  Prince 
conceives,  been  intended  to  be  regulated  by  this  principle.  The 
next  point  to  be  adjusted  for  giving  effect  to  it  is  that  which  relates 
to  the  residence  of  Princess  Charlotte,  on  which  subject  the  Prince 
desires  that  Lady  de  Clifford  and  the  Bishop  will  submit  to  his 
Majesty  for  his  gracious  consideration  the  following  ideas: 

"The  Prince  thinks  that  during  the  period  of  the  year  in  which 
he  is  usually  resident  in  London  his  daughter  can  nowhere  so  prop- 
erly be  placed  as  under  her  father's  roof,  where  her  education  may 
be  carried  on  without  interruption,  and  where  he  himself  will  have 
the  constant  opportunity  of  obstiN  iuLi  its  course  and  progress.     His 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  413 

Majesty's  habit  of  doing  business  in  London  several  days  in  each 
week  during  most  part  of  the  year  will  afford  to  the  Princess  Char- 
lotte ample  opportunities  of  paying  her  duty  there  to  the  King  and 
Queen  as  often  as  they  may  be  pleased  to  require  it,  and  it  is  by  no 
means  the  Prince's  idea  that  this  arrangement  should  exclude  such 
short  visits  to  Windsor  during  the  season  of  holidays  or  on  other 
temporary  occasions  as  may  be  found  not  to  break  in  too  much  on 
the  course  of  her  education. 

' '  During  those  months  when  the  Prince  is  usually  not  resident  in 
London,  he  would  have  great  satisfaction  in  his  daughter's  being 
allowed  to  reside  with  his  Majesty  at  Windsor,  Weymouth,  or  else- 
where, reserving  to  himself  in  the  same  manner  as  above  stated  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  her  sometimes,  if  he  should  wish  it,  on  short  and 
occasional  visits. 

"The  communications  already  made  to  Lady  de  Clifford  seem  to 
give  every  reason  to  hope  that  these  ideas  are  very  little,  if  at  all, 
different  from  those  entertained  by  his  Majesty  on  the  subject.  And 
at  all  events  the  Prince  is  confident  that  they  cannot  fail  to  be  con- 
sidered as  fresh  proofs  of  his  respectful  desire  to  meet  his  Majesty's 
wishes  in  every  way  consistent  with  his  honor  and  with  the  feelings 
of  paternal  affection  and  duty  toward  his  daughter."  * 

Only  a  few  weeks  before  this  festival  he  expounded  his  views  at 
the  Antient  Music  Concert  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons; and  Lord  Colchester,  in  his  "Diary,"  gives  a  rather  favorable 
idea  of  the  vivacity  and  even  cleverness  of  his  mode  of  expressing 
himself: 

"May  8th. — The  Prince  of  Wales  entered  into  a  long  conversation 
with  me,  condemned  the  altercations  in  the  House  of  Commons 
about  naval  papers,  expressed  his  surprise  at  Mr.  Pitt  saying  one 
day  that  he  would  not  advise  Lord  Melville's  being  struck  out  of 
the  Privy  Council,  and  announcing  upon  a  subsequent  day  that  he 
had  advised  it.  Spoke  very  favorably  of  Whitbread's  manner  of 
opening  the  charge  and  carrying  on  the  proceedings  against  Lord 
Melville.  Wondered  Lord  Melville  did  not  offer  himself  for  exam- 
ination ;  thought  that  nothing  was  now  left  but  impeachment.  Spoke 
of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls's  two  last  speeches  as  having  fallen  much 
below  his  expectations.  Endeavored  to  persuade  all  his  friends  not 
to  meddle  with  these  quarrels,  but  to  look  to  the  greater  concerns 
of  the  country  in  these  times  of  external  danger.   Ridiculed  the  idea 

*  Lord  Albemarle,  "  Fifty  Years  of  My  Life,"  i.  264. 


414  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  Lord  Barham,  at  eighty-two,  becoming  First  Lord  of  the  Admi- 
ralty and  having  a  peerage  for  himself  and  daughter,  accompanied 
with  an  intimation  that  he  was  only  a  temporaiy  First  Lord,  and 
not  to  last  many  weeks.  He  mentioned  also  the  Catholic  question ; 
said  that  he  had  so  far  prevailed  with  Mr.  Fox  as  not  to  think  of 
bringing  forward  the  whole  claim,  but  to  soften  it  down  to  a  ques- 
tion for  a  committee.  That  he  had  not  succeeded  quite  so  easily 
with  his  friend  Lord  Grenville,  etc.,  and  then  went  into  high  enco- 
miums on  his  talents,"  etc. 

After  this  we  find  him  at  Stowe,  where  Lord  Buckingham  enter- 
tained him  magnificently,  and  assembled  all  "the  Grenvilles  "  to 
meet  him.  The  festivities  began  on  August  25,  and  lasted  for  a 
week;  the  Prince,  with  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  and  some 
fifty  guests,  being  welcomed  by  four  hundred  of  the  leading  per- 
sons of  the  kingdom.     Mr.  Fox  was  also  of  the  party. 

We  have  a  pleasing  glimpse  of  him  at  this  time  in  a  picture 
drawn  by  the  venerable  Dr.  Burney,  Johnson's  friend  and  admirer, 
who  seems  to  have  been  enchanted  with  the  polite  attentions  of  the 
gracious  Prince.  This,  again,  is  infinitely  in  his  favor,  and  a  mark 
of  true  good-nature. 

"1805. — In  May,  at  a  concert  at  Lady  Salisbmy's,  1  was  ex- 
tremely pleased,  both  with  the  music  and  the  performance.  The 
former  was  chiefly  selected  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  ...  I  had  not 
been  five  minutes  in  the  concert-room,  before  a  messenger,  sent  to 
me  by  his  royal  highness,  gave  me  a  command  to  join  him,  which 
I  did  eagerly  enough;  when  his  royal  highness  graciously  conde- 
scended to  order  me  to  sit  down  by  him,  and  kept  me  to  that  high 
honor  the  whole  evening.  Our  ideas,  by  his  engaging  invitation, 
were  reciprocated  upon  every  piece  and  its  execution.  After  the 
concert.  Lady  Melbourne,  who,  when  Miss  Milbanke,  had  been  one 
of  my  first  scholars  on  my  return  to  London  from  Lynn,  obligingly 
complained  that  she  had  often  vainly  tried  to  tempt  me  to  dine  with 
her,  but  would  make  one  effort  more  now,  by  his  royal  highness's 
permission,  that  I  might  meet,  at  Loi;d  Melbourne's  table,  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  Of  course  I  expressed,  as  well  as  I  could,  my 
sense  of  so  high  and  unexpected  an  honor;  and  the  Prince,  with  a 
smile  of  unequalled  courtesy,  said,  "Aye,  do  come,  Dr.  Burney, 
and  bring  your  son  with  you."  And  then,  turning  to  Lady  Mel- 
bourne, he  added:  "It  is  singular  that  the  father  should  be  the 
best  and  almost  the  only  good  judge  of  music  in  the  kingdom,  and 
his  son  the  best  scholar." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  415 

"But  I  heard  nothing  more  of  the  projected  dinner,  till  I  met 
Lady  Melbourne  at  an  assembly  at  the  Dowager  Lady  Sefton's; 
when  I  ventured  to  tell  her  ladyship  that  I  feared  the  dinner  which 
my  son  and  I  were  most  ambitious  should  take  place,  was  relin- 
quished. "By  no  means,"  she  answered,  "for  the  Prince  really 
desired  it."  And,  after  a  note  or  two  of  the  best  bred  civility  from 
her  ladyship,  the  day  was  settled  by  his  royal  highness  for  July  the 
9th.  The  Prince  did  not  make  the  company  wait  at  Whitehall 
(Lord  Melbourne's);  he  was  not  five  minutes  beyond  the  appointed 
time,  a  quarter-past  six  o'clock ;  though  he  is  said  never  to  dine  at 
Carlton  House  before  eight.  The  company  consisted,  besides  the 
Prince  and  the  lord  and  lady  of  the  house,  with  their  two  sons  and 
two  daughters,  of  Earls  Egremont  and  Cowper,  Mr.  and  Lady  Caro- 
line Lamb,  Mr.  Lutterel,  Mr.  Horner,  and  Mr.  Windham. 

"  The  dinner  was  sumptuous,  of  course,  etc. 

' '  I  had  almost  made  a  solemn  vow,  early  in  life,  to  quit  the 
world  without  ever  drinking  a  dry  dram ;  but  the  heroic  virtue  of  a 
long  life  was  overset  by  his  royal  highness,  through  the  irresistible 
temptation  to  bobbing  and  nobbing  with  such  a  partner  in  a  glass 
of  cherry  brandy!  The  spirit  of  it,  however,  was  so  finely  sub- 
dued, that  it  was  not  more  potent  than  a  dose  of  peppermint  water; 
which  I  have  always  called  a  dram. 

"  The  conversation  was  lively  and  general  the  chief  part  of  the 
evening;  but  about  midnight  it  turned  upon  music,  on  which  sub- 
ject his  royal  highness  deigned  so  wholly  to  address  himself  to  me, 
that  we  kept  it  up  a  full  half  hour,  without  any  else  offering  a 
word.  We  were,  generally,  in  perfect  tune  in  our  opinions ;  though 
once  or  twice  I  ventured  to  dissent  from  his  royal  highness;  and 
once  he  condescended  to  come  over  to  my  argument;  and  he  had 
the  skill,  as  well  as  nobleness,  to  put  me  as  perfectly  at  my  ease  in 
expressing  my  notions,  as  I  should  have  been  with  any  other  per- 
fectly well-bred  man. 

"The  subject  was  then  changed  to  classical  lore;  and  here  his 
royal  highness,  with  similar  condescension,  addressed  himself  to  my 
son,  as  a  man  of  erudition  whose  ideas  on  learned  topics  he  re- 
spected; and  a  full  discussion  followed  of  several  literary  matters. 

"When  the  Prince  rose  to  go  to  another  room,  we  met  Lady 
Melbourne  and  her  daughter,  just  returned  from  the  opera;  to 
which  they  had  been  while  we  sat  over  the  wine  (and  eke  the 
cherry  brandy);  and  from  which  they  came  back  in  exact  time  for 
coffee  I    The  Prince  here,  coming  up  to  me,  most  graciously  took 


416  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

my  hand,  and  said,  '  I  am  glad  we  got,  at  last,  to  our  favorite  sub- 
ject.' He  then  made  me  sit  down  by  him,  close  to  the  keys  of 
a  pianoforte,  where,  in  a  low  voice,  but  face  to  face,  we  talked 
again  upon  music,  and  uttered  our  sentiments  with,  I  may  safely 
say,  equal  ease  and  freedom ;  so  politely  he  encouraged  my  open- 
ness and  sincerity. 

' '  I  then  ventured  to  mention  that  I  had  a  book  in  my  possession 
that  I  regarded  as  the  property  of  his  royal  highness.  It  was  set  of 
my  "Commemoration  of  Handel,"  which  I  had  had  splendidly 
bound  for  permitted  presentation  through  the  medium  of  Lord  St. 
Asaph;  but  which  had  not  been  received,  from  public  casualties. 
His  royal  highness  answered  me  with  the  most  engaging  good- 
humor,  saying  that  he  was  now  building  a  library,  and  that,  when 
it  was  finished,  mine  should  be  the  first  book  placed  in  his  collec- 
tion. Nobody  is  so  prompt  at  polite  and  gratifying  compliments 
as  this  gracious  Prince.  I  had  no  conception  of  his  accomplish- 
ments. He  quite  astonished  me  by  his  learning,  in  conversing  with 
my  son,  after  my  own  musical  tete-d-tete  dialogue  with  him.  He 
quoted  Homer  in  Greek  as  readily  as  if  quoting  Dryden  or  Pope  in 
English;  and,  in  general  conversation,  during  the  dinner,  he  dis- 
covered a  fund  of  wit  and  humor  such  as  demonstrated  him  a  man 
of  reading  and  parts,  who  knew  how  to  discriminate  cliaracters. 
He  is,  besides,  an  incomparable  mimic.  He  counterfeited  Dr. 
Parrs  lisp,  language,  and  manner;  and  Kemble's  voice  and  accent, 
both  on  and  off  the  stage,  so  accurately,  so  nicely,  so  free  from 
caricature,  that,  had  I  been  in  another  room,  I  should  have  sworn 
they  had  been  speaking  themselves.  Upon  the  whole,  I  cannot 
terminate  my  account  of  this  Prince  better  than  by  asserting  it  as 
my  opinion,  from  the  knowledge  I  acquired  by  my  observations  of 
this  night,  that  he  has  as  much  conversational  talent  and  far  more 
learning  that  Charles  the  Second,  who  knew  no  more,  even  of 
orthography,  than  Moli^re's  'Bourgeois  Gentilhomme.' 

"My  next  great  concert  was  at  Mr.  Tliomson's,  in  Qrosvenor 
Square.  Before  I  arrived,  from  not  knowing  there  was  a  royal 
motive  for  every  one  to  be  early,  I  found  the  crowd  of  company  so 
excessively  great,  that  I  was  a  considerable  lime  before  I  could  make 
my  way  into  the  music-room;  which  I  found  also  so  full,  that  not 
only  I  could  not  discern  a  place  where  I  might  get  a  seat  (and  to 
stand  the  whole  night  in  such  a  heat  would  have  been  impossible 
for  me),  but  also  I  could  not  discover  a  spot  where  I  might  look  on 
even  for  a  few  minutes,  to  see  what  was  going  forwards,  without 


TBE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IT.  417 

being  bodily  jammed;  except  quite  close  to  the  orchestra,  where 
alone  there  seemed  to  be  a  little  breathing  room  left.  To  gain  this 
desirable  little  opening,  I  ventured  to  follow  closely,  as  if  of  their 
party,  two  very  fine  ladies,  who  made  their  way  (heaven  knows 
how !)  to  some  sofa,  I  fancy,  reserved  for  them.  But  what  was  my 
surprise,  and  shame,  when  upon  attaining  thus  my  coveted  harbor, 
I  found  I  came  bounce  upon  the  Prince  of  Wales,  from  respect  to 
whom  alone  no  crowd  had  there  resorted!  I  had  no  time,  however, 
for  repentance,  and  no  room  for  apology;  for  that  gracious  and 
kind  Prince  laughed  at  my  exploit,  and  shook  me  very  heartily  by 
the  hand,  as  if  glad  to  see  me  again;  and  obliged  me  to  sit  down  by 
him  immediately.  Nor  would  he  suffer  me  to  relinquish  my  place, 
even  to  any  of  the  Princes,  his  brothers,  when  they  came  to  him ! 
nor  even  to  any  fine  lady!  always  making  a  motion  to  me,  that  was 
a  command,  to  be  quiet.  We  talked,  a$  before,  over  every  piece 
and  performance,  with  full  ease  of  expression  to  our  thoughts:  but 
how  great  was  my  gratification,  when,  upon  going  into  a  cooler 
room,  between  the  acts,  he  put  his  hat  on  his  seat,  and  said,  "Dr. 
Burney,  will  you  take  care  of  my  place  for  me?"  thus  obviating 
from  my  stay  all  fear  of  intrusion,  by  making  it  an  obedience.  And 
his  notions  about  music  so  constantly  agree  with  my  own,  that  I 
know  of  no  individual,  male  or  female,  with  whom  I  talk  about 
music  with  more  sincerity,  as  well  as  pleasure,  than  with  this  most 
captivating  Prince. 

"Another  time,  at  the  Opera,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  perceiving 
me  iu  the  pit,  fc^ent  for  me  to  his  splendid  box;  and,  making  me 
take  a  snug  seat  close  behind  his  royal  highness,  entered  with  his 
usual  vivacity  into  discussions  upon  the  performance;  and  so  re- 
jeunied  me  by  his  gayety  and  condescension,  joined  to  his  extraor- 
dinary judgment  on  musical  subjects,  that  I  held  forth  in  return  as 
if  I  had  been  but  five-and-twentyl" 

To  this  may  be  added  the  better-known  anecdote  of  his  consider- 
ate behavior  to  one  of  his  servants.     It  is  thus  related  by  Dr.  Croly : 

"Being  at  Brighton,  and  going  rather  earlier  than  usual  to  visit 
his  stud,  he  inquired  of  a  groom:  'Where  is  Tom  Cross?  *  Is  he 
unwell?  I  have  missed  him  for  some  days.'  '  Please  your  royal 
highness,  he  is  gone  away.'  *  Gone  away ! — what  for? '  '  Please  your 
royal  highness  (hesitating),  I  believe — for — Mr. can  inform  your 

*  This  name  is  assumed. 
18* 


4l8  '^SE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

royal  highness. '  '  I  desire  to  know,  sir,  of  you — what  has  he  done  ? ' 
'  I  believe — your  royal  highness — something — not — quite  correct- 
something  about  the  oats.'     *  Where  is  Mr. ?     Send  him  to  me 

immediately.'  The  Prince  appeared  much  disturbed  at  the  discov 
ery.  The  absentee,  quite  a  youth,  had  been  employed  in  the  stable, 
and  was  the  son  of  an  old  groom  who  had  died  in  the  Prince's  ser 
vice.  The  officer  of  the  stable  appeared  before  the  Prince.  '  Where 
is  Tom  Cross? — what  has  become  of  him?'  'I  do  not  know,  your 
royal  highness. '  '  What  has  he  been  doing? '  '  Purloining  the  oats, 
your  royal  highness;  and  I  discharged  him.'  'What,  sir!  send  him 
away  without  acquainting  me! — not  know  whither  he  is  gone! — a 
fatherless  boy^  driven  into  the  world  from  my  service  with  a  blight- 
ed character!     Why,  the  poor  fellow  will  be  destroyed:  Mr. ! 

I  did  not  expect  this  from  you!  Seek  him  out,  sir,  and  let  me  not 
see  you  till  you  have  discovered  him. '  Tom  was  found  and  brought 
before  his  royal  master.  He  hung  down  his  head,  while  the  tears 
trickled  from  his  eyes.  After  looking  steadfastly  at  him  for  some 
moments,  'Tom,  Tom,*  said  the  Prince,  'what  have  you  been 
doing?  Happy  it  is  for  j-^our  poor  father  that  he  is  gone ;  it  would 
have  broken  his  heart  to  see  you  in  such  a  situation.  I  hope  this  is 
your  first  offence?'  The  youth  wept  bitterly.  'Ah,  Tom;  I  am 
glad  to  see  that  you  are  penitent.  Your  father  was  an  honest  man ; 
I  had  a  great  regard  for  him;  so  I  should  have  for  you,  if  you  were 

a  good  lad,  for  his  sake.     Now,  if  I  desire  Mr. to  take  you 

into  the  stable  again,  do  you  think  I  may  trust  you?'  Tom  wept 
still  more  vehemently,  implored  forgiveness,  and  promised  refor- 
mation. 'Well,  then,'  said  the  gracious  Prince,  'you  shall  be 
restored.  Avoid  evil  company:  go,  and  recover  your  character, 
be  diligent,  be  honest,  and  make  me  your  friend ;  and — hark  ye, 
Tom— I  will  take  care  that  no  one  shall  ever  taunt  you  with  what 
18  past.'" 

"  Some  years  since,  a  gentleman,  whilst  copying  a  picture  in  one 
of  the  State  apartments  at  Carlton  House,  overheard  the  following 
conversation  between  an  elderly  woman,  one  of  the  housemaids, 
then  employed  in  cleaning  a  stove-grate,  and  a  glazier,  who  was 
supplying  a  broken  pane  of  glass:  '  Have  you  heard  how  the  Prince 
is  to-day?'  said  he  (his  royal  highness  had  been  confined  by  illness). 
'Much  better,'  was  the  reply.  'I  suppose,'  said  the  glazier,  'you 
are  glad  of  that;'  subjoining,  'though,  to  be  sure,  it  can't  concern 
you  much.'     'It  does  concern  me,'  replied  the  housemaid;  '  for  I 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  419 

have  never  been  ill  but  liis  royal  highness  has  concerned  himself 
about  me,  and  has  always  been  pleased,  on  my  coming  to  work,  to 
say,  "I  am  glad  to  see  you  about  again;  I  hope  you  have  been 
taken  good  care  of;  do  not  exert  yourself  too  much,  lest  you  should 
be  ill  again."  If  I  did  not  rejoice  at  his  royal  highness's  recovery, 
ay,  and  every  one  who  eats  his  bread,  we  should  be  ungrateful  in- 
deed!'" 

On  the  news  of  the  death  of  Kelson,  he  addressed  the  following 
effusive  letter  in  answer  to  a  person  who'  suggested  his  attendance 
at  the  funeral: 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.  ALEXANDER  DAVISON. 

"  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you,  my  dear  Sir,  for  your  con- 
fidential letter,  which  I  received  this  morning.  You  may  be  well 
assured,  that  did  it  depend  upon  me,  there  would  not  be  a  wish,  a 
desire  of  our  ever-to-be-lamented  and  much-ioved  friend,  as  well  as 
adored  hero,  that  I  would  not  consider  as  a  solemn  obligation  upon 
his  friends  and  his  country  to  fulfil;  it  is  a  duty  they  owe  his 
memory,  and  his  matchless  and  unrivalled  excellence.  Such  are 
my  sentiments;  and  I  hope  that  there  is  still  in  this  country  suffi- 
cient honor,  virtue,  and  gratitude,  to  prompt  us  to  ratify  and  to 
carry  into  effect  the  last  dying  request  of  our  Nelson — by  that 
means  proving,  not  only  to  the  whole  world,  but  to  future  ages, 
that  we  were  worthy  of  having  such  a  man  belonging  to  us.  It 
must  be  needless,  my  dear  Sir,  to  discuss  over,  with  you  in  par- 
ticular, the  irreparable  loss  dear  Nelson  ever  must  be,  not  merely 
to  his  friends,  but  to  his  country,  especially  at  the  present  crisis, 
and  during  the  present  most  awful  contest:  his  very  name  was  a 
host  of  itself — Nelson  and  victory  were  one  and  the  same  to  us,  and 
it  carried  dismay  and  terror  to  the  hearts  of  our  enemies.  But  the 
subject  is  too  painful  a  one  to  dwell  longer  upon.  As  to  myself, 
all  that  I  can  do,  either  publicly  or  privately,  to  testify  the  rever- 
ence, the  respect  I  entertain  for  his  memory  as  a  hero,  and  as  the 
greatest  public  character  that  ever  embellished  the  page  of  history, 
independent  of  what  I  can,  with  the  greatest  truth,  term  the  enthu- 
siastic attachment  I  felt  for  him  as  a  friend,  I  consider  it  as  my  duty 
to  fulfil;  and  therefore,  though  I  may  be  prevented  from  taking 
that  ostensible  and  prominent  situation  at  his  funeral  which  I  think 
my  birth  and  high  rank  entitle  me  to  claim,  still  nothing  shall  pre 
vent  me,  in  a  private  character,  followins:  his  remains  to  their  last 


4^0  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

resting-place;  for  though  the  station  and  the  character  may  be  less 
ostensible,  less  prominent,  yet  the  feelings  of  the  heart  will  not 
therefore  be  the  less  poignant  or  the  less  acute. 

"I  am,  my  dear  Sir,  with  the  greatest  truth, 
"  Ever  very  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P." 

His  feelings  on  this  subject  were  even  more  excited  by  meeting 
with  Mr.  Scott,  Nelson's  chaplain  and  attendant  in  the  Vtctoi'y.  ' '  I 
was  once,"  he  says,  "without  preparation  or  the  least  knowledge  of 
his  royal  highness,  suddenly,  I  may  say  somewhat  clumsily,  in  the 
midst  of  a  party,  introduced  to  the  Prince.  He  immediately  rose, 
grasped  my  hand,  and  shed  tears;  in  short,  his  feelings  were  so 
acute,  that  I  retreated  into  the  crowd  to  spare  him.  I  never  can 
forget  the  pressure  of  his  hand,  nor  the  sensibility  he  evinced." 
The  poor  chaplain  was  writing  this  appeal  from  the  Charterhouse,  the 
only  retreat  he  could  obtain  from  a  grateful  country.  It  would 
seem  that  he  appealed  vainly  to  the  Regent  and  Lord  Moira.  Lady 
Hamilton's  treatment  is  well  known;  Magrath,  his  medical  officer, 
met  with  similar  neglect.  The  midshipman  Pollard,  who  had 
avenged  Nelson's  death  by  shooting  the  man  that  killed  him,  ob- 
tained a  retreat  at  Greenwich:  having  no  interest,  he  never  rose 
higher  than  a  lieutenant. 

A  long  list,  indeed,  could  be  furnished  of  instances  of  the  Prince's 
generous  sympathy  for  cases  of  this  kind ;  that  is,  where  there  was 
a  certain  dramatic  element  to  stir  his  kindly  emotions.  Connected 
with  the  fate  of  Nelson  was  the  hard  treatment  of  Lady  Hamilton — 
as  to  which  the  Prince  declared  that  his  desire  was,  that  Nelson's 
last  wishes  should  be  given  effect  to  in  every  particular.  But,  as 
may  be  conceived,  he  had  no  power  and  no  influence  at  court,  or 
with  ministers.  Mr.  AVarren  Hastings  was  induced  to  lay  his  case 
before  him,  and  bent  his  proud  spirit  so  far  as  to  set  out  what  would 
atone  for  the  treatment  he  had  received,  mentioning  in  particular  a 
peerage.  He  describes  in  his  diary  the  gracious  kindly  way  in 
which  he  was  treated.  Lord  Moira  was  instructed  to  do  his  best, 
but  nothing  came  of  it. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  421 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

1805. 

With  this  year  now  came  the  first  remarkable  symptom  of  the 
change  in  the  Prince's  political  opinions,  and  which  have  been 
generally  associated  with  what  is  called  his  treatment  of  the  Whigs 
five  years  later.  This  is  a  fair  element  in  his  vindication,  and 
shows  that  not  only  was  it  the  influence  of  Mr.  Fox  that  had 
attached  him  to  the  party,  but  that  even  before  Mr.  Fox's  death 
his  views  had  been  changing.  That  he  should  have  changed  his 
views  can  be  scarcely  urged  as  a  serious  reproach,  when  statesmen 
of  importance  did  the  same,  and,  without  scruple,  shifted  from 
ministry  to  ministry.  Nor  is  he  to  be  judged  as  severely  as  a  sub- 
ject. The  Catholic  question  was  at  this  time  being  pressed,  and 
became,  as  it  generally  did,  the  test  or  solvent  of  much  clouded 
opinion.  It  was  significant  that  Fox  now  should  have  doubts  of 
his  royal  friend  as  to  this  crucial  point.  These  misgivings  are 
expressed  in  letters  to  his  friends. 

There  was  scarcely  a  year  of  the  Prince's  life  in  which,  as  John- 
son would  have  called  it,  his  "  superfoetation  of  activity,"  or  rather 
his  habit  of  thoughtlessly  taking  action  where  his  feelings  were 
involved,  did  not  plunge  him  into  some  awkward  embarrassment. 
Early  in  1805,  he  found  himself  eagerly  engaged  in  ardently  for- 
warding a  lawsuit,  which  related,  says  Sir  S.  Romilly,  "to  the 
guardianship  of  a  daughter  of  Lord  Hugh  Seymour,  who  had 
remained,  at  the  death  of  her  parents  while  she  was  of  very  tender 
years,  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  With  that  lady  she  had 
been  left  by  her  family  till  she  was  between  five  and  six  years  old, 
and  they  then  required  to  have  her  returned  to  them.  Being  an 
orphan,  and  without  a  legal  guardian,  no  person  had  a  right  to 
remove  her,  and  the  principal  object  of  the  suit  was  to  have  a 
guardian  for  her  appointed.  On  the  one  side  were  proposed  for  this 
office  Lord  Euston  and  Lord  Henry  Seymour,  who  had  been  named 
by  Lord  Hugh  in  a  will  made  before  the  birth  of  this  little  orphan ; 
and  on  the  other,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  who  had  in  truth  become  a 
mother  to  it.    The  Master,  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred, 


422  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT. 

approved  of  Lord  Euston  and  Lord  Henry  Seymour  as  guardians; 
and  from  his  decision  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  brought  the  matter,  by  an 
exception  to  the  report,  before  the  Lord  Chancellor,  who,  after  a 
long  hearing,  and  with  less  than  his  usual  deliberation,  confirmed 
the  Master's  report.  While  the  cause  was  depending,  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  who  lived  at  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  house  as  his  own,  was 
extremely  anxious  about  the  event  of  it.  He  loved  the  child  with 
paternal  affection,  and  the  idea  of  having  her  torn  from  him  seemed 
to  be  as  painful  to  him  as  it  was  to  Mrs,  Fitzherbert.  It  was  upon 
the  occasion  of  this  cause  that  he  desired  once  that  I,  who  was  one 
of  the  counsel  for  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  would  meet  him  at  her  house. 
I  met  him  accordingly,  and  had  a  very  long  conversation  with  his 
Royal  Highness."  * 

It  was  thus  that  he  was  brought  in  contact  with  Romilly.  Some 
years  (as  Lord  Moira  had  told  Lord  Lansdowne)  he  had  been  eager 
to  know  some  "  sound  lawyer  of  high  character  and  judgment,"  in 
whom  he  might  place  unbounded  confidence,  and  with  whom  he 
was  desirous  of  forming  a  connection  before  his  accession  to  the 
throne.f  This  was  a  prudent  and  praiseworthy  idea,  but,  un- 
luckily, it  is  not  in  the  power  of  princes  of  his  nature  to  secure 
advisers  of  this  stamp,  who,  after  a  time,  are  alienated  or  whose 
advice  becomes  unpalatable.  The  Prince,  however,  during  the 
course  of  the  business  took  a  great  liking  to  him,  and  in  September, 
1805,  offered  to  bring  him  into  Parliament.  Mr.  Creevy  was  the 
person  to  whom  the  Prince  proposed  the  idea: 

"  On  Monday  last,  the  day  after  his  return  from  Weymouth  and 
London,  in  the  course  of  a  very  long  discussion  upon  these  matters, 
he  said  he  had  done  one  excellent  thing  during  his  absence — '  he 
had  got  a  seat  in  Parliament  for  Romilly.'  He  then  went  at  great 
length  into  your  history  and  your  merits;  pronounced  you  to  be 
the  chief  of  your  profession,  and  a  certain  future  chancellor;  and 
expressed  the  greatest  desire  for  himself  to  be  the  means  of  your 
coming  into  Parliament.  He  said  he  had  mentioned  this  in  an 
interview  with  Fox,  in  town  last  week,  who  had  likewise  expressed 
the  greatest  delight  at  it.  You  would  have  been  amused  had  you 
heard  the  familiarity  with  which  he  handled  the  possible  objections 
to  this  measure:  he  said  your  parliamentary  business  was  princi- 
pally in  the  House  of  Lords,  with  which  it  would  not  interfere,  and 
that  you  seldom  or  never  attended  election  committees." 

♦  "  Memoir*,"  U.  117.  t  Ibid..  H  128. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  423 

Romilly,  however,  declined  the  offer  on  principle,  not  wishing 
to  be  a  nominee  of  the  Prince's,  or  to  enter  Parliament  save 
through  popular  election.  Though  mortified  at  his  refusal,  the 
Prince's  partiality  was  so  great  that  he  declared  enthusiastically 
that,  *•  if  he  was  not  permitted  to  give  him  a  seat,  he  would  take 
care  that  he  should  be  sure  of  one  when  he  wanted  it."  And  pres- 
ently he  found  his  services  useful  in  a  most  critical  business,  which 
we  shall  presently  deal  with. 

Meanwhile  this  affair  of  young  Miss  Mary  Seymour  was  engag- 
ing his  attention.  She  was  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  at  No.  6  Tilney 
Street.  The  present  Earl  of  Albemarle,  author  of  a  most  interest- 
ing book  of  "  Recollections,"  was  living  close  by,  in  Audley  Street, 
with  Lady  de  Clifford,  the  governess  of  the  young  Princess.  Young 
Keppel  was  often  found  at  Tilney  Street. 

"By  my  little  hostess,"  he  says,  "I  had  the  honor  of  being 
presented  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  the  Fourth. 
His  appearance  and  manners  were  both  of  a  nature  to  produce  a 
lively  impression  on  the  mind  of  a  child — a  merry  good-humored 
man,  tall,  though  somewhat  portly  in  stature,  in  the  prime  of  life, 
with  laughing  eyes,  pouting  lips,  and  nose  which  very  slightly  turned 
up,  gave  a  peculiar  poignancy  to  the  expression  of  his  face.  He 
wore  a  well-powdered  wig,  adorned  with  a  profusion  of  curls  which 
in  my  innocence  I  believed  to  be  his  own  hair,  as  I  did  a  very  large 
pigtail  appended  thereto.  His  clothes  fitted  him  like  a  glove,  his 
coat  was  single-breasted  and  buttoned  up  to  the  chin.  His  nether 
garments  were  leather  pantaloons  and  Hessian  boots.  Round  his 
throat  was  a  huge  white  neck-cloth  of  many  folds,  out  of  which  his 
chin  seemed  to  be  always  struggling  to  emerge. 

"No  sooner  was  his  royal  highness  seated  in  his  arm-chair  than 
my  young  companion  would  jump  up  on  one  of  his  knees,  to  which 
she  seemed  to  claim  a  prescriptive  right.  Straightway  would  arise 
an  animated  talk  between  'Prinny  and  Minnie,'  as  they  respectively 
called  each  other." 

This  pleasant  sketch  shows  the  Prince  in  an  amiable  light. 
His  affection  for  the  child  amounted  to  a  passion.  He  offered  to 
adopt  it,  and  settle  £10,000  on  it,  but  Lord  Henry  Seymour,  the 
guardian,  was  inflexible.*  Being  thus  opposed,  he  became  more 
bent  on  having  his  way,  and  even  swore  an  aflSdavit  in  Chancery, 
in  which  he  set  out  that  he  believed  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  was  the  best 

*  Auckland,  "Correspondence,"  Iv.  219. 


424  TBB  LIFE  Off  CfEOROE  IV. 

person  to  have  charge  of  the  education  of  the  child.  The  Chaii- 
cellor  having  decided  against  the  Prince,  the  case  came  before 
the  House  of  Lords  on  appeal,  before  another  Chancellor,  Lord 
Erskine.  The  Prince  indiscreetly  made  the  most  open  exertions, 
canvassing  all  the  peers  to  support  him.*  This  proceeding  was 
much  to  the  amazement  of  Romilly,  who  earnestly  deprecated  the 
step  to  Colonel  MacMahon.  In  the  arguments,  the  high  character 
of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  received  due  acknowledgment  on  all  sides. 
The  objection  was  the  entrusting  of  a  Protestant  child  to  her  care. 
The  peers  mustered  strongly;  there  were  some  seventy  or  eighty 
present.  But  there  was  no  division,  and  the  Chancellor  reversed 
his  decree.  Thus  was  the  child  handed  over  to  the  charge  of  the 
Hertfords,  who,  it  was  known,  would  consign  her  to  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert's  care.  For  her,  this  day  of  triumph  was  to  bear  fresh 
troubles. 

Mrs.  Fitzherbert  had  indeed  felt  the  matter  acutely,  and  there 
were  circumstances  in  the  case  almost  of  pathetic  interest.  Lady 
Horace  Seymour  had  been  her  dearest  friend,  and,  in  the  last 
stage  of  decline,  had  been  ordered  abroad  in  her  husband's  ship. 
Her  last  act  was  to  confide  her  infant  to  her  friend.  She  told 
Lord  Stourton  she  had  tried  everything,  but  at  last  took  a  step 
by  which  she  unconsciously  was  to  sacrifice  her  own  happiness. 
She  had  recourse  to  Lady  Hertford,  with  whom  she  w^as  formerly 
intimately  acquainted.  She  requested  her  to  intercede  with  Lord 
Hertford,  as  head  of  his  house,  to  come  to  her  aid,  and  demand  for 
himself  the  guardianship  of  the  child,  to  give  it  up  to  her  upon  cer- 
tain conditions  as  to  its  education.  "This  long  negotiation,  in 
which  the  Prince  w^as  the  principal  instrument,  led  him  at  last  to 
those  confidential  relations  which  ultimately  gave  to  Lady  Hertford 
an  ascendency  over  him  superior  to  that  possessed  by  Mrs.  Fitzher- 
bert herself,  and  from  a  friend  converted  her  into  a  successful  rival. 
Lady  Hertford,  anxious  for  the  preservation  of  her  own  reputation, 
wiiich  she  was  not  willing  to  compromise  with  the  public  even  when 
she  ruled  the  Prince  with  the  most  absolute  sway,  exposed  Mrs. 

*THK   PRIMOB  OF  WAI.B8  TO  THB    DUKK  OF  NORFOLK. 

"  Carlton  House,  Monday  Morning,  Jan.  8, 180K. 
"  My  Dear  Duke, 

*'  I  have  seen  Lord  Hertford,  who  will  call  upon  you  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  or,  at  any  rate,  before  the  business  is  brought  before  the  Committee. 
"  I  am  ever,  my  dear  Duke,  your  very  sincere  friend, 

"  George  P." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOMOE  IV.  425 

Fitzherbert  at  this  time  to  very  severe  trials,  which  at  last  almost, 
as  she  said,  ruined  her  health  and  destroyed  her  nerves.  Attentions 
were  required  from  her  towards  Lady  Hertford  herself,  even  when 
most  aware  of  her  superior  influence  over  the  Prince." 

Returning  now  to  the  10th  of  May,  when  the  debate  came  on,  we 
find  that  the  Prince  had  actually  sent  the  pliant  Sheridan  to  his 
friend  Fox  to  dissuade  him  from  taking  part  in  the  matter.  But 
Fox,  ever  manly,  straightforward,  and  independent,  sent  tlie  fol- 
lowing reply,  after  stating  that  he  was  committed  to  the  cause,  from 
having  presented  a  Catholic  petition.     He  says: 

"Now,  therefore,  any  discussion  on  tfiis  part  of  the  subject 
would  be  too  late ;  but  I  will  fairly  own,  that,  if  it  were  not,  I 
could  not  be  dissuaded  from  doing  the  public  act,  which,  of  all 
others,  it  will  give  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  pride  to  per- 
form. No  past  event  in  my  political  life  ever  did,  and  no  future 
one  ever  can,  give  me  such  pleasure. 

"I  am  sure  you  know  how  painful  it  would  be  to  me  to  disobey 
any  command  of  his  Royal  Highness's,  or  even  to  act  in  any  man- 
ner that  might  be  in  the  slightest  degree  contrary  to  his  wishes, 
and,  therefore,  I  am  not  sorry  that  your  intimation  came  too  late. 
I  shall  endeavor  to  see  the  Prince  today;  but  if  I  should  fail, 
pray  take  care  that  he  knows  how  things  stand  before  we  meet  at 
dinner,  lest  any  conversation  there  should  appear  to  come  upon 
him  by  surprise."  * 

There  were  "  opportunists"  then,  as  now,  who  looked  to  a  con- 
venient mode  of  shelving  a  question  without  sacrificing  principle, 
as  will  be  seen  from  what  next  occurred. 

"  Soon  after  the  return  of  Mr.  Pitt  to  office,"  says  Mr.  Wallace  in 
his  *'  History,"  "  the  following  semi-official  announcement  appeared 
in  a  journal  devoted  to  the  Prince,  and  the  known  vehicle  of  party 
squibs  and  political  notifications  by  Sheridan.  '  The  leading  mem- 
bers of  both  (Fox  and  Grenville)  Oppositions  have  declared  them- 
selves decidedly  in  favor  of  Catholic  Emancipation,  the  personal 
friends  of  an  illustrious  personage  alone  excepted.'  A  second  para- 
graph appeared  in  the  same  paper  only  a  few  days  before  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  question.  '  The  Irish  Catholic  question,  we  have 
reason  to  believe,  will  not  for  the  present,  at  least,  be  brought 
under  parliamentary  discussion.  Mr.  Fox,  we  understand,  is  dis- 
posed to  concede  to  the  public  opinion  as  to  the  inexpediency  of 

♦Moore, ''  Life  of  Sheridan,"  ii.  333. 


426  ^-S^  LIFE  OP  GEOnOE  IV. 

moving  it  at  this  time;  and  it  is  n'ot  improbable  that  Lord  Gren- 
ville  may  also  relax  so  far  from  his  prejudices  as  to  yield  to  the 
more  discreet  judgment  of  an  illustrious  personage,  who,  although 
he  continues  to  approve  the  measure  of  emancipation,  deprecates 
this  polemical  inquiry  at  so  momentous  a  period.'  " 

All  this  shows  what  suspicions  there  were  of  the  change  having 
taken  place  in  the  Prince's  views. 

By  the  death  of  Mr.  Pitt,  which  occurred  on  the  morning  of 
January  24th,  1806,  the  long-deferred  change  in  the  Prince's  for- 
tune was  at  last  to  arrive,  and  his  old  friend  and  partisan,  Mr.  Fox, 
was  now  in  power.  It  was  unfortunate,  however,  that  at  such  a 
time  the  old  warmth  of  friendship  should  have  abated,  and  that  the 
Prince,  through  the  agency  of  his  henchman  Sheridan,  should  have 
been  making  advances  even  during  the  last  ministry  to  Mr.  Adding- 
ton.  The  first  direct  communication  from  Lord  Grenville  and  Mr. 
Fox  was  received  by  Lord  Sidmouth  on  the  29th; 

"In  consequence  of  a  note  received  this  morning,"  wrote  Lord 
Sidmouth,  "from  Lord  Grenville  and  Mr.  Fox,  I  am  to  see  them 
to-day;  but  a  connection  with  them  will  not  result  from  it  unless  I 
have  a  perfect  conviction  that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  the 
country,  and  honorable  to  myself." 

A  few  days  later  he  wrote  to  "Brother  Hiley"  the  following 
amusing  communication,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  how  admirably 
the  family  were  provided  for: 

"Hiley  has,  I  believe,  explained  to  you  how  and  by  whom  the 
overture  was  made  to  me.*  Lord  Grenville  and  Mr.  Fox  were 
nearly  inundated  by  the  pretensions  which  poured  in  from  their 
respective  connexions;  and  I  was,  therefore,  as  moderate  as  I  could 
be  without  unbecoming  concession  or  sacrifice.  I  have  laid  a  strong 
claim  for  you,  which  was  readily  admitted,  to  a  situation  of  ade- 
quate importance  whenever  a  vacancy  may  take  place.  For  Hiley 
the  joint  paymastership  is  promised ;  and  Vansittart  is  to  return  to 
Ills  former  station  at  the  Treasury  (at  liis  own  request),  if  his 
Majesty  will  dispense  with  the  punctilio  arising  from  his  rank  as  a 
Privy  Councillor,  which  I  think  very  questionable." 

It  was  curious,  too,  to  find  him  about  this  time  warmly  uniting 
with  the  head  of  the  "centre  "  party.  Lord  Grenville. 

"As  early  as  the  23rd  of  January  "  (when  Mr.  Pitt  was  in  ex- 
tremis), "  Mr.  Sheridan  told  him  by  note  that  '  he  had  been  com- 

♦  From  the  Prince  of  Wales,  through  Mr.  Sheridan. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  IV.  421 

tnanded  to  have  a  confidential  communication  with  him,  and  re- 
quested permission  to  wait  upon  him  at  Richmond  Park  for  that 
purpose.' " 

What  inspired  this  communication  is  indicated  in  a  letter  which 
Lord  St.  Vincent  addressed  to  Lord  Sidmouth  on  the  25th  of  Janu- 
ary: "The  Prince  of  Wales  came  to  me  at  five  o'clock,  while  I 
was  dressing,  and  desired  I  would  lose  no  time  in  giving  you  infor- 
mation that  the  ministry  was  entirely  broken  up,  and  that  the  King 
meant  to  send  for  Lord  Grenville.  .  .  .  From  all  that  passed,  it 
appears  your  moderation  has  produced  a  good  effect  upon  the  new 
and  old  Opposition,  amongst  whom  Windham  is  the  most  violent." 
The  next  morning,  January  26th,  Mr.  Sheridan  was  again  com- 
manded to  write  to  appoint  an  interview.  Two  other  notes  shortly 
afterwards  arrived  from  the  same  party,  in  the  last  of  which,  dated 
January  29th,  he  stated,  "that  he  had  something  to  communicate 
to  Lord  Sidmouth  from  the  Prince  and  Mr.  Fox." 

Mr.  Grey  Bennett,  in  his  MS.  Diary,  writes  :  "Lord  Aberdare 
told  me  that  the  Dukes  of  York  and  Cumberland,  who  told  him, 
went  to  announce  death  of  Pitt  to  King,  who  tears  and  said,  *  This 
will  be  my  death-blow  ! '  When  Grenville  sent  for  Mr.  Fox,  the 
King  required  him  to  sign  a  paper  in  which  he  claimed  right  of 
refusing  or  accepting  any  plan  of  Cabinet.  Lord  Grenville  and 
Fox  said  of  course  that  this  was  unnecessary,  as  it  was  his  con- 
stitutional  right.  This  showed  King's  alarm.  .  .  .  Fox,  at  his 
first  interview,  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  said  he  had  been  mis- 
represented, and  yielded  to  no  man  in  attachment  to  constitution 
for  his  Majesty.  The  King  agitated,  and  said  :  *  I  believe  you, 
Mr.  Fox.  I  know  you  to  be  a  man  of  honor,  and  thank  you  for 
what  you  have  said.'  Lord  Grenville  told  Lord  Derby  that  the 
King  expressed  himself  much  pleased  with  the  kind  treatment  he 
had  received  ;  and  that  he  had  not  expected  it."  * 


*  From  these  curious  and  entertaining  notes,  kept  during  a  number  of  years, 
I  propose  taking  large  extracts  during  the  course  of  this  work.  They  fill 
several  volumes,  and  are  full  of  parliamentary  and  other  sketches,  gossip, 
and  bits  of  "secret  history,"  and  I  am  indebted  for  them  to  Mr.  W.  J.  Fitz- 
patrick,  the  author  of  the  "  Life  of  Dr.  Doyle." 


428  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBOE  IV. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 
1806. 

We  are  now  arrived  at  one  of  the  most  singular  episodes  that 
has  been  connected  with  the  royal  family.  The  disagreements  of 
the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  had  long  passed  from  public 
observation,  and  it  was  assumed  that  the  ill-assorted  pair  had 
settled  down  into  a  state  of  decent  incompatibility  and  indifference. 
But  about  the  summer  of  1806  strange  rumors  got  abroad  of  scan- 
dals at  Blackheath,  and  that  a  secret  tribunal  had  sat  in  judgment 
on  the  Princess.  A  committee  of  noblemen  had  actually  tried  her 
in  her  absence,  brought  her  servants  before  them,  and  accepted 
their  testimony  without  its  being  tested  on  her  behalf.  It  is  enough 
to  state  the  terms  of  this  truly  Venetian  proceeding,  which  was  the 
first  stage  in  the  persecution  that  was  for  fourteen  years  to  assail 
this  unfortunate  lady. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  unpleasant  details  of  wiiat  was 
called  "the  delicate  investigation,"  or  indeed  of  any  of  the  other 
proceedings  against  her.  A  very  simple  statement  will  show  what 
the  character  of  the  whole  affair  was.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
Princess,  becoming  careless  and  reckless,  had,  with  her  usual  indis- 
creetness,  adopted  strangers  as  though  they  were  old  friends.  She 
had  always  an  extraordinary  fancy  for  children,  and  indeed  up  to 
her  death  she  adopted  some  half-a-dozen,  and  was  scarcely  ever 
without  a  child  of  low  degree  in  her  train.  Tliis  hobby,  or  folly 
— for  such  it  was — notoriously  gave  rise  to  stories  and  speculations. 

It  was  to  be  lamented  indeed  that,  with  the  King  and  nation  on 
her  side,  she  could  not  have  behaved  with  ordinary  discretion 
among  her  neighbors.  It  seems  that  the  Princess,  now  living  at 
Blackheath,  had  heard  that  Lady  Douglas — her  neighbor,  an  utter 
stranger  to  her — had  been  confined,  and  introduced  herself  on  the 
occasion.  On  this,  an  extravagant  intimacy  follow^ed,  which  con- 
tinued for  some  years,  until  the  end  of  1804,  when  the  lady  was 
suddenly  dismissed  and  her  letters  returned  unopened.  Much 
exasperated  at  this  treatment,  Lady  Douglas  soon   after  declared 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  429 

that  she  had  received  anonymous  letters  and  drawings  of  a  scandal- 
ous character.  On  which  her  husband  threatened  that  he  would 
expose  the  Princess,  and  informed  the  Duke  of  Kent  that  he  would 
do  so.  The  latter  interposed,  and  begged  that  the  matter  would 
not  be  mentioned,  as  it  would  annoy  the  King.  It  should  be  noted 
that  at  this  stage  it  was  merely  "a  private  squabble  "  between  the 
parties,  the  Douglases  complaining  of  the  Princess's  slanders,  and 
requiring  redress.  In  November,  1805,  the  Duke  of  Sussex  ap- 
peared on  the  scene,  and  waited  on  the  Prince  of  Wales  with  a 
new  and  startling  communication  that  Sir  John  had  told  him  some 
facts  relative  to  the  Princess,  and  which  "might  affect  the  royal 
succession." 

This  must  have  been  welcome  information  to  the  Prince,  who  felt 
himself  bound  by  "  duty  "  to  move  in  the  matter.  On  this  Sir  John 
and  Lady  Douglas  made  declarations  before  the  Duke  of  Sussex  at 
Greenwich  Park,  dated  December  3rd,  1805.  Lady  Douglas's  w^as 
virtually  the  "act  of  accusation,"  and  it  was  of  extraordinary 
length.  It  set  out  such  charges  that  Lord  Thurlow,  to  whom  the 
Prince  submitted  the  papers,  called  in  the  assistance  of  Romilly, 
now  the  Prince's  legal  friend ;  two  men  likely  to  come  to  an  honest 
opinion  on  the  matter,  even  though  Thurlow  was  now  the  Prince's 
private  adviser  on  every  important  subject.  Colonel  Macmahon 
and  Lord  Moira,  two  of  the  Prince's  familiars,  were  also  busy  in  the 
case.  It  may  be  said  here  that,  when  such  a  matter  was  brought 
to  the  Prince's  notice,  he  could  not  avoid  taking  the  matter  up  and 
investigating  it. 

Lord  Thurlow's  opinion,  expressed  with  his  usual  coarse  energy, 
was  that  "he  did  not  believe  Lady  Douglas's  account."  There  was 
"no  composition,"  he  said,  "in  her  narrative — i.e.  it  did  not  l^ang 
together;  no  dates;  that  some  parts  were  grossly  improbable ;  that 
the  Princess  could  hardly  have  said  such  things  when  he  first  knew 
her,  but  she  might  have  altered.  But  to  be  sure  it  was  a  strange 
thing  to  take  a  beggar's  child,  but  a  few  days  old,  and  adopt  it  as 
her  own;  but  that,  however,  the  Princess  had  strange  whims," 

Upon  the  whole,  his  opinion  was  there  was  no  evidence  on  which 
to  found  action,  and  the  Prince  must  wait  and  see  what  facts  would 
come  to  light  in  future.  This  was  a  sound  and  correct  judgment. 
He  then  advised  that  evidence  should  be  collected  respecting  her 
general  behavior,  and  suggested  that  a  skilled  practitioner  should 
be  employed. 

Thus,  when  Ave  add  the  verdict  of  the  later  commission  to  the 


OFTH£ 

UmVERSITY 

Of 


430  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

declarations  of  the  Prince's  advisers,  it  is  clear  that  the  Princess 
was  acquitted  almost  as  soon  as  the  charge  was  made. 

This  statement  of  Lady  Douglas — filling  some  sixty  octavo  pages 
— is  the  most  extraordinary  document  conceivable,  and  seems  rather 
the  rambling  incoherence  of  some  of  those  wild  women  who  come 
into  court  as  plaintiffs  in  strange  and  romantic  trials,  than  that  of  a 
sober  accuser.  In  this  she  raked  together  conversations  of  the  most 
extraordinary  kind — coarse  and  imprudent,  which  probably  did  take 
place.  A  single  passage  show^s  the  spirit  of  the  whole:  "I  now 
received,  by  the  twopenny  post,  a  long  anonymous  letter,  written 
by  this  restless,  mischievous  person,  the  Princess  of  Wales,  in 
which,  in  language  w^hich  any  one  who  had  ever  heard  her  speak, 
would  have  known  to  be  hers,  she  called  me  all  kinds  of  names 
— impudent,  silly,  wretched,  ungrateful,  and  illiteral  (meaning 
illiterate);  she  tells  me  to  take  that,  and  it  will  mend  my  ill 
temper,  etc.  etc.  etc. ,  and  says  she  is  a  person  high  in  this  govern- 
ment, and  has  often  an  opportunity  of  (sic)  freely  with  his  Majesty; 
and  she  thinks  my  conduct  authorizes  her  to  tell  him  of,  and  that 
she  is  my  only  true  and  '  integer  friend.'  Such  is  the  spirit  of  this 
foreigner,  which  would  have  disgraced  a  housemaid  to  have 
written." 

Seeing  that  the  case  had  broken  down,  it  was  determined  to  make 
one;  and  at  this  point  it  is  difficult  to  acquit  the  Prince  and  his 
advisers.  The  solicitor  to  the  Douglases,  this  Lowten,  was  ap- 
pointed to  "get  up"  facts;  and  the  amiable  Romilly,  who  had 
declined  to  advise  on  this  part  of  the  business,  was  talked  over 
into  himself  examining  Lady  Douglas.  All  the  Prince's  servants 
were  "got  at,"  and  two — Bidgood  and  Cole — detailed  stories  of 
familiarities  with  visitors.  On  the  truth  of  these  and  other  charges 
it  is  impossible  to  decide;  rather,  it  is  beyond  the  province  of  a 
work  like  the  present  to  decide.  To  this  and  the  later  investiga- 
tions may  be  applied  a  development  of  the  acute  remark  of  ]\Lary 
Lamb:  "They  talk  of  the  Queen's  guilt.  I  should  not  think  the 
better  of  her  if  she  were  what  is  called  innocent."  But  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  whole  was  a  most  improper,  unfair,  and  unjust 
proceeding. 

More  than  five  months  were  consumed  in  raking  together  these 
accusations  and  trying  to  strengthen  them.  Lord  Grenville,  Mr. 
Fox,  and  the  Prince's  friends  were  now  in  office.  These  were 
honorable  and  upright  men,  but  it  is  certainly  remarkable  that 
no  official  action  should  have  been  taken  till  they  were  in  power. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBQE  IV.  431 

But  Fox  was  dying,  and  the  papers  were  at  last  submitted  to  her 
friend  the  King,  who  gave  his  consent  to  a  commission  of  inquiry, 
naming,  on  May  29,  1806,  Lord  Erskine,  the  Chancellor,  Lord 
Grenville,  Lord  Spencer,  and  Lord  Ellenborough  for  the  purpose. 
There  was  a  certain  impropriety  in  choosing  Erskine,  who  liad 
been  consulted  by  Romilly  on  the  papers,  and  who  was  one  of  the 
Prince's  most  devoted  followers.  Romilly  assisted  at  the  inquiry,  and 
may  be  said  to  have  been  conducting  counsel  against  the  Princess ; 
but  his  presence  was  a  guarantee  of  impartiality.  On  the  7th  of 
June  it  began.  Six  of  the  servants  were  brought  from  her  house 
without  notice  to  the  Princess.  The  Duke  of  Kent  communicated 
to  her  this  resolution,  and  she  said,  with  dignity,  they  were  wel- 
come to  examine  all.  "The  result,"  says  Romilly,  "was  such  as 
left  a  perfect  conviction  on  my  mind,  and  I  believe  on  the  minds 
of  the  four  lords,  that  the  boy  in  question  is  the  son  of  Sophia 
Austin.  The  evidence  of  all  the  servants  as  to  the  general  conduct 
of  the  Princess  was  extremely  favorable  to  her  royal  highness,  and 
Lady  Douglas's  account  was  contradicted  in  many  very  important 
particulars."  This  from  the  counsel  for  the  prosecution  is  remark- 
able testimony.  In  fact  the  refutal  of  the  charge  was  complete, 
and  Lady  Douglas's  account  was  not  only  "contradicted" — the 
amiable  word  of  Romilly — but  seemed  to  furnish  ground  for  an 
indictment  for  perjury. 

On  July  14th,  1806,  the  report  was  furnished  to  the  King.  They 
completely  acquitted  her  of  the  charge  of  being  mother  of  the  boy, 
whose  parentage  they  traced  in  the  most  convincing  manner.  But 
they  added  this  singular  censure:  "We  do  not,  however,  feel  our- 
selves at  liberty,  much  as  we  should  wish  it,  to  close  our  report 
here.  Besides  the  allegations  of  the  pregnancy  and  delivery  of  the 
Princess,  those  declarations,  on  the  whole  of  which  your  Majesty 
has  been  pleased  to  command  us  to  inquire  and  report,  contain,  as 
we  have  already  remarked,  other  particulars  respecting  her  royal 
highness,  such  as  must,  especially  considering  her  exalted  rank  and 
station,  necessarily  give  occasion  to  very  unfavorable  interpreta- 
tions, particularly  from  the  examinations  of  Robert  Bidgood,  Wil- 
liam Cole,  Frances  Lloyd,  and  Mrs.  Lisle.  Your  Majesty  will  per- 
ceive that  several  strong  circumstances  of  this  description  have 
been  positively  sworn  to  by  witnesses  who  cannot,  in  our  judg- 
ment, be  suspected  of  any  unfavorable  bias,  and  whose  veracity,  in 
this  respect,  we  have  seen  no  ground  to  question.  On  the  precise 
bearing  and  effects  of  the  facts  thus  appearing  it  is  not  for  us  to 


432  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

decide  ;  these  we  submit  to  your  Majesty's  wisdom ;  but  we  con- 
ceive it  to  be  our  duty  to  report  on  this  part  of  the  inquiry'  as 
distinctly  as  on  the  former  facts,  that,  as  on  the  one  hand  the  facts 
of  pregnancy  and  delivery  are  to  our  minds  satisfactorily  disproved, 
so  on  the  other  hand  we  think  that  the  circumstances  to  which  we 
now  refer,  particularly  those  stated  to  have  passed  between  her 
royal  highness  and  Captain  Manby,  must  be  credited  until  they 
shall  receive  some  decisive  contradiction,  and,  if  true,  are  justly 
entitled  to  the  most  serious  consideration." 

It  is  sufficient  to  quote  these  words,  to  show  their  injustice,  for 
how  were  the  charges  alluded  to  to  receive  "some  decided  contra- 
diction," unless  opportunity  was  given?  They  also  attempted  to 
vindicate  the  Prince  from  having  had  any  share  in  the  matter;  and 
it  must  be  said  that  the  Princess  generously  joined  in  this  view.* 
He  is  certainly  entitled  to  indulgence  in  this  respect;  for  when  the 
affidavits  were  laid  before  him,  he  consulted  Lord  Thurlow,  who 
advised  him  to  consult  his  father's  ministers,  on  which  the  Prince 
asked  Lord  Grenville:  "Wliat  am  I  to  do?"  *'I  know  what  I 
must  do,"  was  the  reply. 

But  during  the  investigation  his  favorite,  Lord  Moira,  was  busy 
examining  witnesses  for  himself,  and  tried  to  intimidate  one 
Edmeades,  a  doctor,  who  flatly  contradicted  one  of  the  servants, 
by  examining  him  in  presence  of  a  magistrate.  The  real  view  to 
take  would  seem  to  be  this:  That  as  the  main  charge  had  so  com- 
pletely broken  down,  it  looked  as  though  the  rest  had  been  "got 
up"  as  a  supplemental  accusation,  and  would  naturally  share  the 
fate  of  the  first. 

All  that  followed  was  of  a  piece  with  the  rest.  After  the  process 
was  concluded,  the  Princess  was  keep  waiting  for  months  a  decision. 
It  was  not  until  the  January  of  1807  that  the  King  was  allowed  to 
decide  on  the  question. 

An  unfortunate  and  unusual  accident  now  occurred,  which 
might  be  considered  of  evil  omen.  Driving  with  Miss  Cholmon- 
deley  and  Lady  Sheffield  in  September,  near  Leatherhead,  the  car- 
riage was  overturned ;  the  Princess  herself  was  much  contused,  but 
the  young  lady  was  killed  on  the  spot. 

As  she  was  not  allowed  to  defend  herself  at  the  trial,  it  was 
determined  that  this  should  be  done  now.  The  Princess,  however, 
had  important  friends  to  defend  her,  and  none  more  warm  and  eager 

♦  As  she  told  Lord  MInto.    "  IJfe  of  Sir  G.  Elliot,"  iii.  388. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY.  433 

at  this  time  than  the  late  Chancellor,  Lord  Eldon.  He  was  in 
constant  communication  with  her,  and  advised  and  supported  her 
through  these  trials.  It  was  to  him  that  she  complained  of  her 
papers  being  stolen,  and  later  of  the  monstrous  affront  that  she  was 
forced  to  keep  in  her  service  the  very  servants  who  had  made 
criminal  charges  against  her. 

But  a  more  valuable  ally  was  Mr.  Perceval,  afterward  minister, 
who  had  now  become  her  ardent  champion.  "To  the  tower  or 
scaffold  in  such  a  cause,"  he  had  exclaimed  enthusiastically  to  Lady 
Malmesbury,  as  they  returned  together  from  a  visit  to  the  Princess. 
The  service  he  did  her  consisted  in  drawing  up  a  statement  of  her 
case.  It  has  always  been  considered  one  of  the  most  masterly  and 
powerful  defences  ever  written,  and  indeed  she  was  always  for- 
tunate in  having  such  friends,  whose  adroit  management  nearly 
brought  this  and  other  incidents  of  her  persecution  to  a  successful 
issue,  in  the  face  of  terrible  odds.  In  this  task  he  was  mainly 
assisted  by  Mr.  Plumer  and  Sir  Yicary  Gibbs,  later  so  notorious  for 
his  prosecutions;  but  the  chief  credit  must  be  given  to  Perceval. 

In  October  she  writes  thus  gratefully  to  Lord  Eldon : 

THE  PRmCESS  OF  WALES  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

"  Blackheath,  Oct.  13th,  1806. 

"The  Princess  of  Wales,  with  the  most  grateful  sense,  is  most 
sincerely  obliged  to  Lord  Eldon  for  his  kind  inquiry  through  Lady 
Sheffield. 

"Her  body  as  well  as  her  mind  have  naturally  much  suffered 
from  the  last  melancholy  catastrophe,  having  lost  in  so  short  a  time, 
and  so  unexpectedly,  a  most  kind  and  affectionate  brother  and  a 
sincere  friend.  The  afflictions  which  Providence  has  sent  so  recently 
to  her  are  very  severe  trials  of  patience  and  resignation,  and  noth- 
ing than  strong  feelings  of  religion  and  piety  could  with  any  sort  of 
fortitude  carry  the  Princess's  dejected  mind  through  this.  She  puts 
her  only  trust  in  Providence,  which  has  so  kindly  protected  her  in 
various  ways  since  she  is  in  this  kingdom. 

"  The  Princess  also  has  the  pleasure  to  inform  his  Lordship  that 
the  Queen  has  twice  made  inquiry,  by  Lady  Ilchester,  through  Lady 
Sheffield,  about  the  Princess's  bodily  and  mental  state.  The  Duch- 
ess of  York,  through  her  Lady  to  Lady  Sheffield,  and  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  in  the  same  way,  made  their  inquiries.  The  Duke  of 
Kent  wrote  himself  to  the  Princess,  which  of  course  she  answered 
herself.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  has  twice  been  with  the 
19 


434  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT, 

Princess  after  the  melancholy  event  took  place,  desired  her  to 
announce,  herself,  to  his  Majesty  the  unexpected  event  of  the  death 
of  the  Prince  Hereditary  of  Brunswick.  She  followed  his  advice, 
and  the  letter  was  sent  through  Lady  Sheffield  to  Colonel  Taylor. 
The  answer  was  kind  from  his  Majesty,  and  full  of  feeling  of  inter- 
est for  the  severe  loss  she  sustained  in  her  brother. " 

By  October  3rd  it  was  ready  for  presentation  to  the  King.  "It 
was  a  matter  of  much  delicacy,  as  it  was  difficult  to  avoid  the  ap- 
pearance of  impeaching  the  credit  of  those  who  conducted  the 
inquiry,  which  was  dangerous."  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Rose:  "The 
report  was  so  framed  that  she  could  not  acquiesce  under  it  in  silence 
without  admitting  its  truth ;  and  that,  in  fact,  there  was  evidently 
so  much  disposition  to  be  hostile  to  her  manifested  in  the  whole 
course  of  the  proceeding,  that  looking  forward  to  a  new  reign,  there 
could  be  no  possible  security  for  her  being  permitted  to  hold  her 
rank  or  station  in  this  country,  but  from  the  existence  of  a  strong 
sentiment  in  her  favor  throughout  the  kingdom;  and  that,  there- 
fore, her  letter  to  the  King  should  be  so  prepared,  that  if  published, 
it  should  have  the  effect  of  producing  rather  than  checking  that  sen- 
timent. The  copies  of  this  letter,  undoubtedly,  unless  it  should  be 
determined  to  publish  it,  ought  to  be  kept  very  secret;  but  as  soon 
as  I  conveniently  can,  I  will  endeavor  to  procure  you  a  sight  of  one 
of  them,  as  I  really  shall  be  very  anxious  to  know  your  opinion  upon 
it." 

The  admirable  vindication  was  presented  to  the  King  early  in 
October.  The  effect  of  reading  it  must  have  been  complete  and 
irresistible.  As  Lord  Colchester  said:  "The  answer  renders  the 
evidence  on  which  the  Lords  have  relied  very  incredible,  from  its 
inconsistency  and  absurdity."  *  But  no  notice  was  taken  of  it. 
After  waiting  nine  weeks,  she  once  more  appealed  to  the  King;  but 
still  no  answer  came.  The  fact  was  the  Cabinet  felt  themselves  in 
a  serious  difficulty,  owing  to  the  awkwardness  of  two  of  their  mem- 
bers having  been  concerned  in  the  matter.  Then  arrived  piteous 
letters  from  her  father  and  mother,  who  acutely  felt  the  disgrace, 
imploring  a  speedy  decision  in  the  case  of  their  unfortunate  child, 
but  without  result. 

Not  until  January  28th,  1807.  did  she  receive  a  letter  from  the 
King,  announcing  that  the  ministry  had  considered  the  papers  and 

♦"Diary, 'MI.  106. 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBQFi  IV.  435 

agreed  as  to  report;  that  no  further  steps  need  be  taken,  save  so  far 
as  it  might  be  advisable  to  consider  whether  Lady  Douglas  should 
be  prosecuted.  He  was  advised  it  was  no  longer  necessary  for  him 
to  decline  receiving  the  Princess  into  his  royal  presence.  That  the 
King  saw  with  satisfaction  the  decided  proof  of  the  falsehood  of 
the  accusation  of  pregnancy  and  delivery,  brought  forward  against 
her  by  Lady  Douglas.  But  that  there  were  other  circumstances 
against  her  which  he  regarded  with  serious  concern,  and  he  desired 
and  expected  that  such  conduct  might  in  future  be  observed  by  the 
Princess,  as  might  fully  justify  those  marks  of  paternal  regard  and 
affection  which  he  always  wished  to  show  to  every  part  of  the 
royal  family. 

"  Other  circumstances  stated  against  her"!  This  extraordinary 
phrase  is  her  vindication.  For  if  the  accusations  of  the  servants 
were  to  be  accepted  as  true,  then  she  was  surely  unfitted  to  be 
received  at  Court;  if  false,  she  did  not  deserve  the  reproof! 

The  Princess  accepted  it  as  it  was,  and  wrote  to  be  allowed  to 
visit  at  "Windsor;  but  the  King  said  London  w^ould  be  more  con- 
venient. But  now  the  Prince  interposed,  and  on  seeing  the  strength 
of  her  case,  declared  that  he  would  put  it  into  the  hands  of  his 
lawyers,  to  make  a  reply.  The  King  was  induced  to  declare  that 
he  would  put  off  receiving  ber  until  this  was  done — i.e.  sine  die.  In 
another  masterly  paper,  also  drawn  up  by  Perceval,  she  urged, 
with  irresistible  logic,  that  the  tribunal  to  which  the  Prince  had 
appealed  had  declared  that  "  there  was  no  longer  any  reason  why 
his  Majesty  should  not  receive  her.  Why,  then,  was  she  not 
received  months  before,  since  but  for  this  cruel,  unjust,  and  unrea- 
sonable interposition  of  the  Prince?"  She  then  renewed  her  defence. 
Her  position  was  logical ;  for  the  Prince  had  now  come  forward  in 
person :  hitherto  it  had  been  the  proceeding  of  a  neutral  tribunal. 

Some  extracts  from  this  powerful  indictment  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales  may  be  given  here: 

"  There  may  be  circumstances  disclosed,  manifesting  a  degree  of 
condescension  and  familiarity  in  my  behavior  and  conduct,  which, 
in  the  opinions  of  many,  may  be  considered  as  not  sufficiently 
guarded,  dignified,  and  reserved.  Circumstances,  however,  which 
my  foreign  education  and  foreign  habits  misled  me  to  think,  in  the 
humble  and  retired  situation  in  which  it  was  my  fate  to  live,  and 
where  I  had  no  relation,  no  equal,  no  friend  to  advise  me,  were 
wholly  free  from  offence.     But  when  they  have  been   dragged 


436  TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

forward,  from  the  scenes  of  private  life,  in  a  grave  proceeding  on 
a  cliarge  of  higli  treason  and  adultery,  they  seem  to  derive  a  color 
and  character  from  the  nature  of  the  charge  which  they  are  brought 
forward  to  support. 

"In  making  that  determination,  however,  it  will  not  escape 
your  Majesty  to  consider  that  the  conduct  which  does  or  does  not 
become  a  married  woman,  materially  depends  upon  what  is  or  is 
not  known  by  her  to  be  agreeable  to  her  husband.  His  pleasure 
and  happiness  ought  unquestionably  to  be  her  law;  and  his  appro- 
bation the  most  favorite  object  of  her  pursuit.  Different  characters 
of  men  require  different  modes  of  conduct  in  their  wives;  but  when 
a  wife  can  no  longer  be  capable  of  perceiving,  from  time  to  time, 
what  is  agreeable  or  offensive  to  her  husband,  when  her  conduct 
can  no  longer  contribute  to  his  happiness,  no  longer  hope  to  be 
rewarded  by  his  approbation,  surely  to  examine  that  conduct  by 
the  standard  of  what  ought,  in  general,  to  be  the  conduct  of  a  mar- 
ried woman,  is  altogether  unreasonable  and  unjust. 

"  What  then  is  my  case?  Your  Majesty  will  do  me  the  justice 
to  remark  that,  in  the  letter  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  there  is  not 
the  most  distant  surmise,  that  crime,  that  vice,  that  indelicacy  of 
any  description,  gave  occasion  to  his  determination;  and  all  the 
tales  of  infamy  and  discredit,  which  the  inventive  malice  of  my 
enemies  has  brought  forward  on  these  charges,  have  their  date 
years  and  years  after  the  period  to  which  lam  now  alluding.  What 
then,  let  me  repeat  the  question,  is  my  case?  After  the  receipt  of 
the  above  letter,  and  in  about  two  years  from  my  arrival  in  this 
country,  I  had  the  misfortune  entirely  to  lose  the  support,  the 
countenance,  the  protection  of  my  husband — I  was  banished,  as  it 
were,  into  a  sort  of  liumble  retirement,  at  a  distance  from  him,  and 
almost  estranged  from  the  whole  of  the  royal  family.  I  had  no 
means  of  having  recourse,  cither  for  society  or  advice,  to  those  from 
whom  my  inexperience  could  have  best  received  the  advantages  of 
the  one,  and  with  whom  I  could,  most  becomingly,  have  enjoyed 
the  comforts  of  the  other. 

"Your  Majesty's  confidential  servants  say:  'They  agree  in  the 
opinions  of  the  four  lords;'  and  they  say  this,  '  after  the  fullest 
consideration  of  my  observations,  and  of  the  afl^davits  which  were 
annexed  to  them.*  Some  of  these  opinions,  your  Majesty  will 
recollect,  are.  that  '  William  Cole,  Fanty  Lloyd,  Robert  Bidgood, 
and  Mrs.  Lisle,  are  witnesses  who  cannot,'  in  the  judgment  of  the 
four  lords,  'be  suspected  of  any  unfavorable  bias;'  and  'whose 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV.  437 

Veracity,  in  this  respect,  they  had  S3en  no  ground  to  question;'  and 
•  that  the  circumstances  to  which  they  speaii,  particularly  as  relat- 
ing to  Captain  Mauby,  must  be  credited  until  they  are  decisively 
contradicted.'  Am  I  then  to  understand  your  Majesty's  confiden- 
tial servants  to  mean,  that  they  agree  with  the  four  noble  lords  in 
these  opinions?  Am  I  to  understand,  that  after  having  read,  with 
the  fullest  consideration,  the  observations  which  I  have  offered  to 
your  Majesty;  after  having  seen  William  Cole  there  proved  to  have 
submitted  himself,  five  times  at  least,  to  private,  unauthorized, 
voluntary  examination  by  Sir  John  Douglas's  solicitor,  for  the 
express  purpose  of  confirming  the  statement  of  Lady  Douglas  (of 
that  Lady  Douglas  whose  statement  and  deposition  they  are  con- 
vinced to  be  so  malicious  and  false,  that  they  propose  to  institute 
such  prosecution  against  her  as  your  Majesty's  law  officers  may 
advise,  upon  a  reference,  now  at  length,  after  six  months  from  the 
detection  of  that  malice  and  falsehood,  intended  to  be  made) — after 
having  seen  this  Wilham  Cole  submitting  to  such  repeated  volun- 
tary examinations  for  such  a  purpose,  and  although  he  w^as  all  that 
time  a  servant  on  my  establishment,  and  eating  my  bread,  yet  never 
once  communicating  to  me  that  such  examinations  were  going  on 
— am  I  to  understand,  that  your  Majesty's  confidential  servants 
agree  with  the  four  lords  in  thinking  that  he  cannot,  under  such 
circumstances,  be  suspected  of  unfavorable  bias? — that  after  having 
had  pointed  out  to  them  the  direct  flat  contradiction  between  the 
same  William  Cole  and  Fanny  Lloyd,  they  nevertheless  agree  to 
think  them  both  (though  in  direct  contradiction  to  each  other, 
yet  both)  witnesses,  whose  veracity  they  see  no  ground  to  question? 

' '  Was  it  then  noble,  was  it  generous,  was  it  manly,  w^as  it  just,  in 
your  Majesty's  confidential  servants,  instead  of  fairly  admitting  the 
injustice  which  had  been — inadvertently  and  unintentionally,  no 
doubt — done  to  me  by  the  four  noble  lords  in  their  report,  upon  the 
evidence  of  these  witnesses,  to  state  to  your  Majesty  that  they  agree 
with  these  noble  lords  in  their  opinion,  though  they  cannot,  it 
seems,  go  the  length  of  agreeing  any  longer  to  withhold  the  advice 
which  restores  me  to  your  Majesty's  presence? 

"They  agree  in  the  opinion  that  the  facts  or  allegations,  though 
stated  in  prehminary  examinations,  carried  on  in  the  absence  of  the 
parties  mterested,  must  be  credited  till  decisively  contradicted,  and 
deserve  the  most  serious  consideration.  They  read,  with  the  fullest 
consideration,  the  contradiction  which  I  have  tendered  to  them; 
they  must  have  known  that  no  other  sort  of  contradiction  could,  by 


438  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 

possibility,  from  the  nature  of  things,  have  been  offered  upon  such 
subjects;  they  do  not  question  the  truth,  they  do  not  point  out  the 
insufficiency  of  the  contradiction,  but  in  loose,  general,  iDdefinite 
terms,  referring  to  my  answer,  consisting,  as  it  does,  of  above  two 
hundred  written  pages,  and  coupling  it  with  those  examinations 
(which  they  admit  establish  nothing  against  an  absent  party),  they 
advise  your  Majesty,  that  'there  appear  many  circumstances  of 
conduct,  which  could  not  be  regarded  by  your  Majesty  without 
serious  concern.' 

"And  here,  Sire,  your  majesty  vrill  graciously  permit  me  to 
notice  the  hardship  of  the  advice  v.'hich  has  suggested  to  your 
Majesty  to  convey  to  me  this  reproof.  I  complain  not  so  much  for 
what  it  does,  as  for  what  it  does  not,  contain :  I  mean  the  absence 
of  all  particular  mention  of  what  it  is  that  is  the  object  of  their 
blame. 

"For  my  future  conduct,  Sire,  impressed  with  every  sense  of 
gratitude  for  all  former  kindness,  I  shall  be  bound  unquestionably, 
by  sentiment  as  well  as  duty,  to  study  your  Majesty's  pleasure.  Any 
advice  which  your  Majesty  may  wish  to  give  to  me  in  respect  of 
any  particulars  of  my  conduct,  I  shall  be  bound  and  be  anxious  to 
obey  as  my  law.  But  I  must  trust  that  your  Majesty  will  point 
out  to  me  the  particulars,  which  may  happen  to  displease  you,  and 
which  you  may  wish  to  have  altered. 

"  Surrounded,  as  it  is  now  proved  that  I  have  been  for  years,  by 
domestic  spies,  your  Majesty  must,  I  trust,  feel  convinced  that  if  I 
had  been  guilty,  there  could  not  have  been  wanting  evidence  to 
have  proved  my  guilt.  And  that  these  spies  have  been  obliged  to 
have  resort  to  their  own  invention  for  the  support  of  the  charge,  is 
the  strongest  demonstration  that  the  truth,  undisguised  and  cor- 
rectly represented,  could  furnish  them  with  no  handle  against  me. 
And  when  I  consider  the  nature  and  malignity  of  that  conspiracy, 
which  I  feel  confident  I  have  completely  detected  and  exposed,  I 
cannot  but  think  of  that  detection  with  the  liveliest  gratitude  as  the 
special  blessing  of  Providence,  who,  by  confounding  the  machina- 
tions of  my  enemies,  has  enabled  me  to  find,  in  the  excess  and 
extravagance  of  their  malice,  in  the  very  weapons  which  they  fabri- 
cated and  sharpened  for  my  destruction,  the  suflScient  guard  to  my 
innocence,  and  the  effectual  means  of  my  justification  and  defence. 

**  I  trust  therefore.  Sire,  that  I  may  now  close  this  long  letter  in 
confidence  that  many  days  will  not  elapse  before  I  shall  receive 
from  your  Majesty  that  assurance  that  my  just  requests  may  be 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  439 

so  completely  granted,  as  may  render  it  possible  for  me  (which 
nothing  else  can)  to  avoid  the  painful  disclosure  to  the  world  of  all 
the  circumstances  of  that  injustice,  and  of  those  unmerited  suffer- 
ings which  these  proceedings,  in  the  manner  in  which  they  have 
been  conducted,  have  brought  upon  me. 
"I  remain,  Sire, 
**With  every  sentiment  of  gratitude, 
"Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful, 

"Most  submissive  Daughter-in-law, 
".Subject  and  Servant, 

"(Signed)    C.  P. 

'*  Montague  House,  February  16, 1807." 

Such  was  this  admirable  defence.  More  effective,  however,  was 
the  alarming  declaration  that  she  would  lay  her  case  before  the 
public  Still  a  month  more  went  by.  The  ministry  was  in  its  last 
agony.  "The  Book"* — the  name  it  was  long  known  by — was 
actually  printed,  and  five  thousand  copies  were  got  ready  to  be 
launched  on  the  town,  under  circumstances  of  extraordinary  secrecy 
and  mystery. 

At  last,  irritated  by  these  delays,  the  Princess  wrote  to  the  King, 
naming  a  particular  Monday,  after  which  the  bolt  would  certainly 
be  launched.  Suddenly,  the  "Ministry  of  all  the  Talents"  col- 
lapsed— turned  out  in  the  unceremonious  fashion  so  often  described. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  this  very  business  and  its  embarrassment 
helped  the  other  causes  of  the  fall. 

Lord  Holland  throws  some  curious  light  on  the  contending 
interests  that  were  at  work  and  causing  the  long  delay.  He  is 
inclined  to  believe  that  it  was  at  the  suggestion  of  the  King  that 


*  One  Edwards,  of  Crane  Court,  Fleet  Street,  was  the  printer,  and  a  Mem- 
ber of  Parliament  was  "  confidential  assistant,"  or  "  reader."  We  may  pre- 
sume the  proof-sheets  were  sent  to  an  ostensible  editor,  and  returned  in  same 
fashion.  The  whole  impression,  except  two  copies,  was  delivered  at  Mr. 
Perceval's  house.  These  two  copies  were,  later,  destined  to  cause  much  em- 
barrassment and  annoyance.  See  Wilks'  "Memoirs  of  Queen  Caroline,' 
i.  261,  a  work  containing  many  curious  and  authentic  details. 

Another  legend  ran  that  it  had  been  printed  at  a  press  set  up  in  Lord 
Eldou's  house.  Mr.  Canning  seems  to  have  disproved  of  the  book,  and  when 
Mr.  Perceval  sent  him  a  copy  (and  he  seems  to  have  shown  copies  to  Mr. 
Abbott  and  others)  he  replied  that  he  was  sorry  it  had  been  printed;  that  it 
was  certain  to  be  published ;  and  that,  in  order  that  he  might  not  be  held 
responsible,  he  returned  his  copy. 


440  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  Commissioners  were  named.  Mr.  Fox  excused  himself  on  the 
score  of  his  health,  business,  and  connections  with  the  Prince. 
The  report  was  evidently,  he  said,  a  compromise.  The  King 
adroitly  referred  tlie  Princess's  appeal  to  him  to  the  Cabinet,  saying 
he  would  be  guided  by  them.  Some  were  inclined  to  bs  severe. 
Lords  Sidmouth  and  Grenville  "thought  that  after  so  broad  an 
acquittal  upon  the  main  charge,  we  would  exceed  our  powers  by 
touching  on  levities,  and  wished  to  decline  giving  an  opinion  at  all. 
The  King  perceived  our  embarrassment,  and  dexterously  insisted 
on  an  opinion.  Then  Windham  sent  in  a  separate  minute  acquit- 
ting her  altogether,  which  was  never  made  known."  The  Prince, 
Lord  Holland  adds,  was  dissatisfied  with  the  report,  and  declared 
that  he  was  not  bound  by  it.  He  called  on  the  Cabinet  to  say  so, 
and  acquit  him  of  all  complicity  in  the  business.  Lord  Holland 
pressed  that  this  should  be  done.  On  the  last  day  the  Cabinet  met 
•*a  cold  testimony  to  his  conduct"  was  despatched  to  the  King. 
This  is  a  curious  proof  of  his  shrewdness,  for  some  j'ears  later,  when 
it  was  necessary  to  inquire  into  the  Princess's  conduct,  this  recogni- 
tion of  his  having  had  no  share  in  the  business  fairly  gave  him  a 
ground  for  reopening  it. 

Now  came  her  triumph.  Never  was  an  injured  woman  so  happily 
rescued.  Here  were  all  her  friends  and  champions  in  office — Lord 
Eldon,  Mr.  Canning,  and  Perceval.  Within  two  or  three  weeks  a 
minute  of  Council  was  drawn  up,  in  which  it  was  set  out  that: 

"  After  the  most  deliberate  consideration,  however,  of  the  evi- 
dence which  has  been  brought  before  the  Commissioners,  and  of  the 
previous  examinations,  as  well  as  of  the  answer  and  observations 
which  have  been  submitted  to  your  Majesty  upon  them,  they  feel  it 
necessary  to  declare  their  decided  concurrence  in  the  clear  and 
unanimous  opinion  of  the  Commissioners,  confirmed  by  all  your 
Majesty's  late  confidential  servants,  that  the  two  main  charges 
alleged  against  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales,  of  preg- 
nancy and  delivery,  are  completely  disproved;  and  they  further 
submit  to  your  Majesty  their  unanimous  opinion  that  all  other  par- 
ticulars of  conduct  brought  in  accusation  against  her  royal  high- 
ness, to  which  the  character  of  criminality  can  be  ascribed,  are  satis- 
factorily contradicted,  or  rest  upon  evidence  of  such  a  nature,  and 
which  was  given  under  such  circumstances  as  render  it,  in  the 
Judgment  of  your  Majesty's  confidential  servants,  undeserving  of 
credit." 

In  another  minute  they  recommended  thai  .^he  should  have  apart- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  441 

mcnts  in  one  of  the  palaces,  and  that  she  should  be  treated  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  her  high  position. 

Such  was  the  ignominious  repulse  of  this  first  organized  attack 
upon  the  character  and  honor  of  tlie  Princess;  and  the  Prince  of 
Wales  had  now  the  mortification  of  defeat  to  add  a  poignancy  to 
his  dislike. 

In  the  mean  time — to  anticipate  a  little — Mr.  Fox  had  died,  and 
the  disappearance  of  the  Prince's  chief  friend  and  ally  may  have 
been  connected  with  the  decisions  taken  in  her  case. 

Her  friend.  Lord  Eldon,  went  specially  to  the  King,  and  warned 
him  of  the  dangers  that  would  ensue  if  Mr.  Perceval  published 
"  The  Book,"  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  such  intimation, 
coming  from  "my  dear  old  master's  devoted  friend,"  would  have 
secured  the  result,  even  had  her  friends  not  come  into  power,* 
The  threatened  publication  was  of  course  suspended  by  the  very 
terms  of  the  menace,  as  the  end  was  gained.  It  was  often  made  a 
subject  of  reproach  to  Mr,  Perceval  and  Lord  Eldon  that,  when  they 
had  gained  their  aim  and  attained  power,  they  found  it  convenient 
to  abandon  their  advocacy  of  the  Princess;  and  their  suppression  of 
"The  Book  "  is  put  forward  as  a  proof.  The  fact  was,  the  "  inci- 
dent was  closed,"  as  the  French  say.  The  object  had  been  attained. 
Unfortunately,  too,  the  Princess,  from  this  time  forth,  instead  of 
profiting  by  this  narrow  escape,  seems  to  have  grown  reckless,  and 
herself  was  to  furnish  suflicient  grounds  for  the  desertion  of  lier 
best  friends. 

This  episode  may  be  closed  by  the  singular  meeting  that  took 
place  some  months  later  between  the  parties  to  this  quarrel.  "  Soon 
after  the  entrance  of  the  Queen  into  the  drawing-room,  the  Prince 
arrived,  and  conversed  with  her  for  some  time.  About  three 
o'clock  the  Princess  of  Wales  came,  elegantly  attired.  After  com- 
plimenting her  Majesty  and  the  Princesses,  she  entered  into  con- 
versation with  the  Prince;  during  which  there  was  a  profound 
silence  in  the  room;  all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  them.  But  nothing 
appeared  beyond  the  forms  of  politeness;  it  was  thence  conjectured 
that  further  connection  was  impossible." 

*  Lord  Eldon  assured  Lord  Grey  (who  told  Romilly)  that  his  visit  was  for 
this  purpose.— Romilly,  ui.  104. 

19* 


442  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

1806—1807. 

With  the  death  of  Pitt,  and  the  arrival  of  his  friend  Fox  at  the 
plenitude  of  power,  the  Prince  might  fairly  look  for  a  welcome 
change  and  a  share  in  its  enjoyment.  We  have  seen  that  he  was 
partly  instrumental  in  introducing  Lord  Sidmouth,  and  seems  to 
have  been  consulted  in  the  arrangements.  But  Fox  was  near  his 
last  sickness  and  enjoyed  but  a  brief  snatch  of  office. 

The  Prince  of  Wales  now  set  off  on  a  sort  of  progress,  leaving 
London  on  the  2oth  of  August  for  Bushy  Park,  taking  with  him, 
by  appointment,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  on  an  extensive  tour.  They 
were  attended  by  Colonel  Lee  and  Major  Bloomfield.  Their  royal 
highnesses  slept  that  night  at  Benson,  Oxfordshire,  and  passed 
through  Oxford.  They  then  proceeded  to  Blenheim,  and  drove 
through  the  park.  The  royal  brothers  next  proceeded  to  the  Earl 
of  Guildford's,  at  Wroxton  Abbey,  where  they  dined.  A  round  of 
entertainments  was  provided  for  the  amusement  of  the  guests  dur- 
ing their  stay,  among  which  a  play  was  performed.  On  their  route 
to  Ragley,  the  Marquis  of  Hertford's,  they  stopped  at  the  Lion  Inn, 
in  Stratford,  where  the  volunteers  assembled  to  receive  them.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  was  waited  upon  by  the  mayor  and  corporation, 
who  presented  a  loyal  address  to  his  royal  highness,  accompanied 
with  an  elegant  box,  adorned  with  an  appropriate  inscription,  made 
of  the  celebrated  mulberry-tree  planted  by  the  immortal  Warwick- 
shire bard.  While  at  Ragley,  the  royal  brothers  visited  Warwick 
and  Warwick  Castle.  After  leaving  Ragley,  they  passed  through 
Shrewsbury  on  their  way  to  Ross  Hall,  the  seat  of  Cecil  Forester, 
Esq.,  M.P. ;  they  were  escorted  by  a  detachment  of  the  Shrewsbury 
Yeomanry.  Tlieir  royal  highnesses,  leaving  Ross  Hall,  proceeded 
to  Loton,  the  seat  of  Sir  Robert  Leighton,  Bart.,  and  from  thence 
to  Trentham  Hall,  on  a  visit  to  the  Marquis  of  Staflford. 

Addresses  were  presented  from  various  corporations,  etc.,  and 
most  graciously  answered.  The  volunteers  who  turned  out  were 
noticed  with  great  and  peculiar  condescension  by  the  royal  tourista. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  448 

The  next  visit  was  paid  to  Liverpool ;  to  which  place  they  went 
from  Knowsley  in  a  coach  and  six  of  the  Earl  of  Derby's,  followed 
by  twenty  other  carriages.  On  their  arrival  they  were  received  by 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  the  Dragoon  Guards,  Devon  Militia,  Liver- 
pool Volunteers,  etc.  After  the  royal  brothers  had  inspected  the 
docks  and  various  other  establishments,  they  partook  of  an  elegant 
dinner  provided  by  the  Mayor,  and  in  the  evening  returned  to 
Knowsley.  The  entertainment  cost  the  Corporation  of  Liverpool 
not  less  than  £10,000.  The  number  of  persons  who  flocked  to 
Liverpool  upon  the  occasion  was  immense.  Such  was  this  gay 
progress. 

Within  a  few  months  Fox  had  followed  his  great  rival  to  the 
grave.  The  Prince  was  at  Brighton  when  his  illness  had  grown 
critical,  and  hurried  to  his  bedside.  Fox  had  rallied  a  little  after 
the  operation  of  tapping,  and  was  encouraged  by  the  Prince  to  hope 
for  recovery.  The  other  shook  his  head,  and  said  the  relief  "  only 
made  room  for  fresh  attack."  That  was  the  last  time  they  saw  each 
other.  It  was  remarked,  however,  with  some  surprise,  that  the 
Prince  did  not  attend  his  funeral,  though  this  was  said  to  have  been 
owing  to  the  interference  of  the  King. 

Not  long  before  the  Prince  had  lost  another  friend  and  useful 
favorite,  one  of  his  most  faithful  servants.  Admiral  Payne,  "treas- 
urer of  Greenwich  Hospital,  warden  of  the  Stannaries,  and  auditor- 
general  to  his  master."*  The  Prince  seems  to  have  had  a  deep 
regard  for  him,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  it  was  somewhat  cooled 
by  his  lack  of  subserviency  on  the  occasion  of  the  Prince's  marriage. 
The  loss  of  Fox  really  marked  an  era  in  the  Prince's  life,  for  though 
his  influence  had  been  clearly  waning,  and  was  but  precarious,  there 
was  no  one  left  with  equal  power.  Lord  Grey's  son,  indeed,  is 
inclined  to  accept,  au  serieux,  that  sort  of  impulsive  letter,  which 
the  Prince  would  deliver  himself  of  at  seasons  of  emotion,  and 
appeals  to  one  addressed  to  Mr.  Grey  in  proof  of  the  stanchness  of 
the  Prince's  opinion,  as  well  as  friendship  for  his  father.  But  such 
have  little  value,  as  a  few  months  was  to  show. 


♦The  world,  we  are  told,  called  him  "Jack  Payne,"  the  Prince  "honest 
Jack  Pajntie,"  and  had  his  portrait  painted  for  Carlton  House.  The  Prince's 
deputy  at  the  funeral  attended  in  a  coach-and-six.  His  own  librarian  and 
chaplain,  Dr.  Clarke,  read  the  service,  and  he  lies  in  St.  Margaret's,  West- 
minster. His  place  had  been  already  taken  by  another  favorite,  who  became 
far  better  known,  Colonel  Macmahon. 


444        THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.  GREY. 

"  Knowsley,  Sept.  18, 1806. 
"My  DEAR  Grey, 

"I  am  hardly  in  state  to  write  at  all,  much  less  to  answer 
your  very  friendly  letter.  As  to  my  feelings,  it  would  be  superflu- 
ous to  say  anything,  as  they  exceed  all  belief,  and  all  power  of 
description,  I  consider  the  loss  we  have  sustained  as  incalculable 
to  the  country,  and  irreparable  to  all  his  friends,  and  to  mj-^self  in 
particular.  Having  from  the  earliest  period  of  my  life,  when  I  first 
entered  a  political  career,  looked  up  to  no  one  but  to  Fox;  having 
been  constantly  and  invariably  attached  to  him  and  to  his  princi- 
ples; having  trodden  that  path  which  he  marked  out  for  me;  and 
having  been  guided  through  it  by  the  support  of  his  hand ;  I  do 
candidly  acknowledge  to  you,  that  the  difference  is  so  prodigious, 
the  loss  so  immense,  that  my  thoughts  are  quite  bewildered,  and 
that  as  yet  I  have  not  been  able  to  collect  my  ideas  so  as  to  bring 
them  to  any  one  point. 

"  As  to  Lord  Grenville,  for  whom  I  entertain  the  very  highest 
personal  regard  and  friendship,  I  felt  quite  confident  that  you  would 
find  him  everything  that  could  be  wished  or  expected  from  a  strictly 
honorable  and  great-minded  man;  which  opinion  I  have  long  enter- 
tained of  him,  and  which  induced  me  so  anxiously  to  wish  to  bring 
him  and  our  departed  and  forever-to-be-lameuted  friend  together, 
and  to  frame  and  consolidate  that  union  in  which  I  afterwards  so 
fortunately  succeeded.  But  as  to  ourselves,  my  friend,  the  old  and 
steady  adiierents  and  friends  of  Fox,  we  have  but  one  line  to  pursue, 
one  course  to  steer — to  stick  together,  to  remain  united,  and  to  prove 
by  our  condnct,  in  our  steady  and  unshaken  adherence  to  those 
principles  which  we  imbibed  from  Fox  when  living,  that  now 
(though  alas  he  is  no  more!)  we  were  not  merely  nominally  his 
friends,  but  that  we  are  not  unworthy  of  him.  and  that  his  memory 
will  forever  live  in  our  hearts.  In  saying  this,  all  I  mean  to  convey 
is,  what  my  sentiments  are  as  to  the  line  which  it  beiiovcs  us  to  trace, 
and  abstractedly  attaches  to  us,  as  the  old,  firm,  and  uniform  adher- 
ents of  Fox. 

"As  to  my  opinions,  if  I  can  form  any  at  the  present  moment, 
and  to  which  I  profess  myself  perfectly  unequal,  it  does  appear  to 
me  that  everything  ought  to  be  done  which  can  be  done,  for  every 
possible  reason,  to  convince  and  to  substantiate  to  our  own  nation, 
as  well  as  to  foreign  Powers,  that  such  is  the  respect,  such  the  regard, 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  IT.  445 

that  the  present  ministers  not  only  feel  individually  as  men,  but 
collectively  as  a  Government,  for  the  memory  of  our  dear  departed 
friend,  and  such  the  estimation  in  which  they  hold  his  principles, 
and  the  reverence  with  which  they  view  the  great  and  enlightened 
system  which  he  had  prepared,  and  was  so  indefatigably  pursuing; 
and  which  no  one  was  able  to  frame  but  himself;  and  which  there 
is  no  doubt  he  would  have  successfully  brought  to  the  desired  point; 
that  they  are  resolutely  resolVed,  steadily  and  firmly  to  adhere  to, 
and  to  follow  up  those  ideas,  those  views,  those  plans,  which  were 
laid  down  by  his  masterly  hand,  and  which  line  will  be  attended,  I 
have  no  doubt,  with  the  happiest  consequences,  as  it  will  infallibly 
be  the  means  of  establishing  confidence  at  home,  as  well  as  all  over 
the  Continent. 

"The  simplest  and  most  natural  mode,  it  does,  I  confess  to  you, 
appear  to  me  of  effecting  this  in  the  first  instance  (subject  always 
to  better  and  wiser  opinions  than  mine,  and  subject  also  to  any  sub- 
sequent arrangements  that  it  might  be  thought  necessary  or  advisa- 
ble to  make)  would  be,  without  any  delay,  not  to  make  any  change 
whatever  just  at  the  present  moment,  but  to  put  the  seals  for  the 
Foreign  Department  into  the  hands  of  Holland.  You  know  Hol- 
land too  well  to  make  it  necessary  to  say  one  word  about  him;  but 
as  far  as  I  can  allow  or  induce  myself  to  view  anything  that  tends 
to  business  under  our  present  most  distressing  situation,  this  is  what 
appears  to  me  to  be  the  most  correct,  as  well  as  desirable  measure, 
and  it  cannot  but  be  attended  with  universal  satisfaction,  and  pecu- 
liarly so  to  all  Fox's  old  friends,  and,  though  last,  most  singularly 
grateful  to  myself. 

"With  respect  to  what  you  so  delicately  state  to  me,  my  dear 
Grey,  concerning  yourself,  as  you  know  me  to  detest  all  flattery  and 
all  prolixity  of  expression,  I  shall  merely  say  that  the  regard  and 
admiration  with  which  I  have  viewed  your  talents,  and  the  friend- 
ship which  has  always  subsisted  between  us,  decide  my  opinion 
upon  the  propriety  and  Avisdom  of  those  duties  w^hich  rested  upon 
that  great  and  for-ever-to-be-lamented  man,  devolving  upon  you. 
It  remains  only  for  me  to  assure  you  how  truly  happy  I  shall  be, 
and  what  comfort  it  will  afford  mc,  to  communicate  in  the  fullest 
confidence  with  you,  and  by  every  means  in  my  power  to  aid  and 
strengthen  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  Government. 

•'I  am,  ever  very  affectionately  yours,  George  P." 

My  father  (says  General  Grey)  having  told  the  Prince  the  plan 


446  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

which  had  been  proposed  for  reorganizing  the  ministry — the  diffi- 
culties which  interposed — and  having  alluded  to  the  possible  alter- 
native of  having  to  declare  to  the  King  that  they  were  unable  to 
form  an  administration  capable  of  meeting  the  present  crisis,  his 
royal  highness  wrote  in  answer  as  follows: 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MB.  GREY. 

*'  [PRrvATE  AND  SECRET.]  Doncoster,  Sept.  22, 1806. 

' '  My  dear  Grey, 

"Although  it  is  now  past  three  in  the  morning,  and  that  I  am 
quite  knocked  up  with  the  long  journey  of  this  day.  I  cannot  delay 
writing  a  few  lines  in  answer  to  both  your  letters,  the  one  of  which 
I  received  at  Kuowsley  this  morning  previous  to  my  departure, 
and  the  other  which  I  have  this  instant  found  on  my  arrival  here. 
I  think  myself  peculiarly  fortunate  that  the  cursory  view  I  took  m 
my  letter  to  you  of  our  present  situation  coincides  so  entirely  with 
your  opinions ;  but  I  must  candidly  and  most  confidentially  acknowl- 
edge to  you  that  it  grieves  me  much  that  any  of  Fox's  old  friends 
should,  of  tliemselves,  think  of  retiring  from  their  situations  at  a 
moment  like  the  present;  as  there  never  was  a  moment,  in  my  poor 
opinion,  that  could  so  imperiousl}'  call  upon  them  to  remain  in 
office,  were  it  only  by  every  exertion  on  their  part,  to  further  and 
bring  to  bear,  as  far  as  lay  in  their  power,  that  general  system,  but 
more  especially  that  system  upon  the  Continent,  which  the  great 
and  powerful  mind  of  our  poor  friend  would  soon  have  effected. 
I  think  it  is  a  duty  they  owe  his  memory,  and  a  duty  they  owe  to 
this  country,  as  well  as  to  Europe.  For  God's  sake  talk  not  to  me 
of  such  an  alternative  as  you  mentioned  in  the  letter  which  I 
received  from  you  this  morning.  I  really  conceive  it  would  be 
ruinous  in  every  point  that  I  can  view  it;  ruinous  to  the  country  in 
the  first  instance,  and  ruinous  to  your  own  reputations  in  tlie  sec- 
ond; and  1  am  certain,  were  he  alive,  it  would  be  what  he  would 
deprecate  more  than  anything  else;  and  last  of  all  it  would  be  con- 
sidered as  a  miserable  copy  of  the  grounds  which  the  last  despicable 
and  odious  administration  took,  upon  the  death  of  Pitt,  for  send- 
ing in  their  resignations. 

'*  My  dear  friend,  this  is  a  strange  world  we  live  in,  and  nothing 
can  be  done  in  it  without  a  little  temper  and  a  little  policy.  We 
must  do  the  best  we  can,  and  because  we  cannot  have  everything 
our  own  way,  we  must  not,  therefore,  instantly  throw  up  the  whole 
game,  and  by  that  means  become  the  tool  of  others.    This  would 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  447 

not  be  consistent  with  what  we  owe  to  our  own  characters;  to  the 
language  we  have  held;  to  the  line  we  have  publicly  pursued;  and, 
last  of  all,  to  what  we  ought  never  to  lose  sight  of — the  precepts  we 
have  learnt  from  Fox,  and  what  1  am  confident,  were  he  now  able 
to  advise,  would  be  his  wishes.  At  the  same  time  that  I  say  this, 
I  desire,  my  good  friend,  that  you  will  clearly  understand  me — that 
I  by  no  means  mean  that  we  should  relax,  in  any  one  instance,  to 
carry  such  points  as  may  be  necessary  to  the  completion  of  those 
great  views,  nor  in  any  effort  that  may  tend  towards  the  accom- 
plishment  of  them:  though  there  maybe  difficulties  and  delays, 
still  we  must  not  be  disheartened,  but  boldly  meet  them,  and,  if  it 
should  be  necessary,  reasonably  to  submit  to  them.  I  should  hope 
that  when  you  mentioned  such  an  alternative  to  me,  you  were  influ- 
enced by  the  distress  under  which  we  were  both  suffering,  and 
whicli  may  mislead  the  very  best  judgment.  Besides  what  I  have 
already  said,  reflect  one  instant  how  fatal  it  would  be  to  me,  in  this 
peculiarly  delicate  and  awful  moment,  to  be  left  in  such  a  situation 
by  all  my  friends,  exposed  to  the  accumulation  of  distress  both 
public  and  private.  I  need  not,  I  am  sure,  my  dear  Grey,  say  more 
to  you  than  this — only  to  call  upon  you  to  rouse  all  the  energies  of 
your  mind — but,  proudly  and  with  cool  judgment,  let  us  meet  what- 
ever may  arise,  thereby  performing,  to  our  best,  our  duties  to  the 
country,  as  well  as  those  which  we  owe  to  the  memory  of  our 
departed  friend. 

"I  really  am  so  fatigued  that  I  cannot  answer  for  any  inaccu- 
racies you  may  find  in  this  letter;  but  I  will  answer  for  my  firm 
and  steady  adherence  to  these  principles  and  opinions. 
'*  I  am  ever,  my  dear  Grey,  most  truly  yours, 

"George  P." 

It  is  amusing  to  find  what  hopes  always  filled  the  Prince's  parti- 
sans on  any  news  of  change.     Writes  Mr.  Grey  Bennett: 

"My  father  told  me,  September  27,  1806,  that  when  at  Alnwick, 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland  had  said  that  upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
Pitt,  and  during  the  first  plan  of  the  formation  of  the  present 
administration,  Lord  Moira  passed  through  Alnwick,  being  sent 
for  to  town  from  Scotland.  As  he  passed  through  the  town  he  sent 
a  note  to  the  Duke,  expressing  his  sorrow  at  not  being  able,  from 
his  anxiety  to  get  forward,  to  call  upon  him,  but  to  assure  him  of 
his  regards,  etc.,  and  that,  as  no  administration  could  be  formed 


448  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOEGE  IV, 

without  his  presence  and  concurrence,  he  was  obliged  to  be  in  town 
with  all  speed.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  London,  he  wrote  again 
to  the  Duke,  saying  that  he  was  kept  quite  in  the  dark;  he  had 
been  neglected  like  all  the  rest  of  the  world;  and  that,  at  last,  they 
had  offered  him  the  place  of  Master  of  the  Ordnance,  with  a  seat 
at  the  Cabinet,  which  he  considered  as  an  insult,  and  would  not 
have  taken,  had  it  not  been  joined  to  a  promise  of  the  patronage  of 
Scotland.  This  is  a  strange  mixture  of  vanity  and  falsehood.  His 
place  is  as  good  as  he  had  any  title  to  expect,  and  the  Scotch  patron- 
age was  never  offered  to  him.  He  expected  it,  and  accordingly 
wrote  to  the  Lord  Justice-Clerk,  '  Hope '  (the  gentleman  with  the 
ardent  mind),  to  inform  him  that  the  patronage  would  go  on  in  its 
old  channel,  that  is  to  say,  through  him,  Lord  Melville's  friend:  so 
much  for  Lord  Moira,  his  truth,  his  sense,  and  his  principles." 

To  Fox's  ministry  was  now  to  succeed  the  "composite  "  one— that 
strange  mixture  of  Foxites,  Grenvillites,  and  "Doctors,"  which,  as 
Moore  happily  said,  was  more  like  the  brass  of  Corinth  in  the  vari- 
ety of  the  metals  than  in  their  excellence.  It  of  course  provided 
handsomely  for  the  "Prince's  friends."  He,  indeed,  pressed,  it  was 
thought  rather  with  a  want  of  dignity,  for  provision  for  too  many 
of  his  followers.  Lord  Moira  was  in  the  Cabinet,  and  the  Prince 
pushed  the  claim  of  his  friend  Erskine  to  the  Chancellorship.  It 
was  certainly  a  most  favorable  state  of  things  for  his  interests.  He 
was  also  eager  to  see  Mr.  Tierncy  in  the  Speaker's  chair. 

But  here,  over  the  division  of  spoil,  we  trace  the  beginning  of 
that  coldness  which  reached  to  positive  dislike  between  the  Prince 
and  Lord  Grenville.  This  was  mortifying,  considering  how 
recently  had  an  alliance  been  cemented.  Almost  at  once  we  find 
Lord  Grenville  speaking  of  his  "most  unreasonable  demands."  Ho 
particularly  resisted  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Calcraft,  which  he 
complained  was  pressed  on  him  "  in  a  mode  amounting  to  persecu- 
tion." *  The  Prince  assured  Romilly,  through  the  mouth  of  Colonel 
MacMahon,  that  he  had  owed  his  appointment  as  Attorney-General 
to  him,  to  liis  pressure  on  Lord  Grenville  and  Mr.  Fox.  But  the 
downfall  of  the  ministry  becomes  the  more  remarkable  from  the 
change  that  was  to  take  place  in  the  Prince  of  Wales's  opinions. 
The  death  of  Fox  had  removed  the  last  influence  which  had  any 
positive  control  over  him;  though,  as  we  have  seen,  he  bad  long 

•  ••  Court  and  Cabinets  of  QeotiKe  m.,"  17. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBQE  IV.  449 

been  already  wavering.  On  the  Catholic  question  his  views  seemed 
to  have  advanced  from  regarding  it  as  "  inopportune"  to  positive 
hostility.     Here  we  can  believe  he  was  sincere. 

When  the  "Talents"  Ministry  fell,  to  no  one  was  the  news  more 
welcome  than  to  the  Prince  of  Wales.  His  high  regard  for  Lord 
Grenville  had  passed  away;  and  how  bitter  his  feelings  were  will 
be  seen  from  the  following  manifesto,  which  he  addressed  to  his 
friend  Moira,  and  was  qf  course  intended  to  be  shown: 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  LORD  MOIRA, 

•  Carlton  House,  March  30, 1807. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"Although  I  think  it  perfectly  beneath  me  to  notice  with 
any  degree  of  personal  anxiety  the  unfounded  and  calumnious 
reports,  which,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  have  been  industriously 
propagated  respecting  my  motives  and  purposes  in  the  present 
important  rxnd  unfortunate  crisis,  yet  I  think  it  fit  to  place  in  your 
hands,  to  be  used  at  your  discretion,  the  only  notice  or  refutation 
of  the  misrepresentations  I  allude  to,  which  I  conceive  it  becomes 
my  character  and  my  sense  of  my  own  rectitude  to  give  to  any  one. 
"No  one,  my  dear  friend,  knows  better  than  yourself  how  much 
and  how  long  I  have  been  used  to  find  myself  the  mark  of  the  most 
false,  contemptible,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  malignant 
slanders;  nor  how  little  disposition  has  ever  been  shown  to  feel  for 
mc,  suffering  under  these  attacks,  or  to  afford  me  the  redress  which 
I  could  not  but  conceive  myself  entitled  to.  The  motives  upon 
which  I  have  acted,  and  my  future  intentions,  I  will  explain  to 
you,  my  friend,  in  a  very  few  sentences.  From  the  hour  of  Fox's 
death — that  friend  towards  whom  and  in  whom  my  attachment 
was  unbounded — it  is  known  that  my  earnest  wish  was  to  retire 
from  further  concern  and  interference  in  public  affairs;  still,  how- 
ever, I  was  induced  (upon  what  grounds,  what  arguments,  and  what 
application  is  not  now  the  question,  but  certainly  upon  no  personal 
consideration)  to  continue  my  endeavors  to  give  every  countenance 
and  assistance  in  my  power  to  the  new  arrangements,  and  to  per- 
severe to  place  my  trust  in  an  administration  still  formed  of  men 
whom  I  respected  and  esteemed;  and  this  most  sincere  and  warm 
disposition  of  my  mind  and  views  I  communicated  in  a  letter  to 
Lord  Howick,  written  a  very  short  time  after  the  death  of  my  ever- 
to-be-lamented  friend.  From  that  period,  I  must  declare  to  you 
with  the  frankness  with  which  I  have  ever  opened  my  mind  to  you. 


450  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

I  have  conceived  myself  to  have  experienced  the  most  marked  neg- 
lect (to  use  no  stronger  term)  from  the  newly  constituted  Adminis- 
tration; having  been,  according  to  my  own  conception,  neither 
consulted  nor  considered  in  any  one  important  instance— a  proceed- 
ing the  more  observed  by  me  on  account  of  the  contrast  it  exhibited 
to  the  conduct  of  my  dear  friend  Fox.  But  of  this  I  desire  dis- 
tinctly to  observe  that  I  am  not  now  complaining,  because  the 
recollection  of  it  has  no  influence  whatever  on  my  present  decision, 
nor  on  the  course  I  have  thought  it  incumbent  on  me  to  adopt. 

"For  the  same  reason  I  waive  entirely  all  observations,  however 
painful  I  feel  those  which  at  this  moment  arise  in  my  mind,  upon 
the  extraordinary  condition  in  which  I  have  been  so  long  kept, 
while  a  victim  to  the  most  envenomed  attacks  of  malice  and  false- 
hood, during  the  investigation  commanded  by  his  Majesty,  respect- 
ing the  conduct  of  the  Princess  of  Wales;  so  far  am  I  from  blend- 
ing any  feelings  (and  I  wish  they  may  have  been  mistaken  ones) 
which  may  have  arisen  in  my  breast  during  the  discussion,  with 
the  present  question.  The  only  remark  I  shall  make  is,  that  I  con- 
sider the  last  minute  of  the  Cabinet  on  this  subject  as  evincing  the 
justice  and  decision  of  men  of  the  highest  honor,  entertaining  a  due 
interest  of  my  private  character  and  public  estimation. 

"I  am,  at  all  events,  incapable  of  allowing  personal  pique  or  dis- 
appointment, whether  such  opinions  have  been  entertained  through 
my  own  misapprehension  or  otherwise,  to  interfere  with  the  great 
duties  of  my  situation. 

"On  the  subject  which  has  occasioned  the  unfortunate  and,  I 
fear,  irreconcilable  difference  between  the  late  Ministers  and  my 
father,  my  opinion  was  ever  known  to  themselves  respecting  the 
agitation  of  this  question;  yet  neither  was  my  advice  asked  when  it 
might  have  been  of  use  in  the  commencement  of  the  discussion, 
nor  my  interposition  desired  when  it  might  possibly  have  prevented 
an  ultimate  mischief.  Ministers  quitting  office  on  this  ground  of 
dispute  with  the  King,  it  was  not  possible  for  me  to  appear  as  the 
advocate  and  defender  of  the  ground  they  had  taken.  I  determined 
to  resume  my  original  purpose,  sincerely  prepared  in  my  own  mind 
on  the  death  of  poor  Fox  to  cease  to  be  a  parly  man  (although  in 
alliance  with  him  it  had  been  the  pride  of  my  life  to  avow  myself 
to  be  so),  and  to  retire  from  taking  any  active  line  whatever,  at 
least  for  the  present,  in  political  affairs. 

"  To  this  extent  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  communicate  my  resolu- 
tion to  the  King,  accompanied  by  such  expressions  of  duty  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  451 

affection  to  his  person  as  I  thought  proper  to  use  on  the  occasion. 
Whoever  by  insinuation  or  assertion  has  given  a  different  turn,  or 
ascribed  a  different  motive,  to  tlie  course  I  have  adopted,  and  to 
the  communication  above  referred  to  with  his  Majesty,  has  most 
ignorantly  and  presumptuously  misstated  the  fact  and  misrepre- 
sented me. 

"I  have  only  to  add,  my  dear  friend,  that  you  are  too  well  ac- 
quainted with  my  heart,  and  the  steadiness  of  my  attachments 
where  I  have  once  professed  a  friendship,  not  to  be  convinced  that 
I  continue  to  cherish  strong  sentiments  of  regard  and  esteem  for 
many  of  the  late  ministers  individually,  and  which  I  trust  I  shall 
never  have  any  occasion  to  alter;  and  still  more  confident  am  I  that 
it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  renew  to  you  any  declaration  of  those 
sentiments  of  unalterable  affection  and  regard  which  never  have  yet 
been  interrupted,  and  never  can  cease  but  with  my  life.  I  am,  my 
dearest  friend,  Most  affectionately  yours, 

"  G.  P. 

•'  Earl  of  Moira,  etc." 

Nothing  could  be  more  distinct.  He  had  ceased  to  be  "a  party 
man."  No  wonder  it  had  evidently  already  gone  about  that  the 
Prince  had  deserted  his  friends  as  well  as  his  old  principles. 

This  letter  speaks  for  itself,  and  really  amounted  to  a  break  off 
with  the  old  Whigs,  whom  he  so  cordially  disliked  in  the  person  of 
Lords  Grey  and  Grenville.  Tlie  paper  was  (as  Mr.  Moore  tells  us) 
written  by  Sheridan,  and  the  arguments  were,  no  doubt,  found  by 
him.  He  also  shows  that  the  key  to  the  Prince's  politics  was  hence- 
forth to  be  found  in  men  and  "predilections." 

Lord  Holland,  too,  confirms  this  change  of  opinions,  and  frankly 
owns  that  not  the  Prince  but  the  party  were  to  blame. 

"Grey  has,  perhaps,  neglected  consulting  persons  somewhat  too 
much.  He  wrote,  however,  at  my  request,  to  the  Prince;  and  the 
Prince  is  in  better  humor  than  he  was.  Sheridan  has  been  behav- 
ing strangely,  and  will,  I  fear,  do  much  mischief.  But  considering 
his  connections,  talents,  and  appearance  of  steadiness  to  the  mob 
and  the  public,  I  fear  there  is  too  much  disposition  to  set  him  at 
defiance,  and  a  greater  desire  to  get  rid  of  him  altogether  than  is 
either  prudent  or  perhaps  right.  It  must  be  owned  that  the  man- 
ners and  tone  of  our  Administration,  amidst  its  many  wise  and 
liberal  measures,  contributed  very  sensibly  to  accelerate  [its  fall]. 
.  .  .  The  Prince  of  Wales,  who  had  been  active  in  the  formation 


452  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  it,  was  neglected,  or  thought  himself  so.  Some  symptoms  of  his 
ill-humor  had  transpired  before  I  was  in  office.  That  circimistance 
was  an  additional  motive  with  me  for  making  his  approbation  a 
condition  in  my  acceptance  of  the  office.  His  letter  to  me  on  the 
occasion  was  more  than  gracious;  it  was  kind  and  friendly.  But 
though  he  approved  my  taking  office,  and  expressed  some  good-will 
to  the  Ministry,  he  distinctly  disclaimed  all  connection  with  them, 
and  repeated  above  once  his  total  indifference  to  politics  since  the 
death  of  Mr.  Fox.  ...  I  paid  my  personal  homage  pretty  con- 
stantly at  Carlton  House;  but  1  never  sought,  or  rather  I  avoided, 
being  the  channel  of  any  intercourse  between  him  and  the  Govern- 
ment. I  believe  I  did  wrong;  I  am  sure  I  acted  unwisely  for  the 
interests  of  the  Administration.  If  I  had  been  aware  of  Lord 
Moira's  overstrained  scruples,  I  should  have  recommended  to  my 
colleagues  a  more  unreserved  communication  with  Carlton  House 
from  motives  of  policy;  but  had  I  been  apprised  of  the  degree  to 
which  the  Prince  had  been  consulted,  not  only  on  the  formation  but 
on  the  principles  of  the  Ministry,  I  should  have  thought  every  mem- 
ber of  it  bound  to  concert  with  him  certain  public  measures  more 
fully  than  they  did.  .  .  .  Truth  compels  me  to  acknowledge  that  he 
had  some  reason  to  complain  of  the  Ministers,  and  that  their  impar- 
tial historian  has  yet  more  reason  to  lament  their  impolicy  in  neg- 
lecting him." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  453 


CHAPTER  XXXVHL 

1807—1808. 

On  the  fall  of  the  "Talents,"  fortune  again  favored  the  Princess 
by  bringing  into  high  oflSce  her  trusty  champion,  Mr.  Perceval. 
Had  she  shown  common  discretion,  her  position  would  have  been 
unassailable,  for  she  had  with  her  the  Ministry,  the  King,  and  the 
public.  Unfortunately,  as  if  grown  reckless,  and  after  having  so 
narrowly  escaped  a  great  peril,  she  seems  to  have  set  out  on  a  new 
and  erratic  course,  lamentably  distinguished  by  an  utter  absence 
of  caution  or  prudence. 

Since  the  investigation  she  had  attracted  but  little  attention.  She 
lived  at  Kensington  Palace,  where  she  held  a  sort  of  court,  and  was 
dul}"-  attended  by  the  Tory  nobility,  who,  knowing  that  the  King 
was  on  her  side,  made  it  a  point  to  pay  their  respects.  Among 
them  were  the  Dukes  of  Beaufort  and  Rutland,  Lords  Harrowby 
and  Eldon,  Mr.  Perceval,  and  others. 

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  influence  of  the  good  old 
monarch  contributed  to  hold  all  parties  in  check,  and  that  the 
Princess  herself  was  thus  restrained  from  imprudent  proceedings. 
She  lived  in  good  state  at  her  palace,  keeping  also  her  villa  at 
Blackheath,  to  which  she  would  make  excursions  and  bring  friends 
to  dine.  She  w^as  seen  at  fashionable  routs  and  parties — a  strange- 
looking  personage  at  times.  At  a  ball  at  Mr.  Hope's,  of  **  Anas- 
tasius"  celebrity,  she  danced.  "  Such  an  exhibition,"  says  Miss 
Berry,  who  was  presented  to  her  that  night;  "but  that  she  did  not 
at  all  feel  for  herself  she  should  have  felt  for  her.  Such  an  over- 
dressed, bare-bosomed,  painted-eyebrowed  figure,  one  never  saw." 
But  allowance  should  have  been  made  for  the  consciousness  of  her 
false  position,  hunted  and  harassed  and  watched. 

"Although,"  says  one  of  her  observers  in  a  graphic  passage, 
"  during  the  last  year  of  her  life  she  was  bloated  and  disfigured  by 
sorrow  and  by  the  life  she  led,  the  Princess  was  in  her  early  youth 
a  pretty  woman:  fine  light  hair — very  delicately  formed  features, 
and  a  fine  complexion — quick,  glancing,  penetrating  eyes,  long  cut 


454  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

and  rather  sunk  in  the  head,  which  gave  them  much  expression — 
and  a  remarkably  delicately  formed  mouth;  but  her  head  was 
always  too  large  for  her  body,  and  her  neck  too  short;  and  latterly, 
her  whole  figure  was  like  a  ball,  and  her  countenance  became 
hardened,  and  an  expression  of  defiance  and  boldness  took  posses- 
sion of  it,  that  was  very  unpleasant.  Nevertheless,  when  she 
chose  to  assume  it,  she  had  a  very  noble  air." 

She  had,  however,  friends  that  were  really  respectable,  such  as 
Lady  Anne  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  Damer.  But  these  were  gradually 
supplanted  by  a  "set"  of  persons  whose  characters  were  marked 
by  instability  and  lightness,  even  eccentricity.  Among  these  were 
the  gay  and  airy  Lady  Charlotte,  a  passee  beauty  whose  head  was 
turned  by  vanity  and  admiration;  Lady  Caroline  Lamb;  Lord 
Abercorn,  the  odd  nobleman  who  slept  in  black  satin  sheets;  the 
volatile  "Monk"  Lewis;  the  singular  Ward ;  Lady  Oxford,  whose 
name  was  "in  the  papers;"  and  the  lively  Charles  Kirkpatrick 
Sharpe,  with  many  more. 

"Her  conversation,"  says  Miss  Berry,  "is  certainly  uncommonly 
lively,  odd,  and  clever.  What  a  pity  that  she  has  not  a  grain  of 
common  sense,  not  an  ounce  of  ballast  to  prevent  high  spirits  and 
a  coarse  mind  running  away  with  her,  and  allowing  her  to  act 
indecorously  and  ridiculously  whenever  an  occasion  offers."  These 
words  describe  her  accurately.  On  these  occasions  she  had  with 
her  the  boy  "Billy  Austin,"  who  had  been  the  cause  of  such 
troubles,  and  whom  she  ought  to  have  sent  to  school.  But  there 
was  a  merit  in  the  constancy  with  which  she  clung  to  those  whom 
she  had  once  taken  up.  She  was  fond  of  wild  and  indiscreet 
pranks,  such  as  going  to  masquerades  incognita. 

She  was  at  this  time  completely  under  the  influence  of  some 
Italian  singers  named  Sapio;  the  result  of  which  was  that  no  really 
steady  persons  could  continue  long  in  her  estabhshment. 

"  The  Princess,"  says  her  friend,  "  is  always  seeking  amusement, 
and  unfortunately,  often  at  the  expense  of  prudence  and  propriety. 
She  cannot  endure  a  dull  person;  she  has  often  said  to  me:  '  I  can 
forgive  any  fault  but  that.'  And  the  anathema  she  frequently 
pronounces  upon  such  persons  is:  'Mine  God!  dat  is  the  dullest 
person  God  Almighty  ever  did  born! ' " 

But  all  this  was  really  a  foolishly  assumed  exaltation  to  cover 
her  woes,  and  the  unhappy  lady  was  seeking  such  excitement  to 
forget  her  trials.  By  1813  she  had  ruefully  owned  to  a  friend  that 
her  situation  was  hopeless,  and  that  there  was  no  issue  save  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  455 

death  of  one  of  the  two.  This  issue  she  used  openly  to  discuss  and 
long  for  and  anticipate.  "After  dinner,"  says  her  attendant,  "her 
Royal  Highness  made  a  wax  figure  as  usual,  and  gave  it  an  amiable 
addition  of  large  horns ;  then  took  three  pins  out  of  her  garment 
and  stuck  them  through  and  through,  and  put  the  figure  to  roast 
and  melt  at  the  fire.  What  a  silly  piece  of  spite !  Yet  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  laugh  when  one  sees  it  done." 

One  of  her  ladies  reported  her  eagerly  coming  in  with  one  of 
Mr.  Burke's  works  in  her  hand.  "Eead  it,"  she  said:  "he  has 
drawn  the  Prince's  character  exactly."  The  passage  ran:  "  A  man 
without  any  sense  of  duty  as  a  prince,  without  any  regard  to  the 
dignity  of  his  crown,  and  without  any  love  to  his  people;  dissolute, 
false,  venal,  destitute  of  any  positive  good  qualities  whatever, 
except  a  pleasant  temper  and  the  manners  of  a  gentleman."  This 
was  told  everywhere — a  lamentable  indiscretion,  to  say  the  least. 

Passages  in  her  letters  show  a  lively  wit  and  observation.  Thus: 
"Lord  Deerhurst  is  quite  a  joke  to  the  secret  marriage  of  the  ci- 
devant  Mrs.  Panton  with  a  Mr.  Geldi,  and  why  it  is  kept  a  secret, 
and  why  it  is  made  public,  nobody  can  guess,  as  she  was  her  own 
mistress — or  that  she  thought  that  she  was  public  property,  and  that 
it  would  be  essential  to  have  an  Act  of  Parliament  to  make  an 
enclosure  to  become  private  property  at  a  moment's  warning." 

It  is  remarkable,  and  perplexing  too,  that  she  should  have  at- 
tached to  her  interests  two  men  of  remarkable  ability  and  charac- 
ter, whose  support  through  the  troubles  that  followed  were  of 
incalculable  advantage — Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  Brougham.  The 
former  has  been  believed  to  enjoy  a  particular  partiality,  and  his 
extraordinary  devotion  to  her  at  a  later  crisis,  almost  to  the  imperil- 
ling of  his  interests,  was  remarkable,  so  that,  as  Lord  Campbell 
tells  us  in  one  of  his  piquant  narratives,  "  the  Regent  condescended 
to  be  jealous  of  him."  That  she  should  have  carried  on  the  strug- 
gle for  the  next  eight  years  that  followed,  without  Mr.  Brougham's 
aid,  seems  unlikely,  for  though  she  had  many  champions  as  ardent 
she  had  none  so  powerful  and  sagacious.  It  was  in  1809  that  he 
began  to  resort  to  her  house.  He  had  for  several  years  previously 
avoided  being  presented  to  her — not  wishing,  he  said,  to  be  mixed 
up  in  her  quarrel — and  was  presented  to  her  by  Canning. 

According  to  the  same  authority  Mr.  Brougham  recommended 
himself  highly  to  her  by  his  sympathy  and  agreeable  manners,  and 
secured  a  promise  that  he  should  be  her  future  Attorney-General. 
He  himself  affects  to  say  he  was  drawn  to  her  home  by  the  pleasant 


456  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

society  found  there,  and  the  chance  offered  of  meeting  Mr.  Canning, 
Rogers,  and  others.  He  noticed  that  she  always  spoke  of  Lord 
Eldon  and  Mr.  Perceval,  though  they  had  abandoned  her.  Lord 
Grey  and  the  Whigs  keeping  away,  the  popular  barrister  felt  that 
here  "was  an  opening  for  his  fortunes,  not  to  come  for  him  under  the 
existing  administration,  and,  considering  the  condition  of  the  Lib- 
erals, not  to  be  looked  for  until  years  had  gone  by.  He  also  con- 
trived to  win  the  confidence  of  her  daughter,  in  whose  presence  he 
was  kindly  welcomed  as  the  greatest  lawyer  of  the  day,  and  she  was 
taught  to  look  on  him  with  kindness  as  the  friend  and  adviser  of  her 
mother.  Lord  Campbell  declares  that  he  was  founding  hopes  upon 
the  failing  health  of  the  Regent,  as  of  the  reigning  King.  This 
might  seem  uncomplimentary  to  the  Queen's  new  champion,  save 
for  its  being  notorious  that  Brougham  was  thoroughly  chauvin. 

At  this  time  also  we  begin  to  have  some  pleasing  glimpses  of  her 
daughter,  the  engaging  young  Princess  Charlotte,  now  a  little  girl 
some  ten  years  old.  The  Prince  at  this  moment  was  laudably 
solicitous  as  to  her  education,  and  the  following  letters  show  him 
moderate  and  temperate  in  reference  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
Princess  of  Wales: 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  LADY  DE  CLIFFORD. 

"  Carlton  House,  Saturday  night,  Nov.  21st,  1807. 
*'My  DEAR  Lady  de  Clifford^ 

"  I  have  only  this  moment  learnt  from  Lady  Haggerston  that 
Lady  Albemarle  is  safely  delivered  of  a  son.     Pi-ay  accept  my  sin- 
cere congratulations  on  this  event,  as  I  do  assure  you  that  no  one 
can  participate  more  truly  in  everything  that  interests  you  than 
"Your  very  affectionate  Friend, 

"George  P. 

"P.S. — I  hope  the  little  lady  and  the  new-comer  are  both  quite 
well.  I  have  ordered  them  to  be  inquired  after  to-morrow  morning, 
for  I  only  heard  of  the  circumstance  too  late  this  evening  to  send 
sooner." 

THE  PRINCE  OP  WALES  TO  LADY  DE  CLIFFORD. 

"  Carlton  House,  Tuesday  night,  April  19th,  1808. 
"My  dear  Lady  de  Clifford, 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  communication  you  were 
80  good  as  to  make  me  respecting  the  notification  you  received  from 
tlie  Princess  of  Wales.     You  not  only  have  acted  up  to  the  sacred 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  457 

trust  imposed  upon  you  by  your  office  in  acquainting  me  imme- 
diately with  the  circumstance,  but  you  have  shown  your  usual 
excellent  judgment  and  good  taste,  as  well  in  your  way  of  meeting 
the  message,  as  in  signifying  to  me  the  proposed  visit,  without  any 
comment.  Indeed,  it  was  impossible  for  you  not  to  know  how  I 
must  regard  it  when  you  notice  the  date  of  this  letter,  and  the  time 
at  which  you  receive  it.  You  will  comprehend  that  I  did  not  wish 
to  explain  my  sentiments  more  fully  to  you  till  the  visit  was  ac- 
tually over,  lest  the  Princess  should  put  any  question  to  you,  and 
that  thereby  you  should  be  subjected  to  embarrassment  by  the  an- 
swer you  would  have  been  forced  to  give.  The  step  having  been 
taken  by  the  Princess,  it  was  my  wish  that  the  visit  should  not  be 
interrupted,  that  nothing  might  appear  discordant  to  the  polite  at- 
tention always  to  be  observed ;  though  I  might  have  my  suspicion 
that  the  visit  was  not  really  made  from  a  misconstruction  of  the 
license  I  had  granted  in  a  special  instance,  but  was  an  attempt  to 
pass  beyond  the  line  established  by  me  through  the  King.  In  the 
regulation  laid  down,  and  transmitted  by  his  Majesty  to  the  Prin- 
cess, it  is  precisely  defined  that  she  is  not  to  visit  her  daughter  at 
Warwick  House,  that  house  being  considered  as  part  of  Carlton 
House.  Charlotte's  illness,  which  prevented  her  from  going  to 
her  mother  at  Blackheath,  was  a  case  not  foreseen,  and  was  suffi- 
cient reason  for  relaxation  in  this  particular  instance.  But  as  my 
daughter  has  been  for  some  time  able  to  go  about  again,  that  pre- 
text must  no  longer  remain,  and  I  cannot  assent  to  the  Princess 
visiting  at  Warwick  House  on  any  other  grounds.  Her  apartments 
not  being  ready  at  Kensington  can  be  no  excuse  whatever.  Should 
you  have  any  apprehension  of  a  visit  hereafter,  I  must  request  of 
you,  my  dear  Lady  de  Clifford,  immediately  to  ask  for  an  audience 
of  the  Princess  at  Blackheath,  when,  with  all  that  respectful  deli- 
cacy which  nobody  knows  so  well  as  yourself  how  to  testify,  you 
will  explain  to  the  Princess  the  line  herein  enjoined  you,  and 
will  entreat  her  not  to  come  to  Warwick  House,  which  she  can- 
not do  without  my  previous  assent,  and  which  can  only  be  given 
on  some  consideration  as  strong  as  what  lately  induced  me  to 
grant  it.  According  to  the  existing  regulation,  Charlotte  may 
always  (in  moderation)  be  sent  for  by  her  mother  to  Blackheath  or 
Kensington,  under  the  limitation  of  its  not  giving  any  peculiar 
interruption  to  her  studies  or  the  necessary  train  of  her  education. 
"  I  remain,  my  dear  Lady  de  Clifford,  with  the  greatest  truth, 
ever  your  sincere  friend,  George  P." 


458  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

Here  is  a  natural  pleasing  letter  of  the  young  Princess's,  unpub- 
lished hitherto.* 

♦•  January  38tb,180a 

"My  dear  Mr.  Conway, 

"As  I  find  you  admired  Mrs.  Udney's  snuff-box,  though  I 
should  not  think  of  making  you  so  shabby  a  present,  I  hope  you 
will  not  look  to  the  intrinsic  value  of  it,  but  receive  it  as  a  mark 
of  the  sincere  regard  of 

"  Your  ever  affectionate 

' '  Charlotte. 

"P.  S.— Perhaps  you  will  deign  to  acknowledge  this  in  person, 
as  I  find  you  require  some  bribe  to  come  to  Warwick  House ;  and 
now  the  bust  is  done  there  is  little  hope  of  the  favor  of  seeing  you, 
but  by  some  similar  motive.  My  dear  friend  Mrs.  U.  begs  her  kind 
compliments." 

The  creditors  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  assembled  on  the  17th 
July,  in  consequence  of  an  intimation  to  them  that  Mr.  Adam,  the 
Prince's  chancellor,  would  attend,  when  the  plan  which  the  Prince 
had  adopted  to  pay  their  debts,  and  secure  them  in  future,  would 
be  laid  before  them. 

"  Mr.  Adam  then  stated  that  the  Prince's  treasurer  had  uniformly 
and  regularly  every  quarter  paid  the  allowance  of  £12,000  a  year  to 
the  officers  of  her  royal  highness;  that  this  had  never  been  in 
arrear  one  instant  from  1802  to  the  present  time;  that  Mr.  Gray 
(who  was  present)  was  the  person  who  paid  it ;  that  the  Prince  had 
always  paid  this  sum  to  the  Princess  without  deducting  the  income- 
tax,  although  there  was  £12,000  per  annum  deducted  from  him  at 
the  Exchequer  on  that  account.  That  his  royal  highness  had  now 
increased  the  Princess's  income  to  £17,000  a  year,  to  be  paid  quar- 
terly, without  deducting  the  income-tax.  That  the  Princess  was 
paidior  personal  expenses  at  the  Exchequer  £5000  a  year,  making 
in  all  an  income  of  £22,000.  Unless  the  Prince  had  spontaneously 
undertaken  for  the  arrangement  of  their  debts,  the  creditors  would 
have  had  no  redress.  In  doing  this,  the  Prince  stipulated  that  he 
should  be  fully  indemnified  against  future  demands,  a  claim  which 
his  royal  highness  was  justified  in  making,  because  to  the  £41,000 
there  was  to  be  added  the  sum  of  £34,000  which  the  Princess  had 


'MSB.,  Brit.  Mus, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  459 

received  from  his  Majesty's  Droits  of  Admiralty,  making  together 
£75,000  of  debt  contracted  by  her  royal  highness;  which,  divided 
on  the  number  of  years,  exceeded  by  many  thousand  pounds  a 
year  the  greatest  income  ever  proposed  for  her  royal  highness;  that 
after  the  payment  of  £41,000  had  been  undertaken  by  the  Prince, 
and  guarantee  against  future  demands  arranged  to  his  satisfaction, 
Mr.  Adam  said  that  toward  the  conclusion  of  the  business  it  was 
stated  to  him  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  to  be  by  him 
(Mr.  Adam)  laid  before  the  Prince,  that  the  debt  was  £8000  more 
than  the  £41,000  On  this  the  Prince  gave  his  commands  to  Mr. 
Adam  to  represent  to  the  King's  confidential  servants  that  the 
main  and  principal  object  which  had  uniformly  directed  his  royai 
highness's  determination,  and  which  he  had  never  for  a  moment 
lost  sight  of  in  any  one  part  of  this  transaction,  had  been  to  pre- 
vent (in  these  times  of  great  and  necessary  expenditure)  any  debt 
of  his  own,  or  any  other  for  which  he  might  be  considered  liable, 
becoming  either  directly  or  circuitously  a  burden  upon  the  country. 
That  he  had  been  likewise  greatly  influenced  by  the  desire  of  see- 
ing justice  done  to  the  creditors  of  the  Princess,  although  under 
no  legal  obligation  whatever  to  pay  those  debts.  On  these  grounds 
the  Prince  of  Wales  gave  it  to  be  understood  to  those  of  his  Maj- 
esty's ministers  concerned  in  the  transaction,  that  his  royal  high- 
ness would  spontaneously  take  upon  himself  the  payment  of  the 
sum  of  £8000  in  addition  to  the  rest." 


460  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
1809. 

In  January,  1809,  the  public  were  to  be  entertained  and  shocked 
by  another  unfortunate  scandal  connected  with  the  Duke  of  York. 
It  is  hardly  desirable  to  revive  the  well-known  business  of  Mrs. 
Clarke,  or  of  Colonel  Wardle  and  other  performers  in  the  business ; 
and  we  shall  pass  it  over  as  lightly  as  possible.  Never  was  there  an 
affair  so  unlucky  for  all  concerned — for  the  Duke  himself,  the  royal 
family,  the  Ministry,  and  the  public — who,  though  by  this  time  pre- 
pared to  accept  any  amount  of  scandal,  were  shocked  at  the  revela- 
tions now  made.  One  Colonel  Wardle,  a  Member  of  Parliament, 
was  the  industrious  agent  in  bringing  forward  the  matter.  It  was 
the  fashion  to  make  her  out  to  be  a  person  of  no  education,  but  she 
could  write  well,  and  there  was  issued  in  1798  a  prospectus  of  a 
poem,  called  "  Ian  the,"  for  the  benefit  of  Colonel  Frederick's  daugh- 
ters and  children,  dedicated  to  the  Prince  of  Wales,  by  Miss  Clarke.* 

Mrs.  Clarke  was  a  daughter  or  god-daughter  of  the  unfortunate 
"  Colonel  Frederick,"  son  of  the  ill-fated  Theodore  of  Corsica.  Cu- 
riously enough.  Colonel  Frederick  seems  to  have  been  employed  by 
the  royal  brothers  in  negotiating  their  Dutch  loan.  It  was  undis- 
puted that  this  lady  had  engaged  in  the  trafficking  of  promotions  in 
the  army.  These  charges  were  solemnly  made  by  Colonel  Wardle 
in  the  January  of  1809,  and  but  for  the  stupid  and  confident  self- 
assertion  of  the  ministers,  who  protested  that  it  was  "impossible 
that,  after  the  result  of  the  inquiry,  any  suspicion  even  would  attach 
to  his  royal  highness,"  it  might  have  been  contrived  that  the  busi- 
ness should  not  at  least  have  been  thrust  upon  the  public.  A  thick 
volume  of  testimony,  letters,  and  details  connected  with  promotions 
attests  the  corruption  that  was  going  on.  The  defenders  of  the 
Duke  could  urge  that  all  these  promotions  were  of  persons  deserving 
promotion  and  within  the  Duke's  discretion  to  promote,  and  that 
he  could  not  help  an  artful  woman  taking  bribes  and  giving  out 

♦  Cyrus  Redding,  "  Yesterday  and  To-day,"  I.  284. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY,  461 

that  she  had  contrived  them.  The  Ministry  affected  to  be  indignant 
at  the  technical  charge  which  they  said  was  raised  of  the  Duke's 
sharing  the  profits  of  these  transactions :  but  tliis  was  a  false  issue, 
the  true  corruption  lying  in  his  being  influenced  by  such  a  person 
and  knowing  that  she  was  making  a  trade  of  her  influence,  A  man 
of  the  highest  honor  and  sagacity  had  listened  to  the  whole  case, 
and  his  strict  impartiality  luay  be  accepted — viz.  Sir  S.  Romilly. 
After  stating  that  even  the  accuser  Wardle  was  anxious  that  they 
should  go  before  a  private  committee,  and  that  the  Ministry,  in  their 
foolish  confidence  in  the  Duke's  innocence,  hoped  not  only  to  clear 
the  Duke,  but  confound  their  opponents,  he  mentioned  that  "written 
evidence  and  documents,  not  known  to  be  in  existence  either  by 
Wardle  or  by  the  principal  witness,  Mrs.  Clarke,  were  discovered, 
and  produced  by  the  witnesses  who  appeared  for  the  Duke;  and 
these  did  his  royal  highness  more  mischief  than  anything  that  was 
said  by  the  witnesses  against  him.  It  was  established,  beyond  the  pos- 
sibility of  doubt,  that  the  Duke  had  permitted  Mrs.  Clarke  to  interfera 
in  military  promotions,  that  he  had  given  commissions  at  her  recom- 
mendation, and  that  she  had  taken  money  for  the  recommendations. 
That  the  Duke  knew  that  she  took  money,  or  that  he  knew  that  the 
establishment  which  he  had  set  on  foot  for  her  was  partly  supported 
with  the  money  thus  illegally  procured  by  her,  did  not  appear  other- 
wise than  from  her  evidence.  She,  however,  asserted  the  fact  di- 
rectly and  positively,  and  her  evidence  was  supported  in  many  other 
particulars  which  seemed  the  most  incredible  by  such  strong  cor- 
roborations, that  her  character,  her  resentment,  and  her  contradic- 
tions were  not  sufficient  to  render  her  evidence  altogether  incredi- 
ble." 

All  the  incidents  that  led  to  the  transactions,  some  years  old  now, 
were  "  raked  up."  The  Duke  had  secured  his  release  by  promising 
an  annuity,  which  was  left  unpaid.  He  paid  no  one.  Exasperated 
by  this  treatment,  she  addressed  threatening  letters  to  Mr.  Adam, 
declaring  that  she  would  publish  everything : 

"Yet,  before  I  do  anything  publicly,  I  will  send  to  every  one  of 
H.R.H.'s  family  a  copy  of  what  I  mean  to  publish.  Had  H.R.H. 
only  been  a  little  punctual,  this  request  had  never  been  made." 
No  answer  being  given  to  this,  she  used  another  form  of  threat: 

"I  have  employed  myself  since,  in  committing  to  paper  every 
circumstance  within  my  recollection  during  the  intimacy  of  H.R.H. 
and  myself.  The  fifty  or  sixty  letters  of  H.R.H.  will  give  weight 
and  truth  to  the  whole.     On  Tuesday  I  have  promised  to  give  these 


462  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

up,  if  I  hear  nothing  further  after  this  last  notice;  and  when  once 
given  out  of  my  own  possession,  it  will  be  impossible  to  recall." 

On  no  notice  being  taken  of  this,  the  letters  were  put  in  the  hands 
of  Sir  R.  Philips.  A  threat  having  been  used  of  publication.  Lord 
Moira  was  employed  by  the  Prince  to  interpose.  Noblemen  and 
gentlemen  were  thus  required  by  the  royal  brethren  to  degrade 
themselves  by  acting  as  agents  in  this  description  of  business.*  It 
was  understood  that  Lord  Moira  succeeded  in  his  negotiations,  and 
secured  the  documents  and  letters  (said  to  be  ninety  in  number)  as 
well  as  the  "disclosures,"  of  w^hich  18,000  were  said  to  have  been 
printed  off.  This,  it  might  have  been  hoped,  would  have  been  a 
warning  to  a  man  of  prudence.  But  she  was  again  set  at  defiance 
—the  annuity  left  unpaid— and  the  result  was  Colonel  MacMahon 
also  took  a  sort  of  mysterious  part  in  the  affair.  Mr.  Lowten,  the 
agent  who  had  hunted  up  evidence  in  the  case  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  was  employed  in  this  equally  savory  case.f 

There  is  a  piquancy  in  the  following  scene  which  Colonel  Mac- 
Mahon described  to  the  House  of  Commons: 

"  In  consequence  of  an  anonymous  note  that  was  written  to  his 
Royal  Highness  the  Prince  of  Wales,  promising  very  important  com- 
munications, I  did,  at  the  command  of  the  Prince,  lightly  as  he 
treated  the  note,  nevertheless  call  at  No.  14,  Bedford  Row,  Russell 
Square,  where  the  note  was  dated  from.  I  was  conducted  upstairs, 
where  I  saw  the  lady,  whose  name  I  was  told  to  be  Farquhar. 
The  lady  in  perfect  good  humor  came  out  and  received  me,  and 
entered  into  a  conversation  of  so  general  and  so  extraordinary 
a  nature,  that  I  am  confident  this  House  would  not  for  one  mo- 
ment entertain  it,  because  the  tendency  and  intention  of  it  was  to 
make  bad  blood  between  two  illustrious  brothers,  whose  affections 
could  never  be  shaken  by  any  such  representation;  at  least,  I  am 
confident  that  the  illustrious  person  I  have  the  pride  and  glory 
to  serve  and  love  would  be  incapable.  She  then  told  me  she  would 
show  me  letters  to  prove  and  to  establish  that  there  was  a  hatred  on 
one  part  to  the  other:  I  declined  seeing  any  letters.  In  this  inter- 
view, at  first,  I  stated  that  she  was  a  friend  of  Mrs.  Clarke ;  she 
said,  certainly  she  knew  Mrs.  Clarke  extremely  intimately;  that 


*  See  the  letter  given  by  Mr.  Cyrus  Bedding,  who  furnishes  some  curious 
details  in  this  and  other  matters. 

t  The  names  Dowler,  Wardle,  Lowten,  were  later  adopted  by  the  author  of 
*'  Pickwick  "  from  this  very  case. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  463 

there  was  nobody  she  loved  and  regarded  as  she  did  Mrs.  Clarke; 
that  she  perfectly  knew  her.  She  then  asked  me  if  I  knew  Mrs. 
Clarke.  I  said  I  do  not.  'Do  you  know  her,  sir,  by  person?' 
I  said,  I  believed  not.  '  Do  you  know  her  by  character? '  Yes, 
said  I,  her  fame  is  very  celebrated.  I  said,  '  I  am  confident 
I  am  addressing  myself  to  Mrs.  Clarke  herself.'  She  laughed,  and 
said,  'I  am  Mrs.  Clarke.'  I  then  begged  her  a  thousand  pardons 
for  the  portrait  I  had  drawn,  but  disclaimed  being  the  painter.  '  I 
am  sure  you  are  not,  for  it  was  Adam  and  Greenwood  that  gave 
you  my  character.'  She  stated  to  me  that  Mr.  Adam  had  called 
upon  her,  and  in  a  very  firm,  but  steady  manner,  told  her  that  the 
Duke  of  York,  if  she  retired  into  the  country,  and  conducted  her- 
self with  propriety  and  decorum,  would  allow  her  £400  a  year;  that 
she  had  accordingly  so  retired  into  Devonshire  for  several  months, 
but  failing  to  receive  the  remittances  she  expected,  she  had  been 
driven  to  town  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  her  arrear.  Upon  the  fair- 
ness of  this  statement,  supposing  it  to  be  true  (I  do  not  pretend  to  say 
what  my  opinion  of  it  was),  I  said,  if  your  statement,  Mrs.  Clarke, 
is  correct  and  orthodox,  I  will  certainly  wait  upon  Mr.  Adam,  and 
state  it  to  him,  to  know  where  the  objection  lies  to  the  payment  of 
your  annuity.  I  had  the  honor  of  waiting  upon  the  Duke  of  York, 
and  telling  his  royal  highness  exactly  what  she  had  stated,  not  pre- 
tending to  vouch  for  its  veracity  in  any  shape  whatever.  His  royal 
highness's  immediate  and  prompt  answer  to  me  was,  her  conduct  is 
so  abominable  that  I  will  hear  nothing  at  all  about  her.  Anything 
I  could  possibly  offer  after  what  I  have  now  said  would  be  super- 
fluous; there  is  the  conclusion,  that  is  the  epilogue  of  anything  I 
have  to  state." 

It  would  be  beside  the  purpose  of  this  work  to  deal  with  the  vo- 
luminous trial ;  but  a  single  passage  in  one  of  the  Duke's  own  let- 
ters to  the  lady  is  convincing:  a  colonel  "  is  mistaken  in  thinking 
that  any  new  regiments  are  to  be  raised.  It  is  not  intended;  only 
second  battalions  to  the  existing  corps.  You  had,  therefore,  better 
tell  him  so,  and  that  you  were  sure  there  would  be  no  use  in  apply- 
ing for  him." 

Further,  the  contents  of  Mrs.  Clarke's  desk  disclose  the  most 
extraordinary  collection  of  these  corrupt  applications  from  oflScers, 
soldiers,  footmen,  and  divines.* 


*  One  clergyman  had  preached  before  the  King  and  Queen  at  Weymouth, 
and  with  such  success  that  the  newspapers  declared  that  "his  lips  were 


464  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  It. 

It  was  unfortunate  that  the  matter  should  have  turned  into  a 
party  question.  It  was  believed  that  Wardle  himself  was  not  im- 
maculate, and  was  put  forward  by  the  more  respectable  Radicals, 
who,  except  Mr.  Whitbread,  were  cautious  enough  in  the  treatment 
of  the  matter.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Ministry  affected  to  believe 
it  was  an  attack  on  the  Court  and  Constitution,  and  their  enemies 
said  they  were  secretly  delighted  at  an  event  which  completely 
diverted  public  attention  from  mistakes  of  their  foreign  policy. 
But  to  Mr.  Perceval  the  accused  may  be  said  to  have  owed  the 
unearthing  of  the  really  damning  part  of  the  case.  Having  dis- 
covered that  a  compromising  letter  was  lost,  he  recollected  a  favorite 
device  at  Nisi  Prius,  and  vauntingly  put  forward  the  person  whom 
it  would  have  compromised,  challenging  examination.    A  most 

touched  with  a  live  coal  from  the  altar,"  and  the  royal  family  were  melted 
into  tears.     A  passage  in  the  Duke's  letters  explains  how  this  honor  was 

attained.    "  Dr. called  upon  me  yesterday  morning  and  delivered  me 

your  letter.  He  wishes  much  to  preach  before  royalty,  and  if  I  can  put  him 
in  the  way  of  it  I  will.  God  bless  you!"  adds  the  Duke.  Mrs.  Clarke's  "  foot- 
boy,"  who  waited  and  cleaned  plate,  etc.,  actually  received  a  commission. 
Indeed,  the  picture  of  society  that  was  unconsciously  painted  during  this 
investigation  would  have  delighted  a  cynic. 

Mr.  Donovan,  who  seems  to  have  acted  as  a  sort  of  broker  for  the  system, 
writes  in  behalf  of  another  reverend  gentleman,  who  is  willing  to  give  £1000 
for  the  Deanery  of  Hereford,  just  then  vacant.  So  also  with  another  clergy- 
man, who  was  anxious  to  get  the  Deanery  of  Salisbury;  "and  a  party  of 
ladies,  unknown  to  him,  and  headed  by  a  well-known  coimtess,  subscribed 
3000  guineas.  He  was  chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  and  would  be 
strongly  recommended  by  many  persons  of  fashion,  and  the  Bishops  of  Nor- 
wich and  Salisbury."  After  waiting  three  months  this  divine  took  the 
extraordinary  course  of  calling  on  the  Duke  fo  Portland,  leaving  the  follow- 
ing letter: 

*'  My  Lord  Dltcb. 

"  I  wished  particularly  to  see  your  Grace  upon  the  most  private  busi- 
ness. I  cannot  be  fully  open  by  Letter.  The  object  is,  to  soUcit  your  Grace's 
recommendation  to  the  Deanery  of  Salisbury,  or  some  other  Deanerj-,  for 
which  the  most  ample  pecuniary  remuneration  I  will  Instantly  give  a  draft  to 
your  Grace. 

"  For  Salisbury,  Three  Thousand  Pounds. 1  hope  your  Grace  will  pardon 

this,  and  instantly  commit  these  lines  to  the  flames. 1  am  now  writing,  for 

the  benefit  of  Administration,  a  most  interesting  Pamphlet.  Excuse  this 
openness;  and  I  remain  your  Grace's 

"Most  obedient  and  obliged  Servant, 

"  T.  Basely. 

"P.S.— Iwill  attend  your  Grace  whenever  you  may  appoint,  but  sincerely 
beg  your  Grace's  secrecy." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  It.  465 

dramatic  scene  followed.  By  the  arts  of  cross-examination  the 
truth  was  wrung  from  the  witness  that  this  letter  was  in  existence. 
He  was  sent  with  the  messengers  of  the  House  to  his  bureau, 
whence  he  returned  with  a  whole  mail  of  letters. 

Even  the  judgment  of  Sir  A.  Wellesley,  then  in  Ireland  as  secre- 
tary, and  likely  to  be  influenced  by  esprit  de  corps,  is  decidedly 
against  his  chief.  As  the  force  of  the  evidence  was  cumulative, 
and  all  details  pointing  in  the  same  direction,  all  denials  and  vindi- 
cations on  the  ground  of  the  Duke's  character  became  compara- 
tively of  no  avail.  It  was  brought  out  that  he  was  negotiating  a 
loan  for  £70,000  through  one  Kennett,  to  reward  whose  exertions 
he  was  ineffectually  trying  to  obtain  places  and  offices  of  trust. 

But  what  is  more  interesting  for  us  is  the  behavior  of  the  Prince. 
This  was  of  course  marked  with  his  usual  vacillation.  At  first, 
with  one  of  his  rather  generous  impulses,  he  espoused  his  brother's 
side  corps  et  dme.  Adam,  his  factotum,  went  about  showing  a 
letter  of  the  Prince's,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  he  would  consider 
**  an  attack  upon  the  Duke  an  attack  upon  himself."  After  a  time, 
however,  the  Prince  saw  that  he  could  not  safely  indulge  his 
fraternal  feelings,  and  determined  to  take  no  part  in  the  business 
whatever.  What  his  views  were  may  be  gathered  from  the  follow- 
ing dramatic  conversation  reported  by  Lord  Temple : 

"On  Sunday,  February  26th,  upon  my  entering  the  room,  and 
inquiring  after  his  health,  he  said  he  was  well,  but  worried  to  death. 
He  then  made  me  sit  down,  and  told  me  he  wished  to  converse  with 
me  on  the  horrible  scene  that  was  passing.  Upon  my  expressing 
my  humble  thanks  for  his  condescension  in  permitting  me  to 
approach  him  at  such  a  moment,  and  upon  such  a  subject,  and  my 
earnest  wish  to  learn  what  his  opinions  and  feelings  were,  so  far  as 
he  would  allow  me  to  hear  them,  he  told  me  that  I  could  easily 
guess  what  his  feelings  must  be  at  seeing  this  attack  made  upon  his 
family  at  the  moment  when  he  was  mounting  the  throne;  that  his 
opinions  were  that  his  brother  had  brought  all  this  upon  himself,  that 
he  had  behaved  shabbily  to  the  woman  to  whom  he  had  promised 
an  allowance  which,  small  as  it  was,  he  had  not  paid ;  that  a  '  gen- 
tleman's word  was  sacred,  and  that  he  could  not  talk  of  his  honor 
as  a  Prince,  who  could  not  keep  his  promise  as  a  gentleman;'  that 
he  had  no  wishes  upon  the  subject,  as  he  was  determined  not  to 
interfere  one  way  or  the  other.  He  had  not  been  consulted  either 
by  the  King,  the  Duke,  or  the  ministers;  and  therefore  he  would 
not  meddle  in  the  matter.     That  his  brother  had  not  thanked  him 

30* 


466  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY. 

even  for  communicating  to  him  through  MacMahon  an  anonymous 
letter  which  he  had  received,  as  appeared  afterwardsj  from  Mrs. 
Clarke,  warning  him  of  what  had  since  happened;  that  ministers  he 
detested,  and  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  them;  and  that  from 
his  father  he  had  received  no  communication;  that  one  of  his 
sisters  had  written  to  pump  him,  and  to  her  he  had  given  no 
answer;  and  that  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  had  called  upon  him 
for  the  same  purpose,  to  whom  he  had  plainly  said,  that  if  the 
King  wished  to  hear  his  sentiments,  he  would  not  communicate 
them  to  him  through  a  third  person. 

"  He  said  he  considered  the  letter  sent  to  the  House  of  Commons 
as  a  most  ill-advised  measure,  that  it  was  a  breach  of  privilege,  and 
could  not  fail  of  calling  the  attention  of  Parliament;  that  he  knew 
the  circumstances  attending  the  transaction;  that  the  Cabinet  had 
written  a  letter  for  the  Duke,  notifying  to  the  House  of  Commons 
his  resignation,  but  that  the  Duke  had  positively  refused  to  sign  it; 
that  he  had  sent  another  form  to  the  Cabinet,  which  they  refused 
to  agree  to,  and  in  their  turn  had  sent  a  third,  which  was  presented.* 

"  I  hereupon  ventured  to  express  my  joy  that  he  had  determined 
to  adopt  the  line  he  had  suggested  to  me,  that  the  times  were  tre- 
mendous, and  that,  however  harsh  it  might  appear  to  his  ears,  as 
an  honest  man  I  must  tell  him,  the  opinion  of  the  countiy  was 
taken  as  to  the  Duke,  and  that  its  eyes  were  now  turned  upon  him; 
that  if  he  pursued  the  line  he  had  mentioned,  he  would  be  carried 
to  the  throne  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  people ;  whereas,  if  he  joined 
in  saving  the  Duke,  provided  his  guilt  appeared  manifest,  my  firm 
opinion  was,  that  he  would  have  a  struggle.  In  confirmation  of 
this,  I  mentioned  all  I  knew  of  the  ferment  raised  in  the  country, 
the  City  of  London,  and  in  "Westminster,  and  what  was  nightly  the 
language  in  the  debating  societies. 

"Of  all  this  he  said  he  was  aware,  but  he  could  not  rise  upon  his 
brother's  fall,  that  vigorous  measures  must  be  resorted  to,  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  the  people  in  order,  and  mentioned  the  old 
Sedition  Bills,  I  told  him  he  must  pardon  me,  such  measures 
could  not  and  must  not  be  resorted  to.  The  tranquillity  of  his 
people  depended  upon  Parliament  doing  its  duty,  and  his  forbear- 
ance. He  said  that  was  true,  and,  however  bitter  the  pill,  it  must 
be  swallowed,  but  that  the  debating  clubs  must  ke  kept  in  order. 
The  occasion  of  the  whole  of  this  cry  was  Mrs.  Clarke's  becoming 

♦  That  this  is  accurate  is  shown  by  Lord  Colchester's  "  Diary." 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV.  467 

the  instrument  of  the  printers  against  whom  prosecutions  were 
pending  on  the  Duke's  behalf,  and  that  Wardle,  Folkestone,  and 
Whitbread  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  conspiracy.  I  said  the  real 
conspirators  were  the  ministers,  who,  looking  only  to  their  own 
places,  had,  to  secure  momentary  popularity,  thrown  the  ball  loose, 
and  could  not  catch  it  again,  and  had  put  up  the  son  of  their  King 
into  a  pillory  for  everybody  to  pelt  and  insult. 

"  He  agreed  with  me,  and  said  that  if  Pitt  or  Fox  had  been  alive 
this  would  not  have  happened,  and  that  if  Lord  Grenville  had  been 
minister  he  would  never  have  suffered  it.  I  replied  that  if  Lord 
Grenville  had  been  minister,  or  if  Lord  Grey  had  remained  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  this  would  not  have  happened;  that  if  the 
Duke  had  been  guilty,  his  guilt  would  not  have  been  screened,  but 
that  the  peace  of  the  country  and  the  security  of  his  crown  would 
not  have  been  put  into  hazard. 

"To  all  this  he  assented.  He  said,  however,  it  was  hard  that  a 
man  should  be  condemned  without  trial,  and  expressed  his  hope 
that  an  impeachment  would  be  the  measure  resorted  to.  I  told 
him  it  was  my  duty  to  tell  him  that  I  did  not  think  that  would  be 
the  case.  I  had  not  at  all  made  up  my  mind  upon  the  evidence, 
the  whole  of  which  I  was  not  master  of,  but  that  I  had  no  hesi- 
tation in  saying  that  there  was  nothing  which  could  implicate  the 
Duke  as  participator,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  Mrs.  Clarke's 
corruption.  He  said  then  that  the  Duke  ought  to  have  resigned, 
and  have  taken  the  chance  of  reappointment  in  case  of  his  inno- 
cence being  proved. 

"  He  asked  whether  I  thought  there  was  any  way  of  bringing  the 
matter  before  the  House  of  Peers.  I  told  him  certainly  not — that 
ministers  had  now  put  the  thing  out  of  their  own  control,  that  it 
must  take  its  chance  and  its  course;  that  the  cup  must  be  drunk, 
and  that  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  take  care  that  he  (the  Prince) 
should  not  be  forced  to  drink  the  dregs,  and  that  that  would  be 
best  avoided  by  his  stoutly  persevering  in  the  line  he  had  laid  down, 
to  take  no  part.  I  concluded  by  telling  him  that  this  neither  would 
nor  should  be  a  party  business.  He  then  put  an  end  to  the  conver- 
sation by  the  warmest  expressions  of  kindness  to  myself,  by  author- 
ising me  to  say  that  he  meant  to  keep  an  exact  and  a  bon^-fide 
neutrality,  but  expressing  his  hope  that  it  would  be  recollected 
that  the  attack  was  made  upon  the  throne,  and  that  an  attack  upon 
the  throne  was  an  attack  upon  the  vital  principles  of  the  country. 
We  parted  with  many  expressions  on  his  part  of  thanks,  etc. 


468  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

"  My  conviction  is  that  his  alarm  is  very  great,  that  he  thinks 
extremely  ill  of  the  Duke's  case,  and  is  ready  to  give  him  up,  if  he 
could  think  that  he  would  be  supported  in  so  doing,  and  that  the 
fall  of  the  Duke  would  not  necessarily  include  a  victory  gained  by 
the  Republican  party." 

Such  was  this  characteristic  scene.  No  wonder  the  Prince  was 
disgusted ;  on  the  other  side  he  was  being  pressed  by  the  King  and 
the  Court,  who  were  in  an  agony  of  mind  on  account  of  the 
anxiety  and  impending  disgrace;  The  Queen  was  writing  to  him, 
imploring  him  to  come  forward  and  shield  his  brother — that  the 
King's  life  and  health  M'ere  in  the  balance.  But  the  Prince  was  not 
to  be  moved.  He  determined  to  send  his  henchman,  MacMahon, 
to  vote  for  the  Duke,  to  show  that  his  master  did  not  condemn  his 
brother.  But  the  votes  he  commanded,  such  as  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk's and  Duke  of  Northumberland's,  he  declined  to  interfere  with. 

At  last,  on  February  23rd,  the  Speaker  read  an  appeal  from  the 
Duke  to  the  House : 

*'  Horse  Guards,  Feb.  28rd,  1800. 
"Sm, 

"I  have  waited  with  the  greatest  anxiety  nntil  the  Commit- 
tee appointed  by  the  House  of  Commons  to  inquire  into  my  conduct 
as  Commander-in-Chief  of  his  Majesty's  Army  had  closed  its  exami- 
nations, and  I  now  hope  that  it  will  not  be  deemed  improper  to 
address  this  letter  through  you  to  the  House  of  Commons. 

"  I  observe  with  the  deepest  concern  that  in  the  course  of  this 
inquiry  my  name  has  been  coupled  with  transactions  the  most  crim- 
inal and  disgraceful;  and  I  must  ever  regret  and  lament  that  a 
connection  should  ever  have  existed  which  has  thus  exposed  my 
character  and  honor  to  public  animadversion. 

"With  respect  to  my  alleged  offence,  connected  with  the  dis- 
charge of  my  official  duties,  I  do,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  upon 
my  honor  as  a  prince,  distinctly  assert  my  innocence,  not  only  by 
denying  all  corrupt  participation  in  any  of  the  infamous  transac- 
tions which  have  appeared  in  evidence  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  or  any  connivance  at  their  existence,  but  also  the  slight- 
est knowledge  or  suspicion  that  they  existed  at  all. 

"  My  consciousness  of  innocence  leads  me  confidently  to  hope 
that  the  House  of  Commons  will  not,  upon  such  evidence  as  they 
have  heard,  adopt  any  proceedings  prejudicial  to  my  honor  and 
character;  but  if,  upon  such  testimony  ns  has  been  adduced  against 


THE!  LIFE  Oie'  OEOROE  tV.  469 

me,  the  House  of  Commons  can  think  my  innocence  questionable, 
I  claim  of  their  justice  that  I  should  not  be  condemned  without 
trial,  or  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  and  protection  which  is  afforded 
to  every  British  subject  by  those  sanctions,  under  which  alone  evi- 
dence is  received  in  the  ordinary  administration  of  the  law. 

"I  am,  Sir,  yours, 

"Frederic." 

This  appeal  did  not  stay  the  march  of  the  impeachment.  This 
letter  had  been  settled  by  the  Cabinet,  who  in  their  private  councils 
were  much  embarrassed  as  to  what  course  to  take.  Lord  Melville 
— whose  own  turn  was  to  come  a  little  later — thought  the  position 
so  serious  that  he  suggested,  that  after  passing  judgment,  the 
House  should  deliver  a  homily  to  the  royal  brothers  generally,  with 
a  hope  that  the  unfortunate  transaction  might  convince  the  various 
members  that  "right  and  decorous  conduct  "  was  essentially  neces- 
sary. The  most  emphatic  condemnation  of  the  whole  course  taken 
came  from  Canning.  His  opinion  all  through  was  the  sagacious 
one:  that  the  Duke  should  have  resigned  after  the  charges  were 
made,  and  have  retired  until  he  was  cleared.* 

On  March  20th,  the  ministers  succeeded  in  carrying  the  acquittal 
of  the  Duke  on  the  charges  of  corruption  with  a  mild  rebuke,  which 
was  in  an  encomium,  for  the  third  resolution  gave  praise  to  his 
exemplary  conduct  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  with  an 
allusion  to  the  regret  and  concern  expressed  by  his  royal  highness, 
and  "  a  confidence  that  his  future  life,"  etc.  This,  however,  would 
scarcely  clear  him  with  the  public,  and  he  at  once  resigned.  It  is 
amusing  to  find  what  view  the  Chancellor  took  of  it.  "  While  we 
were  sitting  together,"  he  says,  "  a  messenger  arrived  from  Windsor 
with  one  of  the  most  affecting  letters  from  the  King  to  his  servants, 
enclosing  another  of  the  most  affecting  letters  of  the  Duke  of  York 
to  his  father,  I  ever  read,  the  latter  offering  the  Duke's  resignation, 
the  former  accepting  it.  People,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  anybody, 
seem  affected  by  this  step,  but  whether  the  '  Bloodhounds  of  St. 
Stephen's,' "  etc.f 

Lord  Dundas,  a  decayed  veteran,  was  appointed  in  his  place  till 
the  matter  should  be  forgotten,  which  it  speedily  was,  all  interest 
being  absorbed  in  the  new  struggle  now  at  hand.    It  is  pleasant  to 

*  See  his  admirable  letter,  "  Life  of  Perceval,"  i.  323. 
+  "  Life  of  Lord  Eldon,"  ii.  71. 


470  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

find  that  on  the  eve  of  the  poor  King's  last  aberration  of  mind,  from 
which  he  never  recovered,  that  his  son  should  have  addressed  the 
following  becoming  and  affectionate  message.  After  signifying  his 
concurrence  in  the  King's  choice  of  Archdeacon  Short  as  Sub-Pre- 
ceptor, the  Prince  proceeds: 

"I  cannot  conclude  this  letter  without  expressing  to  your  Lord- 
ship the  sincere  gratification  with  which  I  have  received,  through 
your  Lordship,  his  Majesty's  sentiments  respecting  this  most  inter- 
esting subject:  and  I  trust  to  the  ver}^  particular  attention  which 
has  marked  your  Lordship's  proceedings  through  the  whole  of  this 
business,  to  take  the  most  suitable  course  of  conveying  to  the  King, 
with  the  most  profound  respect  and  duty  on  my  part,  the  feelings 
with  which  I  am  impressed  on  this  occasion  by  his  Majesty's  most 
gracious  and  condescending  attention  to  me. 

"I  am,  my  Lord,  very  sincerely  yours, 

"  Gkobqe  p. 

••  Carlton  House,  May  Sth,  1810. '» 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  471 


CHAPTER  XL. 

1810—1811. 

Toward  the  autumn  of  the  year  1810  there  were  symptoms  that 
the  aged  King,  now  half  blind,  was  fast  hurrying  to  a  renewed 
attack  of  his  old  illness.  The  more  remote  cause  was  the  semi-reli- 
gious agitation  due  to  the  dread  of  the  Catholic  claims.  This  itself 
seemed  mania.  But  what  plunged  him  into  insanity  was  the  fatal 
illness  of  his  loved  daughter,  the  Princess  Amelia,  whose  last  touch- 
ing words:  "Remember  me,  but  do  not  grieve  for  me,"  must  have 
helped  the  stroke.     She  died  on  November  2nd. 

The  illness  of  this  amiable  Princess,  only  twenty-seven  years  of 
age,  caused  much  anxiety  in  her  own  family,  by  whom  she  was 
tenderly  beloved.  This  is  shown  by  an  interesting  unpublished 
letter: 

PRINCESS  MARY  TO  MRS.    ANNE  SMITH. 

"  Augusta  Lodge,  Windsor, 

"  January  the  9th,  1810. 
"  My  dear  Mrs.  Anne  Smith, 

"I  wish  it  was  in  my  power  to  send  you  as  good  an  account 
of  dear  Amelia  as  all  those  who  love  her  must  pray  for.  I  think  I 
may  venture  to  say  that  she  certainly  is  not  worse  since  Sir  H.  Hal- 
ford  and  Baillie  have  been  called  in ;  and,  as  they  are  gone,  I  trust  I 
may  add,  the  new  plan  does  not  disagree ;  but,  until  the  constant 
pain  in  the  side  is  removed,  I  never  can  feel  happy  about  her.  She 
has  very  unfortunately  got  cold  this  last  week,  which  Sir  H.  Hal- 
ford  still  hopes  to  keep  off  her  lung.  Amelia  desires  her  most  affec- 
tionate love,  and  begs  me  to  say  how  much  she  is  obliged  to  you 
for  all  the  kind  inquiries  you  have  made  at  different  times  after  her, 
and  how  happy  she  shall  be  to  see  you  whenever  she  is  well  enough, 
but  now  she  is  unequal  to  seeing  anybody  but  her  own  family,  and 
....  both  Sir  H.  Halford  and  Baillie  declared  much  depended  on 
it.     I  hope  you  are  quite  well,  and  your  little  boy  likewise.     I  am 


472  "THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

sure  Adolphus  will  be  very  sorry  he  was  not  at  home  when  her 
Grace  called.    God  bless  you,  and  believe  me, 

"Your  affectionate  Friend, 

"Maky." 

In  these  troubles  the  Princess  of  Wales  came  to  offer  her  sym- 
pathy, and  thus  describes  her  reception : 


the  princess  op  wales  to  a  friend. 

"Dear , 

"  I  am  in  a  state  of  rage,  being  just  returned  from  a  visit  to 
the  Queen,  who  received  me  in  a  most  cavalier  manner.  Luckily  I 
restrained  myself  whilst  in  her  august  presence ;  but  I  could  have 
abused  her  gloriously,  so  angry  did  I  feel  at  the  old  Begum.  I  will 
not  submit  again  in  a  hurry  to  such  a  reception.  She  never  asked 
me  to  sit  down.  Imagine  such  a  piece  of  ridiculous  pride!  And 
when  I  asked  after  my  poor  dear  uncle,  and  said  I  should  like  to 
see  him,  she  made  me  for  answer,  *  The  King  is  quite  well,  but  he 
will  not  see  you.'  I  replied,  '  Madame,  I  shall  ask  his  Majesty 
himself;'  she  said  noting,  but  smiled  her  abominable  smile  of  deri- 
sion. 

' '  Talking  of  kings  and  queens,  I  heard  the  other  day,  from  a  ladj' 
who  lives  a  good  deal  at  court  and  with  courtiers,  that  a  most  erro- 
neous opinion  is  formed  in  general  of  the  Princess  E .     The 

good-humor  for  which  she  has  credit  is  only  an  outward  show,  and 

this  is  exemplified  in  her  conduct  to  the  poor  Princess  A ,  who 

is  dying — quite  given  over,  though  her  decay  may  be  slow  and 

tedious.     The  Princess  and  S are  devoted  to  her;   but 

Princess  E treats  her  with  the  most  cruel  uukindness  and  ill- 
temper.     So  much  for  court  gossip.     Thank  God,  I  do  not  live 

with  them !    Everybody  believes  Princess  A is  married  to  Mr. 

F y,  and  they  say  she  has  confessed  her  marriage  to  the  King, 

who  is  miserable  at  his  expected  loss  of  his  daughter,  who  is  his 
favorite;  and  I  do  not  wonder,  for  she  always  appeared  to  me  the 
most  amiable  of  the  whole  set.  So  she  is  destined  to  be  taken 
away.  Well — perhaps  it  is  as  happy  for  her,  pool'  ting,  that  she 
should;  for  there  is  not  much  felicity,  I  believe,  amidst  dem  all. 
When  I  left  the  royal  presence,  I  thought  to  myself.  You  shall  not 
catch  me  here  again  in  a  hurry.     No,  truly,  I  would  rather  liuvc 


THE  LIFE  OE  GEORGE  TV.  473 

noting  to  do  with  de  royal  family,  and  be  treated  as  a  cipher,  than 
be  subject  to  such  haughtiness  as  I  was  shown  to-day." 

So  early  as  October  25th,  the  old  "  hurries  "  and  excited  utterances 
showed  that  the  disease  had  returned  with  some  severity.  Colonel 
Willis  was  sent  for  by  the  Prince  on  November  1st  to  Windsor, 
"to  make  some  arrangements  about  wine  for  the  Queen  at  Frog- 
more," — Willis  belonging  to  the  Board  of  Green  Cloth.  He  then 
talked  freely  of  the  situation.  He  said  that  the  King  was  as  ill  as 
€ver,  that  the  Chancellor  and  Lord  Wellesley  had  called  him  out  of 
bed  in  the  morning  to  tell  him  of  the  serious  condition  of  the  King. 
He  added  the  significant  remark,  speaking  "emphatically,"  that 
"  there  are  times  that  require  the  entire  vigor  of  Government,  while 
its  whole  vigor  cannot  be  exerted,  and  you  must  see  that  the  present 
state  of  things  cannot  add  to  the  strength  of  the  present  ministry." 
He  then  went  to  dine  with  the  Queen.  He  returned  about  eight 
o'clock,  with  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  "whose  behavior  and  con- 
versation, as  was  indeed  to  be  expected,  was  of  a  nature  as  to  coarse- 
ness as  would  have  disgraced  one  of  his  own  grooms."  The  Prince 
seemed  suspicious  of  the  designs  of  the  ministers,  though  a  letter 
sent  by  Mr.  Perceval  to  inform  him  of  what  had  been  done  in  Par- 
liament, gratified  him.  He  was  in  spirits,  talked  of  a  variety  of 
subjects,  and  gave  an  imitation  of  Grattan  that  Colonel  Willis 
thought  "would  have  done  credit  to  the  best  actor  of  the  day." 
The  company  broke  up  at  midnight.  The  poor  Princess  died  on 
the  same  day! 

The  painful  task  remained  of  communicating  the  sad  news  to  the 
old  King.  When  Sir  Henry  Halford,  the  physician,  came  to  break 
it  to  him,  he  anticipated  him,  saying:  "I  know  what  you  would 
tell  me,  my  poor  girl  is  dead. "  But  a  more  delicate  duty  remained. 
It  was  believed  by  the  public  that  she  had  left  a  number  of  small 
bequests  to  her  friends,  to  discharge  which  she  had  directed  that 
all  her  jewels  and  trinkets  should  be  sold.  But  "the  Prince  of 
Wales,"  said  the  newspapers,  "which  is  another  proof  of  the  be- 
nignity of  his  mind,  took  upon  himself  to  pay  her  debts  and  lega- 
cies, and  presented  the  jewels  and  other  ornaments  to  Princess 
Mary."  "Benignity  of  mind"  was,  however,  scarcely  the  motive. 
The  truth  was  that  she  had  bequeathed  all  her  little  property  to  a 
friend,  and  so  unusual  a  disposition  gave  rise  to  gossip. 

It  has  long  been  believed  that  this  amiable  Princess  was  secretly 
married,  and  that  on  her  death-bed  she  confided  the  story  to  her 


47'4  THE  LIFE  OE  GEORGE  IV. 

father.  Of  this  there  can  be  little  doubt.  Captain,  afterwards 
General  Fitzroy,  was  the  person  to  whom  she  was  thus  espoused, 
to  whom  she  had  formed  an  attachment  when  thrown  in  his  so- 
ciety at  Weymouth  and  other  places.  We  find  the  Princess  repeat- 
ing that  "  every  one  believes  that  Princess  Amelia  is  married  to  Mr. 
Fitzroy."  And  the  lady  whom  he  subsequently  married,  and  who 
survived  him,  often  talked  freely  of  the  matter  to  persons  now  liv- 
ing. Nay,  it  has  been  confidently  asserted  that  all,  or  nearly  all, 
lier  sisters  had  contracted  similar  alliances  with  persons  in  private 
stations.  Colonel  Garth,  it  has  been  stated,  was  one  thus  distin- 
guished, also  a  well-known  physician  of  the  Court,  though  on  no 
foundation. 
The  following  lines  were  written  by  her  a  little  before  her  death: 

Unthinking,  idle,  wild,  and  young, 

I  laugh'd,  and  danc'd,  and  talk'd,  and  sung; 

And  proud  of  health,  of  freedom  vain, 

Dream'd  not  of  sorrow,  care,  or  pain; 

Concluding,  in  those  hours  of  glee, 

That  all  the  world  was  made  for  me. 

But  when  the  hour  of  trial  came, 

When  sickness  shook  this  trembling  frames 

When  folly's  gay  pursuits  were  o'er, 

And  I  could  dance  and  sing  no  more; 

It  then  occurr'd,  how  sad  'twould  be, 

Were  this  world  only  made  for  me. 

The  original  MS.  was  sold  not  long  since  at  a  public  auction. 

Sir  H.  Halford,  who  was  now  to  take  a  leading,  though  not  con- 
spicuous, part  in  the  transactions  that  followed,  was  one  of  those 
adroit  physicians  whom  a  court  training  forms,  and  of  which  there 
has  been  a  regular  succession  about  the  English  royal  family.  He 
had  the  confidence  of  the  Queen  and  her  family,  and  was  employed 
in  many  delicate  matters.  The  Queen  dared  not;  Perceval  and  the 
Chancellor  successively  undertook  the  disclosure  and  shrank  from 
it,  imposing  it  on  Sir  Henry.  "  Never,"  he  told  Miss  Wynne,  "  can 
he  forget  the  feelings  with  which,  having  requested  some  private 
conversation  with  the  King  after  the  other  physicians  were  gone, 
he  was  called  into  a  window,  with  the  light  falling  so  full  on  his 
countenance,  that  even  the  poor  nearly  blind  King  could  see  it.  He 
asked  whether  it  would  be  agreeable  to  him  to  hear  now  how  Prin- 
cess Amelia  had  disposed  of  her  little  property.  '  Certainly,  cer- 
tainly; I  want  to  know,' with  great  eagerness.  Sir  Henry  reminded 
him  at  the  beginning  of  his  illness  he  had  appointed  Fitzroy  to  ride 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  TV,  475 

with  her;  how  he  had  left  him  with  her  at  Weymouth;  how  it  was 
natural  and  proper  that  she  should  leave  him  some  tokens  for  these 
services;  that  excepting  jewels  she  had  nothing  to  leave,  and  had 
bequeathed  them  all  to  him;  that  the  Prince  of  Wales,  thinking 
jewels  a  very  inappropriate  bequest  for  a  man,  had  given  Fitzroy  a 
pecuniary  conpensation  for  them  (his  family,  by-the-bye,  always 
said  it  was  very  inadequate),  and  had  distributed  slight  tokens  to 
all  the  attendants  and  friends  of  the  Princess,  giving  the  bulk  of 
the  jewels  to  Princess  Mary,  her  most  constant  and  kindest  of 
nurses.  Upon  this  the  poor  King  exclaimed,  '  Quite  right  and 
proper.'"* 

It  will  be  seen,  too,  how  adroitly  the  physician  contrived  to  steer 
his  course  between  the  Queen  and  Princes. 

During  the  last  years  of  the  poor  King's  decay  it  is  curious  to 
note  how  an  old  romance  had  been  called  up,  and  added  one  more 
to  his  other  delusions.  Some  fifty  years  before  there  had  walked  at 
his  coronation  a  lovely  young  creature,  just  married — the  fair  Lady 
Pembroke — who  seems  to  have  then  made  a  deep  impression  on  his 
heart.  This,  through  the  long  interval,  had  been  well-nigh  effaced, 
or  consigned  to  the  limbo  of  boyish  fancies,  until  his  recovery  from 
the  attack  of  derangement  in  1787,  when  his  family  were  surprised 
by  his  recurring  to  this  penchant.  The  lady  was  then  a  mature 
matron. 

Talking  with  Mrs.  Harcourt,  the  dissatisfied  Duke  of  Gloucester 
declared  that  "he  had  heard  of  a  wicked  plot  of  the  Prince  to  gain 
over  Lady  P and  govern  the  King  through  her,  thus  overset- 
ting the  Queen's  influence.  They  had  kept  it  out  of  their  papers, 
but  now  they  had  disposed  of  his  silence  a  few  squibs  had  ap- 
peared.! It  was  at  the  Windsor  Court  that  this  pencfiant  was 
manifested,  t 


♦  I  have  heard  it  stated,  too,  that  after  receiving  the  jewels  from  the  too- 
confiding  Fitzroy,  the  Prince  turned  his  back  on  him  at  the  next  levee. 

t  "Diary,"  p.  42. 

$Sir  G.  Elliot,  writing  to  his  wife,  said:  "That  the  Queen  seemed  uneasy, 
and  tried  to  prevent  it  as  often  as  she  could;  but  that  the  Queen  being  at  last 
engaged  with  somebody  in  conversation  the  King  slipped  away  from  her,  and 
got  to  the  other  end  of  the  room  where  Lady  Pembroke  was,  and  that  Lady 
Pembroke  seemed  distressed."  "  One  day,"  Sir  H.  Halford  told  Miss  Wynne, 
"  when  the  King  fancied  himself  surrounded  by  servants  only,  and  when  a 
medical  attendant  was  watching  unseen,  he  took  a  glass  of  wine  and  water 
and  drank  to  the  health  conjugis  mece  dilectissimcB  Elizabethce,  meaning  Lady 
Pembroke.    Here  was  a  delusion  clearly  established  and  noted  down  immedi- 


476  "^SE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV, 

There  is  a  strange  tragic  interest  in  the  introduction  of  the  physi- 
cian who  alone  seemed  to  have  possessed  the  art  of  restraining  tlie 
royal  patient.  The  Willises,  as  Dr.  John  Willis  told  Mr.  Julian 
Young  when  an  octogenarian,  had  excited  the  anger  of  the  Prince 
by  not  allowing  him  access  to  the  King,  and  also  that  of  the  Queen. 
When  this  new  attack  came  on,  the  royal  family  at  once  thought 
of  Willis,  and  the  Chancellor  came  to  him  to  say  it  was  necessary 
he  should  attend.  The  other  firmly  refused,  alleging  the  dislike 
with  which  he  was  regarded  at  Court.  On  which  he  was  surprised 
one  morning,  when  sitting  down  to  breakfast  in  his  house  at  Bol- 
ton, by  seeing  the  carriage  of  the  Regent  drive  up.  The  Prince 
entered,  put  on  his  most  seductive  and  gracious  manner,  talked  of 
everything  that  was  amusing,  and  invited  himself  to  breakfast. 
After  that  meal  was  over  he  came  to  business.  **  Putting  his  hand 
affectionately  on  my  knee,  he  said:  'Old  friend  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, I  have  risen  early  from  my  bed  that  I  may  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  saying  Peccam!  ....  The  truth  is,  I  have  long  felt  angry 
with  you,  and  I  will  tell  you  why.  The  last  time  the  King  was 
under  your  charge  I  was  staggered  by  seeing  a  board  with  these 
words  printed  in  large  characters:  "  No  one  to  pass  this  way  with- 
out permission  from  John  Willis,  M.D."  Knowing  the  objection 
the  Queen  had  to  my  seeing  my  father,  I  fancied  there  must  be 
some  understanding  between  her  Majesty  and  yourself  as  to  my 
exclusion.  The  Chancellor,  however,  has  explained  everything  to 
me.  He  assures  me  that  the  notice  was  never  intended  to  apply  to 
me  or  my  brother.'  And  he  then  added,  that  after  this  explanation 
he  hoped  they  would  be  friends.  Touched  by  such  condescen- 
sion," goes  on  the  doptor,  "  I  knelt  down,  kissed  his  hand,  and  at- 
tempted to  falter  forth  my  gratitude.  During  his  breakfast  the 
Prince  was  playful  and  jocose." 

The  result  was  that  the  doctor  proceeded  once  more  to  Windsor 
He  found  his  way  to  his  old  quarters,  where  the  King  was,  the  ser- 
vants looking  at  him  askance.     He  was  ascending  the  stairs  when  he 


ately:  the  use  of  Latin,  which  was  not  to  be  understood  by  those  whom  he 
supposed  only  to  hear  him,  affording  a  singular  proof  of  the  odd  cunning  of 
insanity.  A  few  days  after.  Sir  Henry  was  walking  with  him  on  the  terrace. 
He  began  talking  of  the  Lutheran  religion,  of  its  superiority  to  that  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  ended  with  growing  so  vehement,  that  he  really 
ranted  forth  its  praise  without  mentioning  that  which  Sir  Henry  believes  to 
have  been  the  real  motive  of  this  preference— the  left-handed  marriages 
allowed." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK  477 

heard  the  sound  of  singing  and  whistling,  and  presently  the  figure 
of  the  King  was  seen  arrayed  in  the  blue  coat,  star,  cocked  hat, 
and  top-boots,  so  familiar  from  pictures  all  over  the  kingdom.  He 
had  a  whip,  with  which  he  was  switching  his  boots  carelessly.  At 
the  sight  of  the  doctor  he  gave  a  piteous  shriek :  "  Oh !  John  Willis 
again!    God  help  me!"  and  fell  on  the  ground  in  a  fit. 

The  confusion  and  embarrassment  caused  by  the  King's  malady 
may  be  conceived,  and  each  party,  helped  by  the  experience  of 
twenty  years  before,  determined  to  take  every  advantage  that  was 
offered.  The  Queen  and  Court  had  begun  by  trying  to  conceal  the 
illness,  so  that  Lord  Grenville,  who  on  October  26th  met  the  poor 
King  riding,  heard  him  talking  so  loud  and  fast  as  to  be  remarked 
at  a  considerable  distance. 

The  Queen  knew  her  power  and  the  advantages  of  her  situation, 
and  determined  to  use  them.  With  her  son  in  her  own  camp  and 
bent  on  carrying  out  his  own  aims,  it  may  be  conceived  how  pain- 
ful was  the  state  of  things  at  Windsor.  The  position  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  attracted  all  eyes,  and,  indeed,  was  an  embarrassing  one. 
At  first,  recollecting  the  inconvenience  and  ill-success  of  the  course 
he  had  before  pursued,  he  had  determined  on  the  rather  selfish  one 
of  remaining  passive.  When,  on  November  1st,  the  Chancellor 
came  to  condole  with  him  on  the  state  of  things,  the  Prince  said 
coldly:  "  He  had  only  to  lament  it — it  was  for  the  King's  servants 
to  act."  And  the  Duke  of  York  reported  to  Mr.  Perceval  that  his 
brother  had  told  him,  ' '  he  intended  to  be  very  moderate  in  all  his 
proceedings;"  while  Lord  Bulkely  later  on  had  heard  that  he  was 
"  very  secret,  guarded,  and  boutonne."  Such  behavior  offended  his 
" friends, "  w^ho  complained  that  "his  conduct  was  not  such  as 
would  benefit  his  interest.  It  professes  not  to  interfere,  and  at  the 
same  time  expresses  a  wish  and  hope  that  his  friends  will  support 
his  object.  No  object  can  be  supported  unless  it  is  avowed."  Still 
he  had  expressly  given  authority  for  saying  that  "he  abhorred  the 
present  men. " 

It  would  appear,  however,  that  this  "game"  failed,  and  that 
the  Queen  and  Mr.  Perceval  were  not  to  be  won.  They  had 
determined  to  follow  the  course  of  1789,  and  had  no  idea  of  leaving 
the  Prince  unfettered,  more  particularly  as  they  now  knew  or  sus- 
pected that  his  feelings  to  the  more  respectable  wing  of  the  Liberals 
had  cooled.  There  were  great  delays  however  before  he  could  be 
allowed  to  see  their  hand,  for  Parliament  met  on  November  1st,  and 
the  debate  was  put  off  by  successive  adjournments  until  December 


478  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

12th;  during  wkich  interval  it  was  announced  that  all  was  going  on 
well  "in  that  quarter,  viz.  the  Prince's  side,  but  that  the  cabal 
was  rising  rapidly,  and  was  now  become  a  scene  of  violent  intrigue ;" 
while  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  went  about  praising  the  Prince  for 
his  "prudent  and  temperate  conduct,"  adding  that  he  had  seen 
none  of  the  Opposition,  that  he  had  no  objection  to  the  present 
ministry,  and  insinuating  very  strongly  that  his  behavior  in  case  of 
a  regency  would  depend  on  theirs  towards  the  Prince — that  he 
should  expect  to  be  treated  like  a  gentleman,  and  not  like  a  ruflSan. 
In  addition,  a  correspondent  of  Lord  Auckland's  was  of  opinion 
that  our  present  rulers  were  sagacious,  and  he  forecasted  that  they 
should  see  Sheridan  and  Perceval  "hand  in  glove."  Lord  Moira, 
who  talked  unguardedly  in  the  first  week  of  November,  declared 
that  the  Prince  did  not  mean  to  remove  the  present  ministry,  but 
"  merely  to  introduce  a  friend  into  the  Cabinet."* 

All  these  remarkable  confessions  showed  pretty  convincingly  what 
the  early  intentions  of  the  Prince  were,  and  how  they  were  antici- 
pated. But  now,  on  the  19th  of  December,  he  received  a  disagree- 
able surprise  in  the  shape  of  a  communication  from  the  minister, 
which  showed  him  that  his  moderate  behavior  had  been  in  vain. 
He  learned  that  he  was  to  be  tied  and  fettered  by  restrictions, 
almost  the  same  as  those  which  had  caused  him  so  much  annoy- 
ance before. 

The  Prince  did  not  throw  away  a  single  chance,  and  the 
Government  complained  of  his  open  canvassing.  The  Duke  of 
Cumberland  assured  one  lord  that  it  would  be  highly  agreeable  to 
the  King  if  he  voted  against  the  restrictions.  The  other  replied 
that  that  seemed  strange,  as  the  first  act  of  the  King,  after  his 
recovery  in  1789,  was  to  thank  him  heartily  for  the  way  in  which 
he  had  defended  his  interests,  f 

The  restrictions  were  these:  1.  From  making  peers.  2.  Granting 
offices  in  reversion  or  pensions.  3.  The  King's  property  to  lie  in 
trustees.  4.  The  care  of  the  King  to  be  entrusted  to  the  Queen  and 
a  Council.     To  this  he  replied: 

THE  PRINCE  OF   W1.LE8  TO  MB.   PERCEVAL. 

•'  Carlton  House,  Wednesday  Evening,  December  19, 1810. 
"The  Prince  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  Mr.  Perceval's  detailed 
statement  of  those  measures  which,  Mr.  Perceval  informs  him,  his 

*  E.  P.  Ward, "  Diary,"  L  299.  t  Ibid.  806. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  479 

Majesty's  confidential  servants  have  decided  to  submit  to  the  Lords 
and  Commons  now  assembled,  as  the  means  of  providing  for  the 
exercise  of  the  royal  authority,  should  the  King's  indisposition 
unhappily  be  protracted. 

"The  Prince,  though  fully  sensible  of  the  attention  of  this  early 
communication,  cannot  but  in  some  degree  feel  embarrassed  by  it, 
inasmuch  as  it  rests  not  with  him  to  judge,  nor  does  he  deem  him- 
self entitled  to  assume,  how  far  the  wisdom  of  the  two  Houses  of 
Parliament  may  think  it  advisable  for  the  public  welfare  to  adopt 
the  plan  communicated  by  Mr.  Perceval.  Were  it  not  for  this  dif- 
ficulty, the  Prince  would  refer  Mr.  Perceval  to  the  Prince's  answer 
to  Mr.  Pitt's  letter  on  the  30th  of  December,  1788,  that  letter  con- 
taining the  outlines  of  the  plan  intended  then  to  be  acted  upon  by 
his  Majesty's  confidential  servants.  But  the  Prince  thinks  it  essen- 
tial to  observe  that  that  communication  was  not  made  by  Mr.  Pitt 
till  after  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  had  come  to  certain  resolu- 
tions as  the  groundwork  of  that  plan.  That  answer  remains  on 
record,  and  as  the  sentiments  contained  in  it  were  founded  on  a 
solemn  contemplation  of  the  principles  of  the  British  Constitution, 
as  well  as  an  earnest  desire  to  be  able  conscientiously  to  discharge 
the  functions  of  government  in  behalf  of  his  beloved  and  revered 
father  and  sovereign,  in  such  a  manner  as  might  best  satisfy  his 
Majesty's  well-known  and  constant  anxiety  for  the  advantage  and 
honor  of  his  people,  the  Prince  has  only  to  declare  that  these  senti- 
ments admit  of  no  change. 

"  The  Prince  cannot  conclude  without  expressing  his  deep  aflSic- 
tion  at  the  melancholy  event  which  has  rendered  his  communica- 
tion from  Mr.  Perceval  necessary,  and  without  declaring  that  it 
will  be  the  happiest  moment  of  the  Prince's  life  to  be  enabled,  by 
the  restoration  of  his  Majesty's  health,  instantly  to  deposit  at  his 
feet  those  powers  (and  he  trusts  unimpaired)  which  the  Constitution 
has  pronounced  to  be  inseparable  from  the  exercise  of  the  royal 
authority." 

On  the  same  day  the  following  was  drawn  up: 

"  Carlton  House,  Wednesday  Night,  12  o'clock, 

, ,  _, .  "  December  19, 1810. 

"  Sir, 

"The  Prince  of  "Wales  having  assembled  the  whole  of  the 

male  branches  of  the  royal  family,  and  having  communicated  to 

us  the  plan,  intended  to  be  proposed  by  his  Majesty's  confidential 


480  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

servants  to  the  Lords  and  Commons,  for  the  establishment  of  a  re- 
stricted Regency,  should  the  continuance  of  his  Majesty's  ever-to- 
be-deplored  illness  render  it  necessary,  we  feel  it  a  duty  we  owe  to 
his  Majesty,  to  our  country,  and  to  ourselves,  to  enter  our  solemn 
protest  against  measures  that  we  consider  as  perfectly  unconstitu- 
tional, as  they  are  contrary  to,  and  subversive  of,  the  principles 
which  seated  our  family  upon  the  throne  of  these  realms. 
"Frederick,  William, 

"Edward,  Ernest, 

"Augustus  Frederick,  Adolpiius  Frederick, 

' '  William  Frederick.  " 

On  the  following  day  the  House  met  and  the  three  resolutions  were 
debated,  namely,  the  incapacity  of  the  King,  the  right  of  the  House 
to  supply  for  it,  and  the  mode  of  giving  the  royal  assent.  The  last 
resolution  constituted  "  the  Phantom, "  namely,  the  investing  the 
Great  Seal  with  a  kingly  magic. 

On  January  1  the  restrictions  were  debated,  and  to  the  great 
delight  of  the  Opposition ;  for  a  proposition  that  there  should  be 
no  restrictions  was  defeated  by  only  twenty-four  votes.  This  defeat 
became  a  victory  when  it  was  proposed  to  entrust  the  entire  house- 
hold to  the  Queen,  the  Opposition  being  willing  only  to  concede  to 
her  the  direction  of  such  officials  as  were  necessary  "for  the  care 
of  the  King's  person."  In  the  House  of  Lords  ministers  sustained 
defeats.  It  was  agreed  that  there  was  a  certain  stupidity  and  want 
of  sense  in  their  tactics,  for  when  they  found  the  Prince  in  so  fa- 
vorable a  mood  they  might  have  been  expected  to  conciliate  him. 
This  view  is  also  supported  by  what  he  allowed  to  escape  him  to 
Lord  Wellesley,  now  one  of  his  ardent  friends,  who  waited  on  him  to 
explain  that  he  had  voted  for  the  restrictions  from  principle.  He 
became  angry,  "and  expressed  his  concern  and  surprise  that  any 
friend  of  his  could  suppose  he  took  his  proffered  restrictions  well, 
but  he  could  not  help  feeling,  then,  a  personal  want  of  confidence 
in  himself  which  he  did  not  deserve,  and  therefore  took  it  person- 
ally ill  of  the  ministry;  that  it  would  liave  been  the  pride  of  liis 
heart  if  the  King  recovered  to  restore  things  to  him  as  nmch  as 
possible  in  the  same  state  as  he  found  them,  without  being 
restricted  to  do  so,  but  that  the  ministers  had  now  by  their  conduct 
rendered  that  impossible."  The  date  of  this  utterance  was  early  in 
January.  Considering  that  Lord  Wellesley  was  then  one  of  the 
ministry  it  is  scarcely  surprising  that  this  visit  caused  some  talk. 


fEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  481 

The  Prince  is  said  to  have  dismissed  him  abruptly  with  the  remark 
that  he  had  business  and  would  not  keep  him  from  his  dinner.* 

Accordingly,  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  the  Prince  thrown 
again  into  relation  with  his  old  friends  of  the  Opposition  and  in 
earnest  communication  with  the  two  leaders,  "Lords  G.  and  G.," 
as  they  were  often  spoken  of  in  letters  of  the  time — Grey  and 
Greuville — solemn  unbending  figures  that  would  have  appeared 
uncongenial  to  the  debonair  Prince,  who  desired  not  to  be  teased, 
and  above  all  not  to  be  solemnly  lectured.  Even  to  the  general 
reader  these  two  nobles  always  appear  to  come  on  the  scene  in  peda- 
goguish  fashion,  with  long  and  solemn  letters,  arriving  from 
"Dropmore"  and  "  Ho  wick,"  returning  home  to  those  residences 
after  many  a  bootless  errand. 

Lord  Grey,  who  had  left  town  at  the  close  of  the  debates,  now 
returned.  On  his  road  he  had  been  met  by  letters  informing  him 
that  "the  Prince  had  at  last  sent  for  Lord  Grenville,  and  had  also 
required  his  presence."  f     Both  anticipated  being  called  to  power. 

The  Prince  could  not  have  been  in  the  best  of  humors  with  Lord 
Grenville,  who  had  just  voted  for  one  of  the  restrictions,  after 
first  voting  against  them,  on  some  refinement.  His  position  was 
embarrassing,  as  on  the  last  Regency  question  he  had  taken  a  dif- 
ferent course.  But  they  were  little  prepared  for  the  rebuff  they 
were  to  receive  almost  at  starting.  That  Sheridan  had  been  the  real 
moving  influence  through  all  these  transactions  was  now  to  be 
shown  in  rather  a  mortifying  way.  Lord  Grey  himself  tells  the 
story  of  this  first  shipwreck,  and  the  bitterness  of  his  tone  will  be 
noted. 

Writing  to  Lady  Grey,  on  January  13th,  he  says:  "I  told  you 
that  Sheridan  was  acting  in  his  usual  spirit  of  mischief.  The 
Prince  had  referred  it  to  Lord  Grenville  and  me  to  draw  up  an 
answer  to  the  two  Houses.  We  had  prepared  one  accordingly, 
with  some  difficulty  in  reconciling  our  different  opinions  on  the 
subject  of  restrictions.  Lord  Grenville,  however,  gave  way  as 
much  as  I  thought  necessary,  and  the  answer,  though  it  certainly 
needed  correction,  would,  I  think,  with  such  corrections  as  might 
easily  have  been  made,  have  done  very  well.  I  read  it  to  the 
Prince  on  Thursday  evening,  saying  I  was  at  Holland's,  ready  to 
receive  his  commands  if  he  wished  for  any  alterations.  Instead  of 
taking  this  course  he  set  to  work  with  Sheridan  and  Adam  after 


*  "  Life  of  Lord  Grey,"  p.  265.  t  Ward,  "  Diary,"  i.  323. 

11 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

dinner  to  examine  it;  and  the  former,  after  pulling  it  to  pieces, 
paragraph  by  paragraph,  finally  persuaded  the  Prince  to  reject  it, 
and  to  substitute  one  of  his  own.  They  came  to  me  with  the  infor- 
mation of  this  result  at  Holland's  between  eleven  and  twelvC;  and 
desired  me  to  read  the  answer  that  had  been  agreed  upon.  I  did 
so,  saying  that  I  should  do  nothing  more;  that  as  the  Prince  had 
rejected  the  answer  which  I  had  framed  with  Lord  Grenville,  I 
could  not  concur  in  framing  another,  and  that  my  opinion  of  that 
proposed  was,  that  it  was,  in  its  whole  tenor  and  character,  utterly 
objectionable.  I  added  that  the  Prince  had  certainl}-  a  right  to 
adopt  the  answer  which  he  approved  most  of,  but  that  it  must  be 
understood  that  it  was  adopted  without  the  concurrence  of  Lord 
Grenville  and  myself,  and  that  we  could  not  be  responsible  for  it. 
Sheridan  attempted  some  discussion,  which  I  declined,  seeing  that 
he  was  pursuing  it  in  a  way  which  I  thought  extremely  improper, 
and  feeling  that  I  could  not  very  well  command  m}^  temper.  I 
therefore,  after  expressing  these  opinions,  remained  very  silent, 
and  showed  what  I  hear  he  has  represented^^with  less  departure 
from  the  truth  than  usual,  a  good  deal  of  haughtiness  and  ill-humor. 
I  afterwards  remonstrated  privately  with  Adam  on  the  impropriety 
of  having  the  advice  which  Lord  Grenville  and  I  were  called  upon 
to  give  subjected  in  this  manner  to  the  examination  of  an  inferior 
Council,  and  stated  that  if  such  was  to  be  the  practice,  I  must  de- 
cline giving  any  in  future.  ...  I  heard  from  Lauderdale  tliat 
Sheridan  afterwards  resumed  the  discussion  with  Lord  Holland, 
who  expressed  as  strong  an  opinion  upon  the  impropriety  of  the 
whole  proceeding  as  possible.  Yesterday  morning  I  had  a  note 
from  Adam,  saying  that  he  had  been  kept  up  till  half-past  three  at 
Carlton  House,  and  enclosing  the  answer  which  had  been  finally 
agreed  upon.  He  called  soon  after,  and  then  we  went  to  Camel- 
ford  House,  from  wiiich  place  Lord  Grenville  and  I  sent  a  short 
note  to  the  Prince.*  We  afterwards  sent  a  long  written  repre- 
sentation on  the  treatment  that  we  had  received,  where  the  matter 
now  rests, 

"In  the  course  of  the  transaction  Sheridan's  lying  and  baseness 

*  "  Lord  Grey  and  Lord  Grenville  desire  Mr.  Adam  to  express  on  their  part 
their  dutiful  acknowledgments  to  the  Prince  for  the  gracious  communication 
of  the  answer  which  his  Royal  Highness  intends  making  to  the  deputation 
from  the  two  Houses  this  day.  On  the  tenour  of  that  answer  it  would  be  pre- 
sumptuous in  them  to  offer  any  opinion  in  a  caso  where  their  advice  is  not 
required  by  his  royal  highness.    Janua^^■  1 1 .  1  ^^11 . " 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  483 

have  been  beyond  all  description.  Adam,  on  the  contrary,  has 
behaved  as  well  as  possible.  Upon  the  whole  I  think  it  lucky  that 
the  thing  has  occurred,  as  it  has  given  us  in  the  outset  an  opportu- 
nity of  meeting  and  repelling  a  danger  to  which  we  should  have 
been  continually  liable.  The  answer  you  will  see  in  the  papers, 
with  its  puling  phrases  of  'reverential  delicacy,'  etc.,  in  the  style 
of  a  vulgar  novel,  but  it  is  infinitely  less  objectionable,  bad  as  it 
still  is,  than  in  the  w^ay  in  which  it  first  appeared." 

The  stand  thus  taken  by  Lord  Grey  and  Lord  Grenville  against 
the  interference  of  secret  advisers  seems  to  have  greatly  alarmed 
the  Prince  for  the  moment,  and  he  called  personally  on  Lord  Hol- 
land the  next  day,  and  seemed,  as  Lord  Holland  wrote  to  Lord 
Grenville,  "anxious  to  do  away  any  unpleasant  feelings  on  the 
subject  of  the  answer  to  the  resolution  of  the  two  Houses;  and 
said  he  thought  it  best  to  have  no  more  said  on  the  subject.  At 
the  same  time  he  observed,  and  authorized  me  and  Adam  to  repeat 
to  Lord  Grey  and  you,  that  the  misapprehension  had  arisen  from 
the  different  views  which  he  and  you  had  taken  of  this  stage  of  the 
proceeding:  in  which,  according  to  his  notions,  you  were  not  yet 
in  a  situation  when  his  advisers  would  become  strictly  and  consti- 
tutionally responsible,  but  which  you  had  considered  as  placing 
you  in  that  situation." 

Of  this  explanation  Lord  Grey  said,  that  it  was  "  in  fact  acknowl- 
edging that  he  had  no  answer  to  give,  and  was,  as  anything  would 
have  been,  short  of  defending  the  practice,  sufficient  for  our  satis- 
faction. What  has  happened  will  not,  therefore,  I  think,  be  with- 
out its  advantages." 

There  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  two  lords  had  been  treated  un- 
ceremoniously, and  in  their  complaint  they  reminded  the  Regent 
that  he  had  distinctly  allotted  to  them  the  duty  of  preparing  his 
answer,  a  task  signifying  they  were  his  advisers,  and  spoke  of  his 
concern  that  their  wish  should  have  been  submitted  to  the  judgment 
of  another  person,  by  whose  advice  he  was  finally  guided.  Lord 
Lauderdale  happened  to  be  present  wiien  Sheridan  was  at  his  task, 
and  heard  Lord  Holland  remonstrate  earnestly,  saying  that  the  two 
lords  ought  to  have  been  sent  for  if  objection  was  taken  to  their 
work.  "  Sheridan  muttered  something  about  his  thmking  that  the 
Prince  was  not  yet  in  a  situation  to  have  a  responsible  adviser, 
which  was  flatly  contradicted."*    And  indeed  there  was  so  much 


*  General  Grey,  "Memoir,''  pp.  266.  439. 


484  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

dissatisfaction,  that  Sheridan  on  January  the  15th  addresssd  a  vin- 
dication of  himself  to  Lord  Holland,  which,  if  we  can  accept  it, 
shows  that  the  confusion  arose  from  the  vacillation  of  the  Prince. 
"On  Sunday  the  7th,  he  says,  he  mentioned  at  Carlton  House  that 
the  Prince  ought  to  have  his  answer  ready,  and  was  told  by  Adam 
or  Lord  Moira,  two  of* the  'intimate  counsellors,'  that  the  Prince 
had  directed  Lord  Moira  to  prepare  one.  It  then  occurred  to  him 
that  he  would  attempt  a  sketch  of  one,  which  on  the  Wednesday 
he  read  to  the  Prince.  As  it  was  rather  artfully  composed  '  of  ex- 
pressions and  sentiments  which  had  fallen  from  the  Prince  himself 
in  different  conversations,' it  naturally  pleased.  The  Prince  care- 
lessly said  that  Lord  Grenville  had  undertaken  'a  sketch,' as  had 
also  Lord  Moira.  On  his  dining  at  Carlton  House  on  Thursday  the 
paper  prepared  by  the  two  lords  was  shown  to  him.  The  Prince, 
however,  who  had  read  the  noble  lords'  paper,  proceeded  to  state 
how  strongly  he  objected  to  almost  every  part  of  it.  The  draft 
delivered  by  Adam  he  took  a  copy  of  himself,  as  Mr.  Adam  read  it, 
affixing  shortly,  but  warmly,  his  comments  to  each  x^aragraph. 
Finding  his  royal  highness's  objections  to  tUe  whole  radical  and 
insuperable,  and  seeing  no  means  myself  by  which  the  noble  lords 
could  change  their  draft,  so  as  to  meet  the  Prince's  ideas,  I  ventured 
to  propose,  as  the  only  expedient  of  which  the  time  allowed,  that 
both  the  papers  should  be  laid  aside,  and  that  a  very  short  answer 
indeed,  keeping  clear  of  all  topics  liable  to  disagreement,  should  be 
immediately  sketched  out  and  be  submitted  that  night  to  the  judg- 
ment of  Lord  Grey  and  Lord  Grenville.  The  lateness  of  the  hour 
prevented  any  but  very  hasty  discussion,  and  Adam  and  myself 
proceeded,  by  his  royal  highness's  orders,  to  your  liouse  to  relate 
what  had  passed  to  Lord  Grey.  Before  we  left  Carlton  House,  it 
was  agreed  between  Adam  and  myself  that  we  were  not  to  com- 
municate to  the  noble  lords  the  marginal  comments  of  the  Prince, 
and  we  determined  to  withhold  them.  But  at  the  meeting  with 
Lord  Grey,  at  your  house,  he  appeared  to  me,  erroneously  perhaps, 
to  decline  considermg  the  objections  as  coming  from  the  Prince, 
but  as  originating  in  my  suggestions.  Upon  this,  I  certainly  called 
on  Adam  to  produce  the  Prince's  copy,  with  his  notes,  in  his  royal 
highness's  own  handwriting.  Afterwards,  finding  mj'self  consider- 
ably hurt  at  an  expression  of  Lord  Grey's,  which  could  only  be 
pointed  at  me,  and  which  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  whole  of 
the  paper,  which  he  assumed  me  to  be  responsible  for,  was  'drawn 
up  in  an  invidious  spirit,'  I  certainly  did,  with  more  warmth  than 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  485 

was  perhaps  discreet,  comment  on  the  paper  proposed  to  be  substi- 
tuted; and  there  ended,  with  no  good  effect,  our  interview.  Adam 
and  I  saw  the  Prince  again  that  night,  when  his  royal  highness  was 
graciously  pleased  to  meet  our  joint  and  earnest  request,  by  strik- 
ing out  from  the  draft  of  the  answer,  to  which  he  still  resolved  to 
adhere,  every  passage  which  we  conceived  to  be  most  liable  to  ob- 
jection on  the  part  of  Lord  Grey  and  Lord  Grenville. 

' '  On  the  next  morning,  Friday — a  short  time  before  he  was  to 
receive  the  address — when  Adam  returned  from  the  noble  lords, 
with  their  expressed  disclaimer  of  the  preferred  answer  altered  as 
it  was,  his  royal  highness  still  persevered  to  eradicate  every  remain- 
ing word  which  he  thought  might  yet  appear  exceptionable  to  them, 
and  made  further  alterations,  although  the  fair  copy  of  the  paper 
had  been  made  out. 

"Thus  the  answer,  nearly  reduced  to  the  expression  of  the 
Prince's  own  suggestions,  and  without  an  opportunity  of  further 
meeting  the  wishes  of  the  noble  lords,  was  delivered  by  his  royal 
highness." 

More  artfully  directed  was  Sheridan's  ridicule,  and  some  well- 
known  lines  were  admirably  conceived  to  disgust  the  Prince  with 
these  advisers: 


Then,  if  he'll  help  us  to  pull  down 
His  father's  dignity  and  crown, 
We'll  make  him,  in  some  time  to  come, 
The  greatest  prince  in  Christendom. 


The  matter,  however,  was  smoothed  over,  though  it  was  hard  to 
put  up  with  such  treatment,  which  was  really  significant  of  worse, 
in  case  pow^er  w^ere  to  come  to  the  Prince.  Mr,  Moore  seems  to 
think  that  this  discussion  led  at  once  to  the  retention  of  the  present 
ministers.  To  this  it  may  have  contributed,  but  indirectly.  Now 
that  the  matter  was  made  up,  or  "patched  up,"  the  Prince  had 
engaged  them  to  prepare  arrangements  for  the  new  government ; 
but,  as  we  look  closer  into  the  transaction,  it  is  impossible  not  to 
see  how^  imperfect  was  w^hat  they  proposed  to  substitute  for  the  ex- 
isting system.  In  the  first  place  the  two  lords  were  not  agreed  in 
their  principles — Lord  Grenville  being  for  deriving  some  assistance 
from  his  opponents;  Lord  Grey  thinking  he  could  stand  alone. 
Things  had,  indeed,  nearly  arrived  at  such  a  pass  that  the  difficul- 
ties raised,  as  Lord  Grey's  son  states,  "  more  than  once  threatened 


486  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

to  compel  them  to  declare  their  inability  to  form  a  Government."* 
Nay,  on  the  night  of  the  16th  Lord  Grey  received  a  sort  of  mani- 
festo from  Lord  Grenville,  reaching  to  fifteen  pages — one  of  those 
formidable  documents  of  which  the  Prince  stood  in  awe.  Lord 
Grey  owns  that,  had  he  sent  an  answer,  *'  it  might  have  endangered 
our  connection,  but  in  the  course  of  the  day  they  took  fright,  de- 
sired to  withdraw  the  paper,  and  everything  seems  now  more  likely 
to  go  on  well ;  but  still  there  are  difficulties.  In  the  midst  of  all 
this  turmoil  I  begin  to  feel  that  I  am  not,  and  ought  not  to  be, 
afraid  of  them.'*  In  so  happy  and  conciliatory  a  tone  was  this 
auspicious  venture  inaugurated.  Add  to  this  Sheridan  and  his 
friends  plotting  against  the  two  lords — who  will  wonder  that  the 
Prince  later  declined  to  venture  to  sea  in  a  craft  so  ill-formed? 

On  the  31st  they  were  enabled  to  return  answers  to  his  questions, 
which  were  still  not  calculated  to  reassure  him ;  and  it  will  be  noted 
the  brusque  uncompromising  tone  these  awkward  negotiations  as- 
sumed. If  he  (the  Prince)  "was  satisfied  that  the  duties  on  which 
he  was  about  to  enter  must,  in  all  human  probability,  be  of  such 
duration  as  to  impose  on  his  royal  highness  an  absolute  necessity 
of  exercising  his  own  judgment  on  the  policy  and  measures  of  the 
Government  which  he  was  called  to  administer;"  in  that  case,  the 
opinion  they  had  always  expressed  of  the  system  pursued  during 
the  last  four  years,  founded,  as  it  was,  "  on  a  full  consideration  of 
the  state  and  interests  of  the  country, "  would  lead  them  to  advise 
"an  immediate  and  total  change  of  public  councils.  Nor,"  they 
added,  "  would  they  decline  to  take  upon  themselves  all  the  respon- 
sibility resulting  from  this  opinion,  if,  upon  full  consideration,  his 
royal  highness  should  deem  it  expedient  to  carry  this,  their  hum- 
ble advice,  into  execution."  In  other  words,  a  new  and  inglorious 
policy  as  regards  the  war  was  to  be  set  on  foot. 

The  day  for  reading  this  debated  answer  was  now  at  hand;  yet 
it  was  not  ready. 

In  the  secret  councils  of  that  eventful  day  and  night,  an  amusing 
scene  was  taking  place.  Mr.  Michael  Angelo  Taylor,  a  familiar 
figure  in  their  circle,  was  sent  for  at  about  three  o'clock  on  the 
morning  the  address  was  to  be  presented.  He  found  the  Prince, 
Sheridan,  and  Mr.  Adam  all  in  consultation.  The  Prince  showed 
him  a  rough  draft  of  the  address,  asking  him  to  make  two  fair 
copies,  adding,  in  his  own  style:  "Those  damned  fellows  will  be 

♦  "  Life  of  Lord  Grey,"  p.  87J. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOUQE  IV.  487 

here  in  the  morning,"  On  Taylor's  udvice  the  Prince  went  to  bed, 
Avhile  lie  himself  proceeded  with  the  task  set  to  him.  All  the  time 
Sheridan  and  Adam  walked  up  and  down,  the  latter  occasionally 
stooping  to  whisper  the  scribe,  ''The  damnedest  rascal  existing!" 
referring  to  his  compannion,  while  Sheridan  would  occasionally 
mutter,  "Damn  them  all!"  Taylor  went  home  and  repaired  be- 
times to  Carlton  House,  where  he  found  the  Prince  in  bed,  but  all 
the  deputed  members  waiting  below.  "Are  those  damned  fellows 
come?"  his  highness  asked.  "Yes,  sir."  After  a  little  while  came 
the  ejaculation:  "Damn  them  all!"  Mr.  Taylor  was  then  directed 
to  make  fresh  copies,  as  further  alterations  had  been  made.*  This 
amusing  scene  shows  what  embarrassment  reigned  at  Carlton  House 
councils.f 

*  Taylor  thus  related  it  to  Mr.  Moore,  who  reprints  it  in  his  "  Diary." 

t  "  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, 

"  I  receive  the  communication  which  the  two  Houses  have  directed  you 
to  make  to  me,  of  their  joint  resolutions  on  the  subject  of  providing  '  for  the 
exercise  of  the  royal  authority  during  his  Majesty's  illness,'  with  those  senti- 
ments of  regard  which  I  must  ever  entertain  for  the  united  desires  of  the  two 
Houses. 

"  With  the  same  sentiments  I  receive  the  expressed  '  hopes  of  the  Lords  and 
Commons,  that,  from  my  regard  for  the  interests  of  his  Majesty  and  the 
nation,  I  should  be  ready  to  undertake  the  weighty  and  important  trust  pro- 
posed to  be  involved  in  me,'  imder  the  restrictions  and  limitations  stated  in 
those  resolutions. 

"  Conscious  that  every  feeling  of  my  heart  would  have  prompted  me,  from 
dutiful  affection  to  my  beloved  father  and  sovereign,  to  have  shown  all  the 
reverential  delicacy  towards  him  inculcated  in  those  resolutions,  I  cannot 
refrain  from  expressing  my  regret  that  I  should  not  have  been  allowed  the 
opportunity  of  manifesting  to  his  aflBicted  and  loyal  subjects  that  such  would 
have  been  my  conduct. 

"Deeply  impressed,  however,  with  the  necessity  of  tranquillizing  the  public 
mind,  and  determined  to  submit  to  every  personal  sacrifice  consistent  with 
the  regard  I  owe  to  the  security  of  my  father's  crown,  and  to  the  equal  regard 
I  owe  to  the  welfare  of  his  people,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  accept  the  oflftce  and 
situation  proposed  to  me,  restricted  as  they  are,  still  retaining  every  opinion 
expressed  by  me  upon  a  former  and  similar  distressing  occasion. 

"  In  undertaking  the  trust  proposed  to  me,  I  am  well  aware  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  situation  in  which  I  shall  be  placed;  but  I  shall  rely  witji  confidence 
upon  the  constitutional  advice  of  an  enlightened  Parliament,  and  the  zealous 
support  of  a  generous  and  loyal  people.  I  will  use  all  the  means  left  to  me  to 
merit  both. 

"  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, 

"  You  will  communicate  this  my  answer  to  the  two  Houses,  accompanied 
by  my  most  fervent  wishes  and  prayers,  that  the  Divine  will  may  extricate 
us  and  the  nation  from  the  grievous  embarrassments  of  ovir  present  condi- 
tion, by  the  speedy  restoration  of  his  Majesty's  health," 


488  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

After  the  address  was  presented  at  Carlton  House,  it  was  noticed 
tliat  there  was  an  attempt  at  state,  the  room  being  full  of  gentle- 
men  and  attendants,  all  the  Princes  present;  the  Prince  of  Wales 
in  his  chair,  flanked  on  one  side  by  his  Chancellors  (Mr.  Adam  and 
Lord  Moira),  on  the  other  by  Sheridan  and  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land— his  equerries  grouped  behind.  The  Prince  assumed  a  cold 
ceremonious  manner,  and  as  he  read  marked  all  the  significant 
portions  with  "very  peculiar  emphasis."  Turning  now  to  Parlia- 
ment,  we  find  the  answer  to  the  address  was  considered  an  indif- 
ferent one.  It  amused  the  men  in  office  to  hear  it  abused  by  the 
distracted  Opposition.  Lord  Erskine  said  lo  Mr.  Ward  that  it  was 
indifferent,  and  Lord  Grey,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  asked  Lord 
Liverpool  what  he  thought  of  it.  "  Not  much  in  matter  or  com- 
position," was  the  answer.  "That,"  said  Lord  Grey,  with  an  air 
of  satisfaction,  "is  exactly  my  opinion."  It  was  easy  to  see  the 
jealousy  caused  by  the  preference  shown  to  Sheridan;  and  it  was 
reported  openly  at  Brookes's  that  "  they  were  all  at  sixes  and 
sevens."  There  was  indeed  complete  disagreement  among  the 
competitors,  one  great  bone  of  contention  being  Canning  and  his 
party.  The  coming  ministry  had  heard  and  persistently  refused  to 
take  office  with  Canning.  Such  was  the  happy  family  of  the  Op- 
position.* 

By  this  time  the  two  lords  had  advanced  in  their  work,  and  made 
it  astipulation  that  there  were  to  be  no  secret  advisers, f  and  that 
they  were  to  be  sole  ministers  and  advisers  from  that  time. 

On  January  21,  they  were  enabled  solemnly  to  announce  to  him 
"that  having  considered  the  means  of  forming  a  new  administra- 
tion, '  they  had  concerted  with  each  other  such  general  outlines  of 
the  arrangements  as  they  had  found  most  practicable  in  the  present 
divided  state  of  parties,  and  under  the  very  embarrassed  state  of 
public  affairs,'  and  that  they  were  prepared  to  enter,  whenever 
required  to  do  so,  into  the  details  of  these  arrangements. 

"  On  the  same  day  they  had  a  long  interview  with  the  Prince,  of 
which  Lord  Grey  wrote  that  'it  was  satisfactory  in  all  respects;' 
and  that,  though  they  did  not  '  get  the  length  of  talking  of  particu- 
lar arrangements,  all  the  preliminary  points  were  completely  agreed 
upon.  Lord  Grenville  and  I,' he  adds,  'understand  one  another 
80  well,  that,  with  respect  to  our  views,  everything  will  go  on 


♦Ward,  i.  328.  tibid.  1.  335;  Rose.  U.  47, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  489 

smoothly ;  but  I  foresee  other  difficulties,  particularly  a  long  list 
from  Carlton  House,  which  may  produce  great  embarrassment.' " 

With  a  characteristic  want  of  tact  they  went  about  proclaiming 
what  conditions  they  had  imposed  on  him.  But  almost  at  once 
they  found  themselves  embarrassed  by  engagements  he  had  been 
making.  He  had  pledged  himself  to  Erskine  for  the  Chancellor- 
ship— to  Lord  St.  Vincent  for  the  Admiralty— to  Sheridan  for  the 
Irish  Secretaryship.  Of  this  they  complained  loudly.  "The 
Prince,"  Lord  Grey  writes  (22nd  January),  "is  making  an,  effort 
for  Sheridan  to  go  to  Ireland  as  Secretary.  To  this  it  is  impossible 
that  we  should  agree."  "I  foresee,"  he  repeats,  on  the  29th  Janu- 
ary, "so  many  difficulties  with  the  Prince  when  we  come  to  more 
close  conference  about  arrangements,  that  I  cannot  see  how  they 
are  to  be  got  over.  Sheridan  they  still  fight  for.  If  it  were  a 
mere  question  of  giving  him  a  place,  however  high,  with  large 
emoluments,  nobody  would  be  more  ready  to  consent  to  it  than  I 
should  be.  But  I  really  cannot  make  up  my  mind  to  sending  a  man 
with  a  lighted  torch  into  a  magazine  of  gunpowder.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  prevent  his  communicating  with  the  agitators  of  Ire- 
land; and  in  the  present  disposition  of  that  country,  of  which  we 
receive  daily  more  alarming  accounts,  who  could  look  at  the  possi- 
ble, or  rather  the  probable,  consequences  of  such  communications 
without  horror?  If  it  were  not  for  this,  it  certainly  would  be  most 
desirable  to  get  him  out  of  the  way;  but,  with  such  an  apprehension 
on  my  mind,  how  could  I  hope  for  sleep  or  peace?" 

For  the  disastrous  failure  the  Grenvilles  were  chiefly  responsible: 
as  Sheridan  told  Mr.  Creevy:  "They  were  not  the  operative,  but 
the  contributory,  cause  of  the  Prince's  conduct" — for  the  restric- 
tions were  certainly  carried  by  their  votes. 

A  zealous  and  active  member  of  the  party  gives  impartial  testi- 
mony as  to  the  rather  summary  style  in  which  the  Prince  was  dealt 
with.  The  Prince  (says  Mr.  G.  Bennett  in  his  interesting  MS.  diary) 
objected  to  particular  people,  but  they  were  all  minor  objections:  to 
my  mind  all  ought  to  have  been  yielded  to  him.  He  made  a  re- 
quest for  the  Mastership  of  the  Ordnance  for  Lord  Hutchinson, 
which  was  refused,  Lord  Roslyn  being  designed  for  it;  and  he 
objected  to  Tierney  being  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  Cal- 
craft  going  Secretary  to  Ireland.  The  principal  persons  were :  Lord 
Grenville,  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury;  Lord  Grey,  Foreign  Secre- 
tary; Ponsonby,  Home  Secretary;  Whitbread,  War  Secretary;  Lord 
Holland,  Admiralty;  Lord  Lansdowne,  Privy  Seal;  Lord  Roslyn, 

21* 


490  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Ordnance;  President  of  the  Council,  unknown;  Tierney,  Chancel- 
lor of  the  Exchequer;  Lord  xVuckland,  India  Board;  Lord  Lauder- 
dale, Scotch  Privy  Seal,  the  patronage  of  Scotland.  These  persons 
formed  the  Cabinet.  The  Seals  in  Commission,  Lord  Erskine, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Lords,  not  in  the  Cabinet ;  Lord  Moira,  to 
go  to  Ireland;  Lord  Manners,  to  continue  Chancellor;  Sir  J.  New- 
port, Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer;  Calcraft,  Secretary;  LordCarys- 
fort  and  Ponsonby,  Postmasters;  Lord  Temple,  Secretary  of  "War; 
Mr.  Fremantle,  to  be  Paymaster,  one  abolished.  The  Boards  were 
composed  of  bad  people.  The  best — as  Lords  Milton,  Althorp, 
Tavistock,  Messrs.  Ward  (who  was  offered  the  Paymastership)  and 
Lamb  (as  Under-Secretary) — refused  office.  Report  said  Sheridan 
refused  the  Treasurership  of  the  Navy,  and  the  Prince  demanded  it 
for  MacMahon,  which,  as  may  w^ell  be  imagined,  was  refused. 

This  was  considered  as  the  formation  of  the  new  Government, 
and  the  old  were  preparing  to  quit  their  places,  unexpectedly,  at 
least,  to  the  public.  It  is  difficult  indeed  to  withhold  sympathy 
from  this  minister,  much  harassed  and  baited  during  his  troubled 
course,  so  soon  to  find  a  bloody  termination.  From  the  Regent,  as 
well  as  from  his  ministers,  he  had  to  endure  many  humiliations. 

This  alone  would  show  the  difficulties  of  change.  No  wonder 
there  was  an  impression  abroad  of  uncertainty,  and  that  a  change 
after  all  might  not  take  place.  So  early  as  the  17th  of  January, 
"the  general  opinion  now  seems  to  be  that  we  are  not  to  go  out, 
the  King's  recovery  being  so  likely."*  And  one  sagacious  Mr. 
Brand,  talking  with  Mr.  Ward,  prognosticated  that  the  vigorous 
stand  made  by  Perceval  drew  many  admirers,  that  this  would  give 
him  extraordinary  influence,  as  the  head  of  an  Opposition  which 
must  give  great  trouble  to  the  new  Government.  "Probabl}'," 
added  Mr.  Brand,  laughing,  "the  Regent  will  keep  Perceval  three 
months  as  his  father's  minister,  and  then  fall  so  much  in  love  with 
him,  that  he  will  continue  him  as  his  own."f  But  the  Prince,  still 
unconscious  of  what  the  wiser  heads  foresaw,  and  resenting  the 
mortification  he  was  suffering,  declared  in  his  coarse  way  to  Lord 
Grey:  "  By  G — !  they  shall  not  remain  an  hour." 

It  was  now  January  30th,  and  though  ministers  continued  to 
think  themselves  virtually  "  out  " — some  were  even  packing  up  and 
preparing  to  go  to  their  country  houses — there  was  an  element  in 
the  situation  which  had  not  been  duly  considered,  viz.  the  improve- 


♦  Ward,  "  Diary, "  I.  337.  t  Ibid.  »«J. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  491 

ment  in  the  King's  health.  This  was  of  a  marked  kind,  and  seems 
to  have  begun  about  the  23rd.  On  the  26tli  tlie  physicians  liad 
thought  it  desirable  that  he  should  see  and  converse  with  Mr.  Per- 
ceval, which  he  did  for  the  second  time  on  the  29th.  His  conversa- 
tion was  certainly  of  a  rational  kind,  and  ne  grasped  the  awkward 
and  painful  character  of  his  politiciil  situation,  asking  as  to  the 
particular  line  taken  by  every  indivklaal,  saying  he  supposed  the 
whole  of  the  Opposition  were  ranged  against  him.  On  being  told 
"  Yes,"  he  clapped  his  hands  and  said  with  great  emphasis,  "  I  am 
glad  of  that  !"  * 

On  the  31st,  Mr.  Sheridan  coming  out  of  Carlton  House  and 
meeting  Mr.  Ward,  gleefully  assured  him  that  the  new  Government 
was  all  settled,  but  it  was  their  own  fault  that  they  were  going. 

"  If  you  had  not  been  so  anxious  about  the  d d  precedent  of 

1789  you  might  have  remained  in  " — that  is,  if  they  had  not  irritated 
the  Prince  with  their  restrictions.  However,  he  added,  oddly 
enough,  that  he  did  not  know  they  were  going.  At  White's,  bets 
were  made  that  ministers  would  remain  in;  and  Lord  Temple  jocu- 
larly asked  one  of  them,  "Would  they  remain  till  they  were  killed, 
or  retire  gracefully  ?" 

But  during  these  few  days  a  fresh  intrigue  was  going  on  behind 
the  old  one,  and  the  shifty  Prince,  who  had  been  beguiling  the  two 
lords,  with  the  aid  of  Sheridan  and  his  camarilla,  was  now  beguil- 
ing his  own  henchmen  in  a  similar  way.  The  agent  in  this  business 
was  Sir  Henry  Halford,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  was  a 
good  deal  owing  to  his  adroit  management  that  the  Court  obtained 
its  victory,  f  At  this  time  he  scarcely  knew  the  Prince,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  illness  was  well  aware,  as  he  told  Miss  Wynne, 
that  he  was  surrounded  with  spies  from  the  Prince,  and  "that  one 
we  well  knew  and  would  little  suspect  "  was  living  at  an  inn  in  the 
town.  Finding  his  position  awkward,  if  not  painful,  the  physician 
took  the  course  of  going  to  the  Prince,  telling  him  everything  con- 
cerning the  state  of  his  patient,  adding  an  undertaking  that  in 
future  he  might  depend  on  always  having  from  him  most  accurate 
information,  if  he  would  promise  not  to  seek  it  from  any  other 
source.     The  Prince,  he  said,  was  grateful,  but  he  noticed  that  his 


*  Ward,  "  Diary,"  i.  371. 

t  It  has  been  often  confidently  repeated  that  Sir  Henry  Halford  was  mar- 
ried to  one  of  the  Princesses.  This,  however,  does  not  seem  probable,  as  he 
was  married  in  1796,  and  his  wife  lived  till  1833. 


492  I'SE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

surprise  at  such  candor  was  even  more  marked.  He,  however, 
gave  the  promise,  and,  "wonderful  to  say,  kept  it."  Then  Sir 
Henry  went  to  the  Queen,  and  told  her  what  he  had  done.  "  She, 
with  a  tremendous  frown,  expressed  great  astonishment."  Sir 
Henry  stated  the  obvious  reasons  for  the  step  he  had  taken.  She 
paused,  her  brow  cleared.  "  You  are  quite  right,  sir;  it  is  proper 
that  the  Prince  should  be  informed."  "  From  that  moment,"  as  he 
says,  **  confidence  and  intimacy  were  renewed  between  mother  and 
son."j*  But  it  had  been  remarked  that  the  Prince  had  been  taking 
the  opinion  of  the  physicians,  ostensibly  through  Mr.  Adam ;  but 
was  in  secret  communication  with  Sir  H.  Halford;  as  Sir  J.  Romilly 
says,  all  this  time  an  intrigue  was  being  carried  on  with  great  art 
through  the  habile  physician,  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  Queen.  So 
early  as  the  30th  of  January  Lord  Grey  had  his  forebodings  when 
he  learned  that  the  Prince  had  received  a  letter  from  the  Queen, 
saying  that  Mr.  Perceval  had  seen  the  King  the  day  before,  and 
had  laid  before  him  the  whole  State  business  "now  pending"  in 
Parliament.  She  herself  had  not  seen  the  King,  so,  as  her  son 
remarked,  it  was  evident  she  had  written  under  his  dictation;  and 
he  rather  acutely  pointed  out  that  the  word  "pending"  was  a 
lawyer's  word,  and  was  not  likely  to  be  used  by  the  Queen. f  She 
also  added  many  compliments  on  his  behavior,  with  which  the 
King  had  been  much  gratified.  Lord  Grey  calls  this  a  barefaced 
plot;  but  he  adds,  "  I  believe  it  will  be  successful." 

On  the  following  day  the  Chancellor  and  Lord  Liverpool  went 
down  to  talk  with  the  royal  patient,  when  they  found  him  rather 
more  "hurried;"  and  it  was  remarkable  that  his  anxiety  and  agi- 
tation was  excited  by  curiosity  as  to  the  behavior  of  persons  in 
Parliament.  Ho  asked  whether  the  Prince  would  change  the 
Government,  and  on  being  told  "Yes,"  declared  that  he  would 
bring  his  present  servants  back,  but  desired  time.:}:  Now,  in  favor 
of  the  Queen  it  must  be  said  that  this  was  significant,  and  betokened 
relapse;  and  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  presume  "a  barefaced  plot." 
It  was  scarcely  unnatural,  therefore,  that  she  should  have  written 
to  press  the  son  to  stay  his  hand.  She  also  dwelt  on  the  approach- 
ing recovery  of  the  King,  and  her  conviction  that  a  change  in  the 
Government  would  bring  on  such  a  paroxysm  as  she  would  not 
answer  for  the  King's  life.     "The  Prince  was  much  affected  on 


'  Diary  of  a  Lady  of  Quality,"  p.  218. 


t  Romilly,  ii.  301.  X  Rose,  p.  477. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  493 

reading  this  letter,  and  is  said  to  have  thrown  himself  back  in  his 
chair,  and  shed  many  tears. "  * 

It  was  now  that  he  consulted  his  lady  friends,  Mrs.  Fitzherbert 
and  Lady  Hertford,  and  was  assured  by  them  that  he  ought  to  re- 
tain his  ministers.  Lord  Hertford  a  few  days  later  told  Lord  Cam- 
den that  the  Prince  intended  removing  the  ministers,  in  case  there 
was  a  favorable  prospect  of  his  father's  recovery,  and  had  actually 
secured  "  Lords  G.  and  G."  as  a  reserve.  It  was  noticed  that  the 
Duke  of  York  had  been  with  the  Prince  the  whole  of  the  day.f  It 
was  hard  to  resist  such  pressure.  Accordingly,  late  on  the  night  of 
February  1st,  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville  were  waited  on  by  Lord 
Hutchinson  and  Mr.  Adam,  who  bore  a  message  from  the  Prince, 
that  he  now  decided  to  make  no  change.  "He  cannot  bear,"  he 
says,  "  the  idea  of  doing  a  thing  which  may  have  the  effect  of 
throwing  the  King  into  a  new  paroxysm,  or  of  being  thought  to  do 
so  " — the  words,  it  will  be  recollected,  used  by  the  Queen.  The 
reflections  of  the  rejected  Lord  Grey  on  this  mortifying  situation 
are  rueful  enough : 

•'  It  is,  I  confess,  a  great  relief  to  me.  I  am  now  exempted  from 
the  difficulty  and  danger  of  taking  any  part  in  the  Government,  and 
by  no  fault  of  my  own.  What  has  passed,"  he  adds,  "has  given 
me  such  an  insight  into  the  probable  state  of  things  under  a  new 
Government,  that  I  much  doubt  whether  any  circumstances  could 
ever  induce  me  to  take  a  share  in  it.  The  Prince's  feelings  and  his 
fears  have  been  worked  upon  so  powerfully  and  so  insidiously,  par- 
ticularly by  our  friend  Hal  ford,  who  has  proved  himself  a  most 
consummate  politician  (I  will  not  apply  a  harsher  name),  that  his 
decision  admits  of  much  excuse.  His  situation  was  certainly  an 
embarrassing  one ;  and  if  he  had  not  nerves  to  overcome  his  diffi- 
culties by  facing  them  at  once,  he  is  to  be  pitied  rather  than  blamed. 
There  can  rest  upon  him  no  imputation  of  deceit  or  treachery;  his 
wishes  were  to  act  otherwise ;  his  dislike  of  the  present  ministers  is 
unaffected  and  strong;  and  everything  he  has  done  and  said  with 
respect  to  us  has  been  as  kind  as  possible.  After  all,  he  has  only 
relieved  us  from  a  situation  of  great  difficulty  and  danger.  I  have 
neither  to  complain  of  him  nor  to  reproach  myself. " 

This  communication  was  private,  and  it  is  almost  comical  to  find 
that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  remained  for  nearly  a  day  longer 
in  this  fools'  paradise,  wrangling  over  places  and  adjusting  contend- 

*  Grey-Bennett  MS.  t  Rose. 


494  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

ing  claims.  Lord  Moira  on  the  following  morning  told  Mr.  Coutts's 
brother  that  he  was  going  as  Lord-Lieutenant  to  Ireland,  and  the 
Secretary  and  other  officials  were  bidden  to  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  start ! 

But  there  were  rumors  in  the  air.  At  the  Duchess  of  Gordon's 
the  same  evening,  where  there  was  a  large  party  assembled,  the  news 
of  disaster  could  be  read  in  the  angry  and  disappointed  faces  of 
•"  the  wives  of  Opposition." 

On  February  4th  Mr.  Perceval  received  the  following  letter, 
which,  it  should  be  noted,  was  written  by  Sheiidan,  the  present 
adviser,  secretary,  etc.,  of  the  Prince: 

THE  PRINCE  OF  WALES  TO  MR.    PERCEVAL. 

"  Carlton  House,  February  4th,  1811. 

"  The  Prince  of  Wales  considers  the  moment  to  be  arrived  which 
calls  for  his  decision  with  respect  to  the  persons  to  be  employed  by 
him  in  the  administration  of  the  Executive  Government  of  the 
country,  according  to  the  powers  vested  in  him  by  the  Bill  passed 
by  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  now  on  the  point  of  receiv- 
ing the  sanction  of  the  Great  Seal. 

* '  The  Prince  feels  it  incumbent  upon  him  at  this  precise  juncture 
to  communicate  to  Mr.  Perceval  his  intention  not  to  remove  from 
their  situations  those  whom  he  finds  there  as  his  Majesty's  official 
servants.  At  the  same  time  the  Prince  owes  it  to  the  truth  and  sin- 
cerity of  character  which,  he  trusts,  will  appear  in  every  action  of 
his  life,  in  whatever  situation  he  may  be  placed,  explicitly  to  de- 
clare that  the  irresistible  impulse  of  filial  duty  and  affection  to  his 
beloved  and  afflicted  father  leads  him  to  dread  that  any  act  of  the 
Regent  might,  in  the  smallest  degree,  have  the  effect  of  interfering 
with  the  progress  of  his  sovereign's  recovery. 

"This  consideration  alone  dictates  the  decision  now  communi- 
cated to  Mr.  Perceval. 

"Having  thus  performed  an  act  of  indispensable  duty,  from  a 
just  sense  of  what  is  due  to  his  own  consistency  and  honor,  the 
Prince  has  only  to  add  that,  among  the  many  blessings  to  be 
derived  from  his  Majesty's  restoration  to  health  and  to  the  personal 
exercise  of  his  royal  functions,  it  will  not,  in  the  Prince's  estima- 
tion, be  the  least,  that  most  fortunate  event  will  at  once  rescue 
him  from  a  situation  of  unexampled  embarrassment,  and  put  an 
end  to  a  state  of  affairs  ill  calculated,  he  fears,  to  sustain  the  inter- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  495 

ests  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  this  awful  and  perilous  crisis,  and 
most  difficult  to  be  reconciled  to  the  general  principles  of  the 
British  Constitution." 

This  was  acknowledged  the  following  day  by  the  minister  in 
complimentary  terms,  admitting  the  reason  so  pointedly  given  by 
the  Prince  for  this  step,  and  offering  handsome  excuses  for  the 
restrictions  put  upon  him. 

As  a  comment  on  these  transactions  let  us  listen  to  the  bitter 
complaints  of  the  neglected  Sir  P.  Francis,  addressed  to  Lady 
Downshire,  about  this  time:  "And  you  believe  he  is  honest,  and, 
moreover,  has  a  heart  of  English  mould,  expansive  enough  to  con- 
tain, and  stout  enough  to  retain,  those  principles  that  I  have  been 
trying  to  implant  in  his  heart  long  before  you  were  born,  and  very 
soon  after  he  was.  .  .  .  Your  wishes  deceive  you,  as  mine 
have  done  me.  You  have  often  witnessed  the  apparent  docility 
and  conviction  with  which  he  listened  when  I  laid  before  him  at 
his  own  seeking  the  principles  that  English  monarchs  should  bring 
to  the  throne  or — they  may  learn  them  somewhere  else.  He  was 
out  of  conceit  with  the  ministry  of  that  day,  as  he  is  now  with  this ; 
they  had  spited  him,  and  he  relished  a  doctrine  which  contemned 
them:  he  is  in  the  same  predicament  now.  Our  friend  will  first 
forget  our  principles,  and  then  our  persons,  and  the  sooner  for 
having  contracted  debts  to  us,  not  only  of  honor,  but  promise  to 
pay.  Have  I  not  attended  his  call  whenever  he  was  in  any  extra 
difficulty,  and  wished  to  astonish  his  usual  counsellors  by  his  wis- 
dom? Have  I  not  left  my  bed  early,  and  late  taken  rest,  and 
waited  on  him  long  after  the  mezza  notte  ?  And  has  not  my  pen, 
my  experience,  knowledge,  and  judgment,  such  as  they  are,  been 
at  his  service,  and  when  did  I  ever  claim  my  own  if  it  could  gain 
him  credit?  Your  ladyship  and  MacMahon  only  knew  of  the  let- 
ters at  the  time,  or  that  I  have  many  other  claims  on  him;  but  so 
much  th^  worse.  Is  it  past  doubt  that  he  hates  C.  and  raves  at 
P.  ?  .  .  .  Yet  it  is  something  that  he  still  seeks  you,  and  has 
not  yet  given  me  up,  which  I  am  sure  he  will  do  when  he  deserts 
those  principles  which  he  knows  are  dear  to  me.  I  have  his  com- 
mand to  visit  him  this  autumn,  and  shall  then  find  out  whether  the 
change  that  E(rskine?)  and  I  talked  of  has  really  taken  place.  I 
expect  there  will  be  one  ere  long  in  his  situation,  but  not,  I  trust, 
in  his  political  views,  till  power  and  flattery  have  their  usual  effect 
on  him.    No  thanks  to  E(rskine?)  and  S(heridan?)  if  he  be  not  as 


496  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

all  his  fathers  were.  But  do  not  mind  a  word  they  say.  M(oira?) 
is  not  much  better.  Trust  S.  as  you  would  a  jack-a-lan thorn,  E.  as 
a  quicksand,  and  M.  a  mirage  in  the  desert.  These  three  friends 
have  been  his  worst  enemies.  They  have  counteracted  all  the  good 
I  might  have  done." 

Here  closes  the  long  and  important  era  of  some  thirty  years, 
during  which  the  Prince  had  run.  his  strange  erratic  purposeless 
course  of  riot  and  pleasure.  He  was  now  virtually  on  the  throne: 
his  reign  had  begun.  Unhappily  the  twenty  years  of  rule  that  were 
it  follow  were  lo  offer  no  improvement. 


BOOK  II. 

IlEGi;jS-T.— 1811-1820. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  499 


CHAPTER  I. 

1811. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  the  day  appointed  for  swearing  in  the 
new  Regent,  a  curious  scene  was  witnessed  at  Carlton  House.  It 
was  attended  with  some  state — the  band  of  the  Grenadier  Guards 
(the  performers  having  "white  gaiters"  on)  playing  in  the  court- 
yard, the  yeomen  of  the  old  King's  Body  Guard  lining  the  stair, 
in  attendance  on  their  new  master.  All  the  Dukes  were  there,  and 
nearly  all  the  Privy  Councillors  in  town,  about  a  hundred  in  num- 
ber. Lord  Camden  was  sent  to  the  Prince's  room,  and  a  long  delay 
succeeded,  during  which  we  are  informed  the  company  "were 
highly  gratified  with  seeing  the  Princess  Charlotte  on  horseback, 
accompanied  by  two  grooms,  make  the  tour  of  the  beautiful  gar- 
dens in  the  rear  of  the  palace."  *  At  last  the  Prince  arrived  in 
grand  procession,  preceded  by  the  officers  of  his  household — Lords 
Moira,  Keith,  Cassilis,  Hutchinson,  Messrs.  Sheridan,  Michael 
Angelo  Taylor,  Tyrwhitt,  MacMahon,  Bloomfield,  Hulse,  etc. 
Mr.  Adam  was  unaccountably  absent,  by  accident  it  was  believed, 
though  the  Prince's  eagerness  to  see  him  was  noted.  The  reason 
for  this  absence,  it  will  be  seen,  was  characteristic  and  a  substan- 
tial one:  "He  kept  the  Council  waiting  two  full  hours — the  King 
never  detained  any  one  a  minute — while  he  was  looking  after 
Adam  to  make  him  a  Privy  Councillor,  who  shrank  away  declining 
the  honor,  as  he  would  have  been  obliged  to  have  given  up  many 
of  his  agencies  and  would  have  lost  to  the  amount  of  £2000  per 
annum,  "f 

Thus  there  appears  to  be  always  something  almost  singular  in 
these  public  manifestations  of  the  "  first  gentleman" — the  spectacle 
of  the  eager  Prince's  anxiety  seeking  his  subordinate  to  the  delay 
of  the  important  proceedings,  and  the  anxiety  of  the  latter  to  keep 
out  of  the  way,  must  have  been  ludicrous  enough.     Then  the  pro- 

♦  Huisb,  ii,  3?,  t  Bennett  MS, 


600  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

ceedings  commenced,  the  Prince  seating  himself  at  the  top  of  the 
table. 

Nor  must  a  fitting  incident  of  the  scene  be  omitted.  The  Prince, 
among  other  documents,  handed  to  the  President  "a  certificate  of 
his  having  received  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  the 
Chapel  Royal,  on  Sunday,  the  27th  of  January,  which  was  also 
countersigned  and  deposited  with  the  other  documents  in  a  box,"* 
Then  he  also  subscribed  the  declaration  mentioned  in  an  Act  made 
in  the  thirtieth  year  of  King  Charles  II.,  entitled  "  An  Act  for  the 
more  Effectual  Preserving  the  King's  Person  and  Government  by 
Disabling  Papists  from  Sitting  in  Either  House  of  Parliament," 
and  which  declaration  his  royal  highness  audibly  made,  repeated, 
and  subscribed.  The  Lord  President  signed  first,  and  every  one  of 
the  Privy  Councillors  in  succession  signed  these  instruments  as  wit- 
nesses— and  the  same  was  delivered  into  the  hand  of  the  Keeper  of 
the  Records. 

But  during  this  ceremonial  there  were  some  significant  tokens 
which  showed  what  were  the  real  feelings  of  the  principal  person- 
age. The  ministers  must  have  been  confounded  to  see  ostenta- 
tiously displayed  at  the  head  of  the  room  the  busts  of  Mr.  Fox  and 
the  Duke  of  Bedford,  which  they  learned  had  been  introduced 
only  an  hour  or  two  before  by  the  Regent's  order,  f  The  situation 
of  the  ministers,  too,' was  awkward.  Upon  some  one  wishing  Lord 
Harrowby  joy,  he  replied:  "Joy!  how  can  I  feel  it?  We  have  to 
do  business  with  a  man  who  hates  us,  and  only  wishes  to  turn  us 
out."  He  was  very  civil  and  friendly  to  some  of  those  that  kissed 
hands,  and  very  rude  to  others,  particularly  to  the  Speaker  and 
to  Mr.  Perceval,  turning  his  head  away  while  they  kissed  his 
hand4 

*  "  The  Lord  President  then  approached  the  Regent,  bent  the  knee,  and  had 
the  honor  to  kiss  his  hand.  The  royal  Dukes  followed,  and  afterwards 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  all  the  rest  according  to  the  order 
in  which  they  sat  at  the  long  table,  advancing  to  the  chair  on  both  sides. 
During  the  whole  of  this  ceremony  his  Royal  Highness  maintained  the  most 
dignified  and  graceful  deportment;  and  it  was  remarked  that  there  was  not 
the  slightest  indication  of  partiality  of  behavior  to  one  set  of  men  more  than 
to  another. 

"The  ceremony  being  closed  a  short  levee  took  place  in  the  drawing-room, 
where  his  Royal  Highness  addressed  himself  to  the  circle ;  and  afterwards  he 
gave  an  audience  to  Mr.  Perceval,  who  had  the  honor  of  again  kissing  his 
hand  as  First  Lord  of  the  Treasury  and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer." 

t  Bennett  MS.    His  brother,  Lord  Ossulston,  was  present. 

%  The  Speaker  in  his  diary  reports  the  scene  In  terms  that  show  he  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  501 

However  idle  all  this  may  appear — and  certainly  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  busts  was  as  boyish  a  mode  of  protest  as  could  be  con- 
ceived— it  illustrated  more  clearly  than  anything  that  has  gone 
before  that  his  late  political  step  was  a  matter  of  humor  and  pre- 
judice rather  than  of  principle;  and  that  the  ruling  motives  had 
been  dislike  to  individuals,  and  a  wish  to  avoid  trouble  and  annoy- 
ance. 

But  in  his  conversation  with  the  Prime  Minister  the  Prince  had 
also  taken  care  to  show  his  humor.  After  offering  some  business- 
like suggestions  as  to  the  Parliament,  he  adverted  to  all  that  had 
passed,  saying  that  "  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  alter  the  opinions 
he  had  entertained  for  so  many  years;  but  that  now  it  wr.s  done 
and  over."  He  also  insisted  that  the  speech  to  be  made  for  him 
should  not  be  made  to  utter  any  sentiments  that  he  was  known  not 
to  entertain.  Neither  would  he  deliver  it,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  go 
down  to  the  House  and  exhibit  himself  as  a  pageant  during  the  ill- 
ness of  the  King.*     • 

In  pursuance  of  the  same  policy  he  showed  his  distaste  to  his 
ministers  by  communicating  with  them  through  his  henchmen, 
MacMahon,  Tyrwhitt,  etc.,  an  affront  which  they  resented,  and 
were  determined  not  to  submit  to.  They  made  serious  representa- 
tions, and  he  had  of  course  to  give  way,  in  a  dignified  and  distant 
manner. 

When  he  did  see  the  speech  made  for  him  he  declared  that  it 
could  not  be  better.  On  some  high-handed  proceedings  of  the  Irish 
Government  he  entered  seriously  into  discussion,  but  subsequently 
approved  the  Government's  proceeding.  When  Mr.  Perceval  sug- 
gested an  additional  allowance,  the  Prince  rather  ostentatiously 
declined  to  add  to  the  burdens  of  the  nation. 

Meanwhile  the  King  was  not  mending;  though  the  regular  bul- 
letins were  issued  announcing  that  he  continued  to  go  on  very 
well.  It  was  stated,  indeed,  that  he  himself  had  fixed  May  as  the 
date  when  he  would  resume  office;  but  it  is  evident  from  a  letter 
of  the  Queen's  to  Lord  Eldon  that  his  condition  was  not  promis- 
ing, f 

It  was  natural  in  the  case  of  one  so  afflicted  that  an  excessive 
jealousy  of  his  son  should  appear,  the  ministers  indiscreetly  prais- 
ing to  him  the  good  conduct  of  the  Prince,  his  capacity,  modera- 

offended.    "The  Regent  repeated,  or  appeared  to  repeat,  the  oath."— Lord 
Colchester,  "Diary,"  ii.  318. 
*  Colchester,  "  Diary."  t  "  Life  of  Lord  Eldon,"  ii.  166. 


502  TH^  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

tion  and  ability,  as  well  as  his  filial  affection.  This  was  duly 
repeated  by  the  Queen;  but  it  presently  inflamed  the  King  into  a 
demand  for  the  instant  resumption  of  his  authority,  "on  which 
head  he  became  quite  furious  and  unmanageable."  * 

The  levee  which  had  been  postponed  owing  to  the  Regent's  lame- 
ness, a  horse  having  trodden  upon  him,  was  now  held.  The  scene, 
however,  was  splendid,  and  very  numerously  attended  by  men  of 
all  parties.  He  put  on  a  most  gracious  appearance,  all  who  had 
not  been  presented  kissing  hands.  Indeed,  Siieridan  had  industri- 
ously sent  it  about  that  members  of  all  parties  were  expected  to 
call  at  Carlton  House.  The  magnificence  of  the  spacious  and 
sumptuousl}^  decorated  rooms  struck  every  one,  and  strangers  and 
foreign  ministers  declared  that  they  exceeded  Versailles.  Count 
Miinster  thought  that  it  excelled  the  palace  at  St.  Petersburg  in  its 
decoration.  It  was,  however,  noticed  that  at  a  ball  given  by  Mrs. 
3Iontague  on  February  20th,  he  looked  worn  and  dejected,  so  that 
some  wit  declared  that  "  they  ought  to  make  the  King  Sub-Regent." 
At  the  end  of  April  he  appeared  at  the  Royal  Academy  dinner, 
where  he  gave  a  long  speech  on  the  advance  the  arts  had  made,  and 
was  complimented  in  almost  fulsome  terms  by  the  venerable  Presi- 
dent West. 

But  he  had  now  determined  to  exhibit  such  a  gala  to  the  country 
as  would  make  his  name  celebrated.  The  Carlton  House  f§te  of 
June  19th,  on  which  nothing  that  could  contribute  to  the  display  of 
magnificence  or  state  was  spared,  is  even  now  recalled;  there  are 
some  alive  who  were  present.  His  whole  energies  were  given  to 
the  preparations  for  this  entertainment.  The  object  given  out  was 
to  promote  the  use  of  national  manufactures.  It  was  originally 
fixed  for  the  5th  of  June,  but  as  the  day  drew  near  the  King's  con- 
dition became  worse,  and  decency  required  that  it  should  be  put 
off,  if  not  given  up  altogether;  but  an  expense  of  £10,000  had  been 
already  incurred.  The  frivolous  world  was  all  agog  with  the  sub- 
ject, and  there  was  a  sort  of  furor  to  obtain  invitations.  It  was 
at  first  mtended  to  ask  no  lady  under  the  rank  of  a  peer's  daughter; 
but  this  distinction  gave  offence.  "  There  must  be,"  writes  Mr.  F. 
Jackson,  who  supplies  a  lively  account  of  them,  "manoeuvres  to 
secure  tickets,  cutting  and  jostling  among  the  fine  ladies  to  be  in 
at  the  f6te.     I  know  that  the  Prince  said  he  would  invite  fifteen 


♦  "  Buckingham  Papers— The  Regency,"  1.  58.    The  account  is  given  by  the 
anonymous  and  sagacious  correspondent  of  Lord  Temple. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  ■        503 

hundred  persons.  There  used  to  be  at  Buckingham  House  no  one 
under  the  rank  of  earl's  sons  and  daughters."  * 

"Those  who  are  invited,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "and  still  more 
those  who  are  not,  are  making  an  outrageous  fuss.  Husbands  in- 
vited without  their  wives;  mothers  without  their  daughters;  in 
some  instances,  daughters  who  are  not  out ;  in  others,  people  who 
are  dead  and  buried."  In  the  midst  of  this  hum  of  preparation  a 
rumor  got  abroad  that  the  King  was  dead,  believed  to  be  a  ruse  of 
the  shopkeepers,  who  succeeded  in  selling  all  their  crape.  Again 
there  was  a  postponement.  It  was  at  last  fixed  for  the  19th.  As 
the  day  drew  near  "  the  hopes  and  fears  of  the  heau  monde  rose  and 
fell  with  the  bulletins."  A  mot  was  circulated  to  the  effect  that 
the  old  phrase,  "fixed  as  Fete,"' vnu^t  be  now  quite  exploded,  as 
there  was  nothing  so  uncertain.  But  at  last  the  exciting  evening 
came  round,  and  the  show  began,  and  before  eight  o'clock  the 
streets  were  crowded  with  company.  One  of  the  guests  shall 
describe  the  scene : 

"The  fSte,  then,  as  a  whole,  was  the  handsomest  thing  I  have 
ever  seen  in  this  country,  or,  of  its  kind,  in  any  other.  There  was 
greater  brilliancy  and  richness  of  dress  amongst  the  women,  though 
not  so  much  taste  as  elsewhere.  The  supper  surpassed  anything  I 
ever  saw  or  ever  heard  of  at  other  Courts.  At  eight  o'clock  there 
was  a  string  of  carriages  that  reached  to  the  top  of  St.  James's 
Street,  and  by  nine  to  the  top  of  Bond  Street.  I  went  out  for  a 
walk  amongst  the  crowd  at  the  latter  hour.  The  jostling  and  push- 
ing to  get  a  sight  of  the  women,  especially  when  accompanied  by  a 
star  or  a  riband,  was  something  extraordinary;  and  the  remarks  of 
the  people  on  the  occupants  of  the  carriages,  as  the  latter  crawled 
or  jolted  on  at  a  snail's  pace,  were  sometimes  very  droll  and  apt, 
though  not  always  complimentary. 

"To  the  royal  family  of  France  every  refinement  of  attention  was 
shown.  The  Prince  wrote  to  Louis  XVIII.  with  his  own  hand, 
and  sent  the  letter  of  invitation  by  a  general  officer.  The  letter 
was  addressed  '  A  Monsieur  le  Gomte  de  Lisle;'  but  Sire  and  Voire 
Majeste  were  used  in  the  letter  itself.  Louis  slept  at  Monsieur's 
house  in  South  Audley  Street.  Going  to  and  returning  from  Carl- 
ton House,  he  was  escorted  by  an  oflScer's  detachment  of  hussars. 
The  party  consisted  of  the  King,  Monsieur,  the  Due  and  Duchesse 
d'Angoul^me,  the  Prince  de  Conde,  Due  de  Bourbon,  and  Due  de 

*  "Diaries." 


504  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Berri.  The  Prince,  who  wore  a  very  rich  scarlet  uniform,  of  not 
very  good  taste  or  very  well  made,  but  with  a  most  mngnificent 
star,  badge,  aigrette,  and  sabre,  received  them  in  an  apartment 
fitted  up  for  the  occasion  with  ricli  blue  silk,  parseme  with  fleurs- 
de-lis  in  gold. 

"The  King,  for  a  time,  declined  sitting,  saying  he  was  only 
Corate  de  Lisle.  The  Prince,  placing  a  chair  for  him,  replied;  'Id 
voire  Majeste  est  Roi  de  France'  Amongst  the  pictures  that  orna- 
mented the  reception-room  was  a  Rembrandt,  for  which  a  few  days 
before  the  Prince  gave  five  thousand  guineas. 

"  The  Duchesse  d'AngoulSme  looked  interesting,  and  something 
like  the  best  portraits  of  her  mother,  therefore,  not  very  pretty;  but 
she  was  evidently  embarrassed,  and  her  dress  and  demeanor  were 
those  of  a  person  who  had  not  been  much  in  the  world.  In  fact, 
she  may  be  said  to  have  stepped  from  a  prison — and  what  a  prison  I 
— to  Carlton  House;  for  she  was  never  before  in  a  company  of  a 
hundred  persons.  I  know,  from  a  perfectly  trustworthy  source, 
that  for  some  time  she  was  in  agony  at  the  idea  of  going  to  this  fSte, 
and  that  it  was  only  at  the  most  pressing  entreaties  of  her  family 
that  she  consented.  Both  she  and  the  Duke,  who  is  a  mean- 
looking  little  man,  are  of  a  very  retiring  disposition,  and  devote 
almost  the  whole  of  their  time  to  works  of  piety  and  charity.  The 
Duchess  of  York  sat  with  her  a  good  deal,  and  looked  very  well; 
her  'sposofido'  as  easy  in  his  manners  and  as  much  like  a  gentleman 
as  usual.  Amidst  the  blaze  of  diamonds,  those  of  the  Queen  were 
wanting;  though  all  there — en  masse — are  said  to  have  exceeded  in 
value  anything  ever  before  assembled.  As  the  Queen  did  not  come 
to  the  fSte,  of  course  the  Princesses  were  absent,  and  by  the  con- 
versation of  everybody  from  Windsor,  it  was  easy  to  collect  that 
there  people  thought  the  fSte  ill-timed." 

"The  Grecian  hall,"  says  another  account,  "was  adorned  with 
shrubs,  and  an  additional  number  of  large  lanterns  and  patent  lamps. 
The  floor  was  carpeted;  and  two  lines,  composed  of  Yeomen  of  the 
Guard,  the  King's,  the  Regent's,  the  Queen's,  and  Royal  Dukes' 
servants,  in  their  grandest  liveries,  formed  an  avenue  to  the  oc- 
tagonal hall,  where  yeomen  were  also  stationed,  and  which  was 
decorated  with  antique  draperies  of  scarlet  trimmed  with  gold- 
color,  and  tied  up  by  gold-colored  cords  and  tassels.  In  the  hall 
were  also  assembled,  to  receive  the  company.  Generals  Keppell  and 
Turner,  Colonels  Bloomfield,  Thomas,  and  Tyrwhitt,  together  with 
Lords  Moira,  Dundas,  Keith,  Heathfield,  and  Mount- Edgecumbe. 


TUE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  505 

The  Prince  entered  the  state-rooms  at  a  quarter  past  nine  arrayed  in 
a  field-marshal's  uniform;  just  after  the  Prince  came  in.  tlie  royal 
family  of  France  arrived.  During  the  evening  the  Prince  Regent 
passed  from  room  to  room,  devoid  of  all  ceremony,  conversing  with 
the  utmost  cheerfulness  with  his  guests.  The  general  amusement 
of  the  company  for  some  lime  was  perambulating  the  halls  and 
apartments  on  the  principal  floor.  The  grand  circular  dining-room 
excited  particular  admiration  by  its  cupola,  supported  by  columns 
of  porphyry,  and  the  superior  elegance  of  the  whole  of  its  .nrange- 
ments.  The  room  in  which  the  throne  stood  was  hung  with 
crimson  velvet,  with  gold  lace  and  fringes.  The  canopy  of  the 
throne  was  surmounted  by  golden  helmets  with  lofty  plumes  of 
ostrich  feathers,  and  underneath  stood  the  state  chair.  Crimson  and 
gold  stools  were  placed  round  the  room,  which  contained  pictures 
of  the  King,  Queen,  Prince  Regent,  and  Duke  of  York.  The  ball- 
room floors  were  chalked  in  beautiful  arabesque  devices.  In  the 
centre  of  the  largest  were  the  initiale  G.  III.  R.  It  was  divided  for 
two  sets  of  dancers  by  a  crimson  silk  cord;  but  owing  to  the  great 
number  of  persons,  and  the  excessive  heat  of  the  weather,  no  danc- 
ing took  place  in  this  room,  nor  were  the  dancers  numerous  in  the 
ball-room.  The  first  dance  was  led  off  by  Earl  Percy  and  Lady  F. 
Montague." 

The  Queen  his  mother,  and  his  sisters  the  Princesses,  view^ed  the 
affair  as  unbecoming,  if  not  indecent,  with  the  unfortunate  King 
distraught,  if  not  dying.  This  did  not  much  affect  the  host,  though 
he  would  have  been  glad  of  her  presence  for  the  display  of  the 
matchless  crown  diamonds  amid  the  general  blaze  of  jewels.  How- 
ever, he  was  attended  by  the  Dukes  his  brethren — that  worthy 
cohort  who  did  not  fail  him  except  when  their  jealousies  inter- 
posed.* The  next  person  excluded  was  the  Princess,  who  made  a 
jest  on  the  matter,  declaring  she  was  like  an  archbishop's  wife,  who 
does  not  partake  in  her  husband's  honors. f  She  even  allowed  her 
suite  to  go,  and  furnished  them  with  new  dresses,  saying,  "That 
they  should  certainly  obey  the  Regent's  commands."  His  only 
daughter — now  a  maid  of  blushing  fifteen,  who  might  have  been 
allowed  to  look  on  from  "  the  pen"  at  the  show,  if  not  to  take  part 
in  it — was  also  tabooed.  An  artless  letter,  written  to  her  "dear 
Miss  Hayman,"  shows  how  this  exclusion  was  felt: 


*  It  is  evident  that  all  Windsor  is  highly  displeased  on  the  occasion.— Jack- 
son, "Diaries,"  i.  267.  t  Ibid.  i.  273. 
32 


506  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"My  dear  Hamy, 

"  But  a  few  lines,  as  I  will  write  you  a  longer  one  soon  again, 
only  to  tell  you  that  the  Prince  Regent  gives  a  magnificeut  bull  on 
the  5th  of  June.  I  have  not  been  invited,  nor  do  I  know  if  I  shall 
be  or  not.  If  I  should  not,  it  will  make  a  great  noise  in  the  world, 
as  the  friends  I  have  seen  have  repeated  over  and  over  again  it  is 
my  duty  to  go  there;  it  is  proper  that  I  should.  Really  1  do  think 
it  will  be  very  hard  if  I  am  not  asked." 

But  there  was  a  fourth  lady  whom  his  treatment  on  this  festival 
occasion  kept  away.  The  theatrical  chivalry  that  made  him  wel- 
come the  royal  exiles  did  not  extend  to  those  with  real  domestic 
claims  upon  him.  "  Upon  all  former  occasions,'  Mrs.  Fitzlierbert 
told  Lord  Stourton,  "  to  avoid  etiquette  in  circumstances  of  such 
delicacy  as  regarded  her  own  situation  with  reference  to  the  Prince, 
it  had  been  customary  to  sit  at  table  without  regard  to  rank.  Upon 
the  prei^ent  occasion  this  plan  was  to  be  altered,  and  she  was  in- 
formed through  her  friends  at  court  that  at  the  royal  table  the  indi- 
viduals invited  were  to  sit  according  to  their  rank.  "When  assured 
of  this  novel  arrangement,  she  asked  the  Prince,  who  had  invited 
her  with  the  rest  of  his  company,  where  she  was  to  sit.  He  said, 
'You  know,  madam,  you  have  no  place.'  '  None,  sir,' she  replied, 
'but  such  as  you  choose  to  give  me.'  Upon  this  she  informed  the 
royal  family  that  she  would  not  go.  The  Duke  of  York  and  others 
endeavored  to  alter  the  preconcerted  arrangement,  but  the  Prince 
was  inflexible."*  Thus  terminated  this  fatal  ill-starred  connec- 
tion. 

That  this  was  done  on  purpose  there  can  be  no  doubt.    The  mean- 


*  "  They  no  longer  hesitated  to  agree  with  her  that  no  advantage  was  to  be 
obtained  by  further  postponement  of  her  own  an.xious  desire  to  close  her  con- 
nection with  the  Prince,  and  to  retire  once  more  into  private  life.  She  told 
me  she  often  looked  back  with  wonder  that  she  had  not  sunk  under  the  trials 
of  those  two  years.  Having  come  to  this  resolution,  she  was  obliged,  on  the 
veiy  evening,  or  on  that  which  followed  the  royal  dinner,  to  attend  an  assem- 
bly at  Devonshire  House,  which  was  the  last  evening  she  saw  the  Prince  pre- 
viously to  their  final  separation.  The  Duchess  of  Devonshi.'XJ,  taking  her  by 
the  arm.  said  to  her:  '  You  must  come  and  see  the  Duke  in  his  own  room,  as 
he  is  suffering  from  a  fit  of  the  gout;  but  he  will  be  glad  to  see  an  old  friend.' 
In  passing  through  the  rooms,  she  saw  the  Prince  and  Lady  Hertford  in  a 
tete-A-tete  conversation,  and  nearly  fainted  under  all  the  impressions  which 
then  rushed  upon  her  mind ;  but,  taking  a  glass  of  water,  she  recovered  and 
passed  on." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  507 

ing  of  this  was  the  present  ascendency  of  Manchester  House,  of 
Lady  Hertford,  and  her  son  Lord  Yarmouth.  It  actually  led  to 
what  the  Regent  was  no  doubt  wishing  for,  a  final  breacli.  It  will 
be  seen  that  he  had  now  begun  to  think  of  a  divorce  from  the 
Princess,  and  the  intimacy  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  might  be  incon- 
venient. Meanwhile  the  guests  noted  her  absence,  and  lightly 
repeated  that  "the  two  wives  were  sitting  at  home." 

It  was  characteristic  that  the  object  of  this  Prince's  enmity  should 
be  so  often  women,  while  those  that  controlled  and  "  led  "  him  were 
women  also. 

But  to  return  to  the  fefe.  The  hour  of  supper  had  arrived, 
when  the  Prince  led  the  French  king  and  royal  family  to  the  table. 
The  supper  was  announced  at  two,  when  the  company  descended 
by  the  great  staircase  to  the  apartments  below  and  the  tem- 
porary buildings  on  the  lawn.  The  room  at  the  bottom  of  the 
staircase  represented  a  bower,  with  a  grotto  lined  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  shrubs  and  flowers.  The  grand  table  extended  the 
whole  length  of  the  conservatory,  and  across  Carlton  House,  to  the 
length  of  two  hundred  feet.  Along  the  centre  of  the  table,  about 
six  inches  above  the  surface,  a  canal  of  pure  water  continued  flow- 
ing from  a  silver  fountain  beautifully  constructed  at  the  head  of 
the  table.  Its  banks  were  covered  with  green  moss  and  aquatic 
flowers;  gold  and  silver  fish  swam  and  sported  through  the  bub- 
bling current,  which  produced  a  pleasing  murmur  where  it  fell  and 
formed  a  cascade  at  the  outlet.  At  the  head  of  the  table,  above  the 
fountain,  sat  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  on  a  plain 
mahogany  chair  with  a  leather  back.  The  most  particular  friends 
of  the  Prince  were  arranged  on  each  side.  They  were  attended  by 
sixty  servitors;  seven  waited  on  the  Prince,  besides  six  of  the  King's 
and  six  of  the  Queen's  footmen,  in  their  state  liveries,  with  one  man 
in  a  complete  suit  of  ancient  armor.  At  the  back  of  the  Prince's 
seat  appeared  aureola  tables  covered  with  crimson  drapery,  con- 
structed to  exhibit,  with  the  greatest  effect,  a  profusion  of  the  most 
exquisitely-wrought  silver-gilt  plate,  consisting  of  fountains,  tripods, 
epergnes,  dishes,  and  other  ornaments.  Above  the  whole  of  this 
superb  display  appeared  a  royal  crown  and  his  Majesty's  cipher, 
G.  R.,  splendidly  illumined.  Behind  the  Prince's  chair  was  most 
skilfully  disposed  a  sideboard,  covered  with  gold  vases,  urns,  massy 
salvers,  etc.;  the  whole  surmounted  by  a  Spanish  urn,  taken  from 
on  board  the  "Invincible  Armada."  Adjoining  to  this  were  other 
tables  running  through  the  library  and  whole  lower  suite  of  rooms, 


508  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  candelabras  in  which  were  so  arranged  that  the  Regent  could 
distinctly  see  and  be  seen,  from  one  end  to  the  other.  The  Regent's 
table  accommodated  one  hundred  and  twenty-two,  including  the 
royal  Dukes,  the  Bourbons,  and  principal  nobility.  On  the  right 
hand  of  the  Regent  was  the  Duchess  of  Angoul^me;  on  the  left  the 
Duchess  of  York,  the  Princess  Sophia  of  Gloucester,  etc.  From 
the  library  and  room  beyond  branched  out  two  great  lines  of  tables 
under  canvas,  far  into  the  gardens,  each  in  the  shape  of  a  cross,  all 
richly  served  with  silver  plate,  and  covered  with  the  delicacies  of 
the  season.  When  the  whole  company  was  seated,  there  was  a  line 
of  female  beauty  more  richly  adorned,  and  a  blaze  of  jewelry  more 
brilliant,  than  England  ever  probably  displayed  before  Four 
handsome  marquees  were  pitched  on  the  lawn  of  Carlton  House, 
with  chevaux-de-frise,  to  prevent  all  intrusion;  bands  of  music 
were  stationed  in  the  tents;  and  when  dancing  commenced,  the 
gay  throng  moved  through  thickets  of  roses,  geraniums,  and  other 
fragrant  sweets,  illumined  by  variegated  lights  that  gleamed  like 
stars  tlirough  the  foliage.  The  upper  servants  wore  a  costume  of 
dark  blue,  trimmed  with  broad  gold  lace;  the  others  wore  state 
liveries.  The  assistants  out  of  livery  were  dressed  uniformly  in 
black  suits  with  white  vests. 

"  It  is  said,"  adds  Mr.  Jackson,  "  that  near  two  thousand  persons 
3upped;  but  the  extraordinary  part  of  it  was,  that  so  large  a  num- 
ber should  have  been  served  in  such  a  style;  tureens,  dishes,  plates, 
sven  soup-plates,  were  everywhere  of  silver,  with  as  many  changes 
3f  everything  as  were  wanted.  There  were  hot  soups  and  roasts; 
all  besides  cold,  but  of  excellent  and  fresh  cookery.  Peaches, 
grapes,  pine-apples,  and  every  other  minor  fruit  in  and  out  of 
season  were  in  profusion.  Iced  champagne  at  every  three  or  four 
persons,  all  the  other  wines  also  excellent.  There  was  no  crowd- 
ing, hurry,  or  bustle  in  waitmg;  everythmg  was  done  as  in  a 
private  house. 

"  The  ropes  that,  in  various  directions,  supported  the  tent  were 
all  gilded,  and  were  ornamented  with  wreaths  and  festoons  of  flowers 
witliout  end.  The  lustres  were  large  and  very  handsome,  and  of 
the  finest  glass,  and  were  so  numerous  that  every  part  of  the  tent 
was  not  only  well  but  brilliantly  lighted. 

"After  supper  the  general  company  walked  round  those  parts 
of  the  tent  where  they  had  not  supped,  and  to  the  apartments  de 
jilein  pied,  which  are  the  Prince's  private  rooms,  but  fortncd  on  this 
occasion  ante-rooms  to  the  tent,  where  also  tables  wvw  hud.     In 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  IV.  509 

this  way  we  were  led  on  to  the  conservatory,  where  the  Prince's 
party  supped,  consisting  of  all  the  royalties,  dukes,  and  marquises, 
with  their  wives,  and  as  many  earls  and  countesses  as  could  be 
stowed  in. 

"The  conservatory  was  really  like  what  one  would  imagine  a 
fairy-hall  to  be.  It  is  a  building  of  the  lightest  Gothic,  resembling 
the  choir  of  a  cathedral.  Its  defects,  if  it  has  any,  were  concealed, 
and  its  beauties  revealed  by  innumerable  small  colored  lamps  placed 
all  round  the  little  cornices,  and  in  the  niches  of  the  Gothic  work. 
In  the  centre  were  lustres  of  the  finest  and  most  brilliant  glass  that 
can  be  made.  The  table  was  served  with  gold  and  silver-gilt;  the 
Prince's  own  state  service,  and  which  I  had  before  seen  at  the 
silversmith's.  Where  china  and  glass  were  used,  they  were  of  the 
most  magnificent  kind,  and  at  the  top  of  the  room  was  a  sort  of 
buffet,  on  which  each  piece  of  the  massive  sideboard  vermeille  was 
separately  placed. 

'*  The  Serpentine  river  you  hear  so  much  of  was  on  the  plateau, 
a  paltry  thing  of  bad  taste,  but  which  amused  the  haiauds,  espe- 
cially as  it  was  full  of  real  fish — roach,  dace,  and  gudgeons — the 
dying  and  the  dead.     Day  broke  while  we  were  at  supper." 

This  river  excited  general  ridicule,  Mr.  Tierney  likening  it  to  a 
Sadler's  Wells  display:  but  like  the  Pavilion  and  the  Pagodas  in  the 
park  (later,  his  uniforms)  his  so-called  "taste"  was  of  the  gew-gaw 
order.  "However,"  says  one  of  the  guests  (Lord  Colchester),  "it 
was  oriental  and  fanciful  towards  the  Prince's  end,  particularly  as 
in  tliat  part  the  table  widened,  and  the  water  also  fell  by  a  succes- 
sion of  cascades  into  a  circular  lake,  surrounded  with  architectural 
decorations  and  small  vases  burning  perfumes."* 

"Notldng  was  ever  half  so  magnificent  as  this  supper  scene," 
wrote  home  Thomas  Moore,  now  at  every  entertainment  in  Lon- 
don, and  who  had  obtained  the  Prince's  patronage,  for  a  time  at 

*  "  Before  the  company  rose  a  ridiculous  scene  took  place,  for  there  Avas  a 
grand  crowd  from  the  supper-room  (beyond  the  brass  railing:)  of  fine  ladies, 
who  came  to  lean  and  look  over  the  railing  at  our  superior  lot,  and  to  en- 
deavor at  descrying  the  gudgeons  in  our  river.  '  There,  1  see  them  1 '  '  Look, 
look:'  'Don't  you  see?'  by  all  the  misses  and  company,  old  and  young,  not 
to  mention  Lady  Mansfield,  Lady  Buckingham  and  niece,  old  Mr.  Hastings, 
and  miny  other  souls,  whose  eager  and  ridiculous  ciu'iosity  was  very  enter- 
taining."—"  I  >iary  of  Lord  Colchester."  ii.  a38.  It  is  impossible  not  to  con 
trast  the  pleasant  vivacity  and  even  humor  of  the  letter  and  diary  writers  of 
this  time  with  the  inert  style  of  ino-e  molern  da-s.  E\ery  one  seemed  to 
write  with  the  gaiet-i  du  cceur  that  was  fori  1  in  the  comedies  of  the  time- 


510  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY, 

least,  and  was  dazzled  with  the  spectacle.  He  writes  some  time 
after  that  it  was  reported  that  Waithman,  "the  p:itriotic  linen- 
draper,"  had  got  a  card,  and  every  odd-looking  fellow  that  ap- 
peared, people  said;  "That's Mr,  Waithman," 

An  amusing  incident  was  Sheridan's  hoaxing  invitation  of  the 
half-cracked  "Romeo"  Coates,  to  whom  a  well-imitated  card  had 
been  sent.  The  poor  coxcomb  arrived  in  his  finest  fantastic  dress, 
— the  hoaxer  watching  him  near  the  entrance — but  was  repulsed  by 
the  officials,  who  detected  the  imposture.  The  Regent  learned  the 
trick  that  had  been  played,  and  with  gracious  good  feeling  sent 
excuses  to  the  victim,  with  a  kind  and  earnest  invitatiou  to  come 
and  inspect  the  adornments  of  the  entertainment. 

This  occasion  prompted  the  lively  muse  of  the  poet: 

Come  to  our  fete,  and  bring  with  tKee 
Thy  newest,  best  embroidery ! 
Come  to  our  fete,  and  show  again 
That  pea-green  coat,  thou  pink  of  menl 
Which  charra'd  all  eyes,  that  last  survey'd  it; 

When  B I's  self  inquired  "  who  made  it?"— 

When  cits  came  wondering,  from  the  East, 
And  thought  thee  Poet  Pye  at  least! 


Oh!  come— (if  haply  'tis  thy 
For  looking  pale)— with  paly  cheek; 
Though  more  we  love  thy  roseate  days, 
When  the  rich  rouge-pot  pours  its  blaze 
Full  o'er  thy  face,  and,  amply  spread. 
Tips  e'en  thy  whisker-tops  with  red- 
Like  the  last  tints  of  dying  day 
That  o'er  some  darkling  grove  delay  I 

Bring  thy  best  lace,  thou  gay  Philander  I 
(That  lace,  like  H— rry  Al— x— nd— r, 
Too  precious  to  be  wash'd  I)— thy  rings. 
Thy  seals— in  short,  thy  prettiest  things  I 
Put  all  thy  wardrobe's  glories  on. 
And  yield,  in  frogs  and  fringe,  to  none 
But  the  great  R— g— t's  self  alone  1 

Who— by  particular  desire— 

For  that  night  only,  means  to  hire 

A  dress  from  Romeo  C— tes,  Esquire — 

Something  between  ('twere  sin  to  hack  It) 

The  Romeo  robe  and  Hobby  jacket  I 

Hail,  first  of  actors!  best  of  R— g— tsl 

Born  for  each  other's  fond  allegiance! 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  511 

Both  gay  Lotharios— 6of/i  good  dressers— 
Of  Serious  Farce  both  learn'd  Professors— 
Beth  circled  round,  for  use  or  show, 
With  cocks'-combs,  wheresoe'er  they  go  I 

Thou  know'st  the  time,  thou  man  of  lore  I 
It  takes  to  chalk  a  ball-room  floor — 
Thou  knowst  the  time,  too,  well-a-dayl 
It  takes  to  dance  that  chalk  away. 
The  ball-room  opens— far  and  nigh 
Comets  and  suns  beneath  us  lie ; 
O'er  snowy  moons  and  stars  we  walk, 
And  the  floor  seems  a  sky  of  chalk  1 
But  soon  shall  fade  the  bright  deceit, 
When  many  a  maid,  with  busy  feet 
That  sparkle  in  the  lustre's  ray, 
O'er  the  white  path  shall  bound  and  play 
Like  nymphs  along  the  Milky  Way  I — 
At  every  step  a  star  is  fled. 
And  suns  grow  dim  beneath  their  tread  I 
So  passeth  life— (thus  Sc— tt  would  write. 
And  spinsters  read  him  with  delight)— 
Hours  are  not  feet,  yet  hours  trip  on. 
Time  is  not  chalk,  yet  time's  soon  gone  I 

But,  hang  this  long  digressive  fliightl 
I  meant  to  say,  thou'It  see,  that  night, 
What  falsehood  rankles  in  their  hearts. 
Who  say  the  P e  neglects  the  arts- 
Neglects  the  arts!— no  St g!  no: 

Thy  Cupids  answer  "  'tis  not  so:" 
And  every  floor,  that  night,  shall  tell 
How  quick  thou  daubest,  and  how  well  I 
Shine  as  thou  may'st  in  French  vermillion, 
Thou'rt  best— henea.th  a  French  cotillion; 
And  still  com'st  oflf,  whate'er  thy  faults, 
With  flying  colors  in  a  waltz! 
Nor  needst  thou  mourn  the  transient  date 
To  thy  best  works  assigned  by  fate- 
While  some  chefs-d'oeuvre  live  to  weary  one, 
Thine  boast  a  short  life  and  a  merry  one; 
Their  hour  of  glory  past  and  gone 
With  "  Molly  put  the  kettle  onl" 

But,  bless  my  soul !  I've  scarce  a  leaf 
Of  paper  left— so,  must  be  brief. 

This  festive  fete,  in  fact,  will  be 

The  former  fete's  facsimile; 

The  same  long  masquerade  of  rooms, 

Trick'd  in  such  different  quaint  costumes 


512  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK 

(These,  P— rt— r,  are  thy  glorious  works!), 
Youd  swear  Egyptians,  Moors,  and  Turks, 
Bearing  good  taste  some  deadly  naalice 
Had  clubb'd  to  raise  a  picnic  palace; 
And  each,  to  make  the  oglio  pleasant, 
Had  sent  a  stateroom  as  a  present!— 
The  same  fauteuils  and  girandoles— 
The  same  gold  asses,*  pretty  souls! 

That,  in  this  rich  and  classic  dome, 
Appear  so  perfectly  at  home ! 
The  same  bright  river  'mongst  the  dishes, 
But  not — ah  I  not  the  same  dear  fishes- 
Late  hours  and  claret  kill'd  the  old  ones! — 
So,  'stead  of  silver  and  of  gold  ones 
(It  being  rather  hard  to  raise 
Fish  of  that  specie  nowadays), 
Some  Sprats  have  been,  by  i'— rm— th's  wish. 
Promoted  into  Silver  Fish, 
And  Gudgeons  (so  V-ns— tt— t  told 
The  R— g— t)  are  as  good  as  Gold  ! 

So,  pry  thee,  come— our  fete  will  be 
But  half  a  fete,  if  wanting  thee ! 

The  public  were  admitted  on  the  following  days  to  see  the  deco- 
rations, which  was  lauded  as  an  instance  of  "  the  Prince's  feeling 
and  good  nature."  Much  of  this  must  be  credited  to  a  natural  wish 
that  all  should  see  and  admire  his  state.  The  crush  was  tremendous 
on  this  occasion,  and  the  excitement  exceeded  that  of  the  festival 
Itself.  Some  thirty  thousand  people  assembled  outside,  filling  up 
Pall  Mall  and  the  Haymarket.  All  were  so  packed,  the  fine  ladies 
and  the  mob,  that  the  situation  became  alarming;  many  fainted; 
shrieks  and  cries  were  heard.  Lord  Yarmouth  came  forward  and 
made  a  speech.  When  the  gates  were  opened  a  rush  was  made — 
the  bul  e=?  thrown  down  and  trampled  on— an  elderly  lady  had  her 
leg  broken,  while  those  of  the  fair  sex  who  were  rescued  could  not 
leave  Carlton  House,  their  clothes  being  torn  from  their  backs. 
The  Duke  of  Clarence  then  came  forward,  and  in  a  speech  tran- 
quillized the  crowd.  But  great  mischief  had  been  done,  and  many 
disasters  occurred. 

Such  was  the  great  Carlton  House  F6le. 

•  '•  The  Ralt-cellara  on  the  P e's  own  table  were  in  the  form  of  an  an 

with  p:inniers.'* 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV  513 


CHAPTER  II. 

1811. 

While  all  this  revelry  had  been  going  on  the  King  was  growing 
worse;  the  bulletins  indeed  told  the  public  that  he  "remains  in  the 
same  state  as  during  last  week,"  or  that  his  Majesty  is  "  no  worse." 
On  review  of  the  whole,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  condition 
often  couli  be  fitly  described  as  that  of  insanity,  with  occasional 
lucid  intervals,  rather  than,  as  his  family  and  the  ministers  tried  to 
represent  it,  that  of  sanity  with  relapses  into  that  malady.  Yet 
the  persons  most  interested  in  his  recovery— the  Queen  and  Mr. 
Perceval — in  their  eagerness  were  forcing  him  into  premature  exer- 
cise of  his  faculties,  experiments  which  could  only  be  injurious. 
Thus  they  had  tried  him  "  by  proposing  to  him  tb  hear  the  Catholic 
debate  read,  to  which  he  said  he  had  no  objection,  that  he  knew  he 
must  practise  self-command."  This  was  one  of  the  topics  that  had 
actually  produced  his  insanity.  But  Mr.  Perceval  gave  out  that  he 
was  now  well  enough  to  be  restored,  but  that  by  business  he  might 
relapse. 

While  these  intrigues  were  proceeding,  the  Prince's  political 
principles  were  to  be  almost  at  once  put  to  a  very  awkward  test. 
It  was  not  unnatural  that  the  Catholics,  finding  that  the  "friend 
and  follower  of  Fox"  was  now  ruling  the  kingdom,  might  reason- 
ably expect  that  his  principles  would  at  least  find  sympathy.  They 
were  now  "agitating,''  and  the  Irish  Government  had  been  com- 
pelled to  forbid  an  election  of  delegates  for  "  an  unlawful  assem- 
bly," called  the  Catholic  Committee;  which,  with  other  repressive 
proceedings,  excited  discontent  and  symptoms  of  rebellion.  These 
measures  were  duly  sanctioned  by  the  Regent,  somewhat  to  the 
surprise  of  the  public  and  indignation  of  those  who  were  affected 
by  it.  Lord  Grenville.  moodily  looking  on  from  Dropmore,  wrote 
an  explanation  to  his  friends. 

23* 


614  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

LOED  GRENVILLE  TO  LORD  AUCKLAND. 

"Dropmore,  August  18th,  1811. 
*'  My  Dear  Lord, 

'I  believe  the  fact  about  the  Irish  business  to  be,  that  the 
Prince  Regent  sanctioned  the  prochimation*  on  the  ground  of  hav- 
ing agreed  to  let  the  ministers  go  on  their  own  wa)'',  and  reserving 
to  himself  his  own  more  tDlerant  principles  and  opinions.  For 
myself  (and  my  friends,  too,  for  I  should  be  ashamed  to  indulge  a 
feeling  merely  personal  on  such  subjects,  but  for  all  of  us).  I  am 
persuaded  that  we  have  great  reason  to  rejoice  in  an  additional 
obstacle  to  our  being  called  upon  once  more  to  undertake  to  serve 
the  Crown,  without  possessing  its  confidence,  and  to  act  honorably 
on  our  side  towards  those  who  are  hourly  betraying  us." 

But  in  truth  the  behavior  of  the  Prince  all  through  this  year  of 
restrictions  was  a  series  of  fluctuations.  Now  friendly  to  the  rain 
ister,  now  turning  on  him;  now  with  the  King,  now  going  against 
him;  now  with  the  people,  now  against  them.  Thus  he  had  re- 
ceived a  deputation  from  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Common  Council,  in 
presence  of  the  ministers  of  state,  when  it  was  urged  that  "the 
present  representation  of  tha  Commons  House  of  Parliament,  which 
was  termed  a  ready  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  minister  for  the 
time  being,  whether  for  purposes  of  nullifying  the  just  prerogatives 
of  the  Crown,  or  of  insulting  and  oppressing  the  people,  and  a 
reform  in  which  representation  is  therefore  absolutely  necessary, 
for  the  safety  of  the  Crown,  the  happiness  of  the  people,  and  the 
peace  and  independence  of  the  country."  To  which  he  returned  a 
dignified  answer,  assuring  the  City  that  he  should  esteem  it  the 
happiest  moment  of  his  life,  when  he  could  resign  the  powers  del- 
egated to  him  into  the  hands  of  his  sovereign;  and  that  he  should 
always  listen  to  the  complaints  of  those  who  thought  themselves 
aggrieved. 

Again,  when  a  Radical  address  at  a  meeting  held  at  Westminster, 
and  presided  over  by  the  well-known  Major  Cartwright,  was  pre- 
sented to  him,  pointing  out  the  dangers  of  cklaying  I'eform,  it  was 


•  "The  question  of  Ireland  is  parried  judiciously  enough  for  a  short  time; 
but  come  it  must,  and  I  icnow,  as  I  dare  say  you  do  equally,  that  the  Prince  is 
pledged  as  strongly  as  man  can  be  (even  of  a  very  late  date)  to  support  the 
CathoIic3."-Mr.  Fremantle  to  Duke  of  Buclcingham,  "Buckingham  Papers 
—Regency,"  i.  134. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  515 

printed  in  the  official  Gazette,  a  most  unusual  circumstance,  and 
considered  to  be  owing  to  the  positive  command  of  the  Prince 
himself.* 

On  a  contest  for  the  Chancellorship  of  Cambridge,  he  gave  all 
his  support  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  as  against  the 
Duke  of  Rutland,  who  had  received  the  promise  of  the  King's  sup- 
port, as  well  as  the  Prime  Minister's.  This  the  candidate  published 
in  a  letter,  adding,  with  great  candor,  that  "Jae  had  no  merit  but 
the  good-will  of  these  personages." 

Then,  by  another  turn,  when  the  Gold  Coin  Bill  came  on  in  July, 
"  the  Prince's  friends  "  abandoned  the  Opposition  and  voted  stead- 
ily with  the  Government,  Sheridan  speaking  against  Tierney. 
"Except  on  the  Regency  they  have  never  attended  so  zealously. 
...  In  short  the  whole  Carlton  House  interest  has  been  most 
actively  exerted,"  wrote  Mr.  Brougham,  **  with  wliat  views  I  think 
it  not  very  difficult  to  guess. "f  It  might  fairly  be  surmised  that 
he  reckoned  on  aid  from  the  ministers  in  two  plans  that  were  now 
in  his  thoughts,  viz.  the  hope  of  getting  rid  of  the  Princess  of 
Wales  by  a  divorce,  as  well  as  of  having  his  debts  paid  once  more 
and  receiving  a  handsome  allowance.  As  to  the  first  of  these 
plans,  he  might  think  it  feasible  now  that  her  only  friend  and  pro- 
tector was  disabled,  and  that  the  excellent  Perceval,  so  lately  her 
champion,  had  "thrown  her  over.":j: 

It  is  not  remarkable,  therefore,  that  now  he  should  make  ap- 
proaches to  the  minister,  and,  to  the  astonishment  and  disgust  of 
the  Liberals,  had  actually  promised  to  dine  with  him.  Bnt  the 
King's  state  became  so  serious  that  at  half-past  nine  on  the  19th  a 
message  was  despatched  to  Mr.  Perceval  from  the  Regent,  excusing 
himself  from  dining  with  him  on  the  morrow,  but  strangely  adding 
that  "when  this  was  over,  whether  the  event  was  favorable  or 
unfavorable,  his  royal  highness  would  consider  the  engagement  to 
dine  with  him  as  still  holding."  §  Such  was  his  singular  character. 
Yet  only  a  month  before  there  had  been  "  a  serious  misunderstand- 


*  Huish,  ii.  41.  +  "  Autobiography,"  i.  524. 

X  "It  appears,"  wrote  this  usually  well-informed  person,  in  August,  "that 
he  is  bent  upon  a  divorce,  and  will  make  any  man  minister  uho  will  assist 
him.  I  have  heard  he  intends  bringing  the  Princess  to  trial  as  soon  as  his 
father  and  her  mother  are  gone,  and  that  then,  tliough  her  life,  as  she  knows, 
would  be  forfeited,  he  should  only  confine  her  in  Holyrood  House  forever." — 
Jackson,  "  Diary,"  i.  275. 

§  Colchester,  ii.  342. 


516  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ing  between  them,  which  had  risen  to  such  a  height  that  one  or 
other  must  give  way.''  *'' 

During  the  recess  the  Regent  paid  a  visit  to  Brighton,  and  en- 
joyed liimself  very  much,  casting  off  business.  Mr.  Jaclison,  wlio 
was  there  at  the  time,  furnishes  a  glimpse  of  the  life  at  the  Pa- 
vilion. 

"  Tlie  Regent,  in  fact,  has  been  very  gracious,  and  we  have  been 
invited  to  all  his  evening  receptions.  On  Sunday,  just  as  he  seemed 
ready  to  dismiss  the  party,  he  kept  them  waiting  a  full  half-hour 
whilst  he  was  in  very  animated  and  familiar  conversation  with  my 
brother  and  Elizabeth, 

"  He  is  now  returned  to  London,  highly  pleased  wilh  his  stay 
here,  and  regretting  especially  that  he  must  go  just  as  the  weather 
is  becommg  fine,  for  it  has  rained  hard  part  of  every  day  he  has 
been  here.  He  had  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  with  him.  Lord  Yar 
mouth,  and  two  or  three  gentlemen  of  his  family,  with  only  a  small 
retinue  of  servants. 

"Theevenmg's  entertainment  consists  in  hearing  the  Regent's 
private  band  play  The  band  is  a  part  of  his  establishment  con- 
fined to  this  place.  It  is  composed  only  of  wmd  instruments.  We 
heard  some  of  the  finest  music,  executed  in  the  very  finest  manner; 
all  the  performers  being  musicians  of  the  very  first  talent.  On  one 
or  two  evenings.  Miss  Chinner}^  who  possesses  great  musical  ability 
in  addition  to  her  many  other  accomplishments,  was  asked  to  play 
on  the  pianoforte.  This  was  considered  a  very  great  compliment, 
and,  as  you  will  readily  understand,  was  the  cause  of  much  envy 
and  backbiting  amongst  the  women.  Many  soft  sleepy  eyes  opened, 
many  arched  brows  were  raised  higher,  and  amongst  the  dowagers 
many  significant  glances  were  slyly  exchanged.  But  Miss  Chinnery 
performed  splendidly,  and  without  any  of  the  airs  and  graces  wilh 
which  I  have  seen  some  girls  prattle  with  the  keys.  She  was  com 
plimented  greatly,  and  particularly  so  by  the  Regent.  On  one 
occasion  we  heard  Viotti,  the  celebrated  performer  on  the  violin. 
About  twelve  o'clock,  sandwiches  and  some  light  refreshments  arc 
brought  in,  and  the  Prince  retires;  having  made  the  tour  of  the 
room  to  speak  to  the  company,  both  before  and  after  the  perform- 
ance of  the  band.  I  think  the  company  never  exceeded  a  hundred, 
and  sometimes  not  more  than  thirty  persons  were  present." 

These  Pavilion  concerts  showed  not  only  his  taste  for  music,  but 


'kickingham  Papers— Regency,"  L  88. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  517 

his  good-nature.  It  was  at  one  of  them  that  Kelly — "Mike,"  of 
pleasant  memory — ventured  to  introduce  a  little  girl  who  was 
eagerly  curious  to  see  the  Prince,  and  concealed  her  among  the 
musicians.  The  Prince  however  spied  her,  and  with  affected  anger 
taxed  Kelly  with  this  intrusion.  But  he  presently  had  the  child  on 
his  knee,  put  her  in  a  good  place,  and  took  care  that  she  enjoj'ed 
herself.  To  this  Kelly  he  contrived  in  a  delicate  gracious  way  to 
give  an  annuity  of  £100;  that  is,  by  ordering  him  to  take  a  free 
benefit  annually,  to  which  he  always  contributed  £100. 

An  instance  of  the  Prince's  lavish  tastes  may  be  quoted  here. 
At  the  Duke  of  Queensbcrry's  sale  of  wine  in  1810  it  was  found, 
to  the  surprise  of  the  public,  that  his  cellar  had  been  rather  poorly 
furnished;  but  there  were  twelve  lots  of  Tokay,  which  Mr.  Chris- 
tie, after  an  appropriate  harangue,  informed  the  amateurs  had  cost 
the  noble  duke  tliree  guineas  per  bottle  at  Paris,  half  a  century  back. 
The  liquor  was  put  Into  lots  of  a  dozen,  and  put  up  at  fifty  guineas, 
on  which  biddings  were  immediately  made,  and  it  was  knocked 
down  at  ninety-six  guineas;  another  succeeded  at  the  same  enor- 
mous price,  when  two  gentlemen  agreed  to  take  the  whole  between 
them,  as  they  had  no  opponents;  they  were  found  to  be  an  agent 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  a  friend  of  a  cabinet-maker  of  the  City: 
his  royal  highness  having  eight  lots,  and  the  other  four. 

Though  there  was  hardly  any  other  wine  worth  notice,  it  sold 
for  immense  sums.  The  sale  wound  up  with  a  couple  of  dozen  of 
liqueur,  the  name  of  which  was  unknown,  but  which  fetched  a 
guinea  a  bottle.* 

Mrs.  Fitzherbert  was  also  at  Brighton  during  the  season,  though 
perhaps  not  at  the  same  time  as  the  Prince.  Not  by  any  means  in 
low  spirits,  she  gave  suppers  and  balls — one  of  the  latter  kept  up 
until  five  in  the  morning.  Here  was  also  the  beautiful  Lady  Char- 
lemont— much  admired,  and  still  recalled  by  many  now  living— and 
the  lively  Lady  Alborough.f 

A  new  influence  had  now  be.gun  to  direct  his  policy  and  inclina- 
tions, and  which  grew  stronger  with  successive  years — that  of  Lady 


♦  See  that  curious  work,  *'  Personal  Memoirs  of  Pryse  Gordon,  Esq." 
t  The  agreeable  Mrs.  Trench  described  an  awkward  scene  at  Cheltenham, 
•where  Mrs.  Fitzherbert  had  been  judiciously  invited  by  a  gauche  colonel  to  a 
fete  in  honor  of  the  Princess  Charlotte's  birth.  He  first  introduced  his  guest 
as  "Regentess,"  by  leading  her  in  before  all  the  ladies  of  rank,  then  gave 
toasts,  and  descanted  on  the  merits  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  and 
"  the  lovely  fruit  of  their  imion." 


518  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Hertford,  which  has  been  before  alluded  to.  This  was  a  decorous 
lady  of  quality,  whose  connection  with  her  admirer  must  be  ac- 
cepted as  that  of  a  correct  and  "  platonic  "  kind.  Shrewd  observers 
had  noticed  what  Lord  Holland  calls  his  usual  symptoms  of  devo- 
tion— sufferings  from  illness  and  bad  health.  He  would  submit  to 
be  bled  two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  a  night,  and  "the  sur- 
geons were  introduced  unknown  to  each  other,  to  obviate  any  objec- 
tions." The  reader  will  therefore  understand  the  supposed  attempt 
at  suicide  when  he  was  burning  with  his  early  flame  for  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert.  It  was  always  considered  that  Lady  Hertford  had  worked 
on  him  to  confirm  him  in  his  change  of  political  view^s.  This  re- 
gard he  extended  to  all  belonging  to  her — as  in  the  instance  of  a 
later  attachment — and  Lord  Yarmouth,  the  raaturer  son  of  this 
elderly  dame,  was  long  one  of  his  bosom  friends  and  companions. 

It  was  at  Manchester  House  that  he  became  acquainted  with  an 
entertaining  being— Theodore  Hook — whose  gifts  were  after  his 
own  heart:  those  of  mimicry,  story-telling,  and  joking.  This  was 
to  prove  a  most  valuable  intimacy,  and  to  bring  him  profit  during 
the  years  of  conflict  with  his  Queen.  Then  Hook  starting  the  John 
Bull  did  his  cause  infinite  service.  "  "We  believe,"  writes  Mr.  Bar- 
ham,  in  the  more  unpretending  sketch  in  the  "Quarterly  Review," 
which  preceded  his  "Life  of  Hook,"  "he  owed  his  first  entree  to 
the  impression  made  on  Sheridan  by  his  improvisation  at  the  Piazza 
Tavern;  lie  soon  afterwards  became  familiar  with  Sheridan's  amia- 
ble and  richly-gifted  son  Thomas,  and  through  him  with  various 
young  men  of  his  own  standing,  who  moved  in  the  atmosphere  of 
fashion.  Some  of  these  made  mention  of  him  to  the  Marchioness 
of  Hertford,  and  after  he  had  justified  their  eulogies  by  the  display 
of  his  musical  and  metrical  facility  in  her  ladyship's  presence,  he 
was  called  upon  to  minister  in  like  fashion  to  the  amusement  of 
the  Regent  at  a  supper  in  Manchester  Square.  We  have  heard  him 
descrilje  his  presentation  to  the  Prince — his  awe  at  first  was  some- 
thing quite  terrible — but  good-humored  condescension  and  plenty 
of  champagne  by-and-by  restored  him  to  himself,  and  the  young 
man  so  delighted  his  royal  highness  that,  as  he  was  leaving  the 
room,  he  laid  his  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  said:  'Mr.  Hood,  I 
must  see  and  hear  you  again.'  After  a  few  more  evenings  at  Lady 
Hertford's,  and,  we  believe,  a  dinner  or  two  elsewhere,  the  Regent 
made  inquiry  about  his  position,  and,  finding  that  he  was  without 
profession  or  fixed  income  of  any  sort,  signified  bis  opinion  that 
*  something  must  be  done  for  Hpok.' 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  519 

"The  ladies'  tact  soon  discovered  that,  though  there  might  be 
something  hke  petulance  in  his  first  address,  there  was  no  real  pre- 
sumptuousness  in  his  composition.  Tlie  wonder  had  passed  rapidly 
into  a  favorite  throughout  Ma3'fair.  He  had  seen  its  boudoirs  as 
well  as  its  saloons — and  narrowly  escaped  various  dangers  incidenta 
to  that  career — among  the  rest,  from  at  least  one  duel  (with  General 
Thornton),  in  which  transaction,  from  first  to  last,  he  was  allowed 
to  show  equal  spirit  and  temper.  We  have  some  records  of  his 
airier  existence  also  in  'Gilbert  Gurney.'  The  whole  scene  of  the 
Countess  of  "Wolverhampton's  party,  at  the  end  of  the  first  volume, 
is  copied  from  what  occurred  at  the  late  Lady  Buckingham's — not 
forgetting  the  bullock  substituted  for  the  cow,  and  the  royal  Duke's 
supper  devoured  by  the  Pandeans.  But  the  richness  of  the  harvest 
he  had  gathered  is  apparent  in  the  whole  series  of  his  novels.  It 
was  in  the  midst  of  these  gayeties  that  the  Regent  smiled  on  him.*' 

When  he  was  on  a  visit  to  Lord  Hertford  at  Haglcy  a  curious 
Incident  occurred.  Two  of  the  tenants  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
have  a  "good  view  "  of  the  Regent,  and  were  accordingly  stationed 
in  an  ante-room  through  which  he  was  to  pass.  The  hostess  having 
informed  the  Prince  of  their  eagerness  to  see  him,  he  good-naturedly 
and  affably  advanced  to  speak  to  the  village  lasses:  one  was  so  over- 
come that  she  fell  to  the  floor  fainting,  the  other  remained  in  a  state 
of  daze  or  stupefaction. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  the  most  important  changes  in  the  me' 
tropolis  were  planned;  and  the  bold  scheme  for  adding  a  new 
quarter  with  a  park,  and  streets  laid  out  with  taste,  which  now 
forms  the  most  effective  portion  of  London,  seems  to  have  been 
prompted  by  the  Regent. 

But  it  was  in  the  year  1813  that  the  scheme  of  laying  out  magnifi- 
cent streets  and  buildings,  joining  a  large  tract  of  waste  fields, 
known  as  Marylebone  Park,  by  one  spacious  thoroughfare  was  en- 
tered on.  Nothing  so  welcome  to  the  Regent  could  have  been  con- 
ceived. It  opened  up  prospects  of  building  and  planning,  and  his 
ow^n  architect  directed  the  whole,  though  the  undertaking  was 
under  the  direction  of  •*  The  Woods  and  Forests."  Nash  conceived 
the  plan  of  long  fa9ades,  broken  into  blocks,  then  again  subdivided 
into  houses,  and  it  must  be  said  that  Waterloo  Place  and  the  ascent 
up  to  Regent  Street  proper,  and  the  Quadrant  (a  most  effective  de- 
vice, with  its  original  colonnade  now  removed)  all  combine  to  make 
a  most  satisfactory  and  successful  design,  which  modern  architects, 
with  the  new  developments  and  all  the  Queen  Anne  vagaries,  have 


520  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

not  succeeded  in  even  approaching.  Stucco  and  paint  may  indeed 
be  the  chief  "no'.cs,"  but  there  is  a  dignity  and  effect  that  is  not 
unworthy  of  a  great  city  or  of  a  leading  and  busy  quarter  full  of 
glittering  shops.  This  important  enterprise  was  completed  in  a  sur- 
prisingly short  time.  Within  fifteen  years  the  park  was  laid  out 
and  terraces  built. 

These  improvements  included  the  erection  of  the  houses  forming 
Cumberland  Place  and  Crescent,  and  the  Duke  of  Portland's  prop- 
erty was  then  built  over.  Manchester  Square  was  begun  by  the 
erection  of  Manchester  House.  Lisson  Grove  and  the  district  about 
was  gradually  covered  with  houses;  there  remained,  where  Waterloo 
Place  is  now,  some  blocks  of  old  mean-looking  streets  and  dingy 
houses,  quite  unsuited  to  Carlton  House,  which  itself,  as  the  new 
streets  spread  away  from  it,  b  jgan  to  look  dingy  and  shabby  enough, 
and  was  dwarfed  by  the  more  pretentious  buildings,  and  by  the 
towers  of  Westminster,  which  could  be  seen  rising  over  its  roof. 

Some  were  scandalized  at  the  rash  and  daring  character  of  the 
new  plans;  and  it  is  characteristic  to  find  that  some  lamented  the 
loss  of  the  new  milk,  butter,  and  other  produce,  purveyv?d  from  the 
fields  and  market-gardens  past  Wimpole  Street,  and  which  would 
now  have  to  be  supplied  from  many  miles  beyond.  Some  were  sar- 
castic, too,  on  the  number  of  new  churches  projected,  and  which 
formed  a  feature  in  all  the  plans.  But  these  projects  were  now 
only  being  talked  of,  and  had  not  yet  been  put  in  action. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  521 


CHAPTER  IIL 

1811. 

A  TRUE  eptimate  of  Mr.  Perceval  as  a  minister  has  now  been 
pretty  fairly  arrived  at,  viz.  that  he  was  a  man  of  mediocre  or 
respectable  ability,  inclined  to  *  trade,"  as  it  is  called,  on  a  reputa- 
tion for  being  a  good  father  and  husband,  and  perhaps  for  piety.* 

It  is  amusing  to  read  the  extravagant  terms  in  which  his  humble 
adm.irers  speak  of  him,  and  record  his  various  performances.  The 
raptures  of  men  like  Mr.  Plumer  Ward  would  have  been  exag- 
gerated if  applied  to  Lord  Chatham  or  his  son.  Nothing,  too,  is 
more  unfounded  than  the  statement  made  by  Lord  Eldon  and 
others  as  to  his  gradually  winning  his  way  with  the  Prince,  or  the 
latter  "falling  in  love  with  him"  politically.  The  truth  is  the 
Regent  looked  on  him  as  his  fatlier's  minister,  and  though  for  a 
time  he  had  hopes  he  might  find  him  a  pliant  tool,  he  soon  was  on 
the  verge  of  a  quarrel  with  him,  or  intriguing  to  supplant  him. 
This  latter  proceeding  we  will  now  consider,  and  a  very  curious 
intrigue  it  is. 

To  understand  the  Prince's  political  conduct,  one  principle  may 
be  assumed:  that  he  was  never  guided  by  men  of  principle,  but  led 
by  boon  companions  or  men  of  pleasure — Sheridan,  LordsWelleslej'', 
Moira,  and  Yarmouth;  the  tribe  of  MacMahons,  Tyrwhitts,  Knight- 
ons;  scheming  women,  needy  officers,  adroit  doctors — these  were 
his  counsellors  and  directors.  Grey,  Grenville,  Erskine,  Romilly, 
Fox,  were  tried  and  found  unsuitable.  They  were  too  consistent, 
too  straightforward,  too  honest,  to  become  mere  instruments  or 
advisers  of  what  was  agreeable.  But  even  when  he  had  committed 
himself  to  guides  of  this  description,  there  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
camarilla  within,  who  controlled  and  checked  them,  and  thus  the 
foolish  Prince  was  ever  led  by  his  humors  and  whims,  and  the  aims 
of  others. 


*  Sydney  Smith  has  expressed  this  popular  view  in  a  well-known  and  most 
pleasant  passage,  praising  him  for  his  dutiful  and  conscientious  behavior  *'  to 
Mrs.  Perceval,  the  Master  and  Miss  Perce vals." 


522  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

On  the  Prince's  graciously  allowing  Mr.  Perceval  and  ministers 
"to  wear  his  uniform,"  tlie  smart  pen  of  Moore  was  again  at 
worlj  t 

NEW  COSTUME  OF  THE  MINISTERS. 

Having  sent  off  the  troops  of  brave  Major  Camac, 
"With  a  swinging  horse-tail  at  each  valorous  back. 
And  such  helmets.  God  bless  us.'  as  never  deck'd  any 
Male  creature  before  except  Signor  Giovanni— 
"  Let's  see, "  sa}-?  the  R— g— t  (like  Titus,  perplex'd 
With  the  duties  of  empire),  '  whom  shall  I  dress  next?'* 

He  looks  in  the  glass— but  perfection  is  there, 
Wig,  whiskers,  and  chin-tufts  all  right  to  a  hair; 
Not  a  single  ea-curl  on  his  forehead  he  traces— 
For  curls  are  like  Ministers,  strange  as  the  case  is, 
The /a/ser  they  are,  the  more  firm  in  their  places. 

His  coat  he  next  views— but  the  coat  who  could  doubtt 
For  his  Y— rm— th's  own  Frenchified  hand  cut  it  out: 
Every  pucker  and  seam  were  made  matters  of  State, 
And  a  grand  Household  Council  was  held  on  each  plait  I 

Then  whom  shall  he  dress?  shall  he  new -rig  his  brother, 
Great  C— mb— rl— d's  Duke,  with  some  kickshaw  or  other? 
And  kindly  invent  him  more  Christian -like  shapes 
For  his  feather-bed  neckcloths  and  pillory  capes? 

Ah  no'— here  his  ardor  would  meet  with  delays. 
For  the  Duke  had  been  lately  pack'd  up  in  new  stays, 
So  complete  for  the  winter,  he  saw  very  plain 
*Twould  be  devilish  hard  work  to  itjipack  him  again! 

So,  what's  to  be  done?— there's  the  Ministers,  bless  'eml— 
As  he  made  the  puppets,  why  shouldn't  he  dresa  'em? 
*' An  excellent  thought' -call  the  tailors— be  nimble- 
Let  Cum  bring  his  spyglass,  and  H— rtf— d  her  thimble; 
While  Y— rm— th  shall  give  us,  in  spite  of  all  quizzers, 
The  last  Paris  cut  with  his  true  Gallic  scissors. ' 

So  saying,  he  calls  C— stl— r— gh,  and  the  rest 
Of  his  Heaven  born  statesmen,  to  come  and  be  dress'd. 
"While  Y— rm— th.  with  snip  like  and  brisk  expedition, 
Cuts  up,  all  at  once,  a  large  Cath'lic  petition 

In  long  tailors'  measures  (Che  P e  crying  'Well  done!") 

And  first  puts  in  hand  my  Lord  Chancellor  Eld— n. 

Lord  Welleslcy,  a  man  of  pleasure  and  dissipated,  but  certainly 
of  talents,  independent  and  miinly,  had  two  creditable  ends  for  his 
policy,  which  he  always  kept  in  view — the  one  a  fair  and  generous 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  623 

support  for  his  brother,  then  fighting  the  battles  of  his  country  in 
Spain,  the  other  a  loyal  and  liberal  treatment  of  the  Catholics. 
From  this  latter  position  he  never  swerved.  He  was  now  a  mem- 
ber of  a  Government  wliere  neither  of  these  principles  was  con- 
sidered, and  was  doing  his  best  to  thwart  the  head  of  it.  In 
September,  when  Mr.  Perceval  and  his  friends  were  comforting 
tliemselves  with  having  gained  the  Regent,  he  was  already  being 
closeted  with  him,  and  forwarding  his  own  favorite  ends.  He  had 
pressed  on  him  tlie  possibility  of  a  bold  and  dazzling  foreign  policy, 
which  would  add  prestige  to  his  regency. 

In  the  meantime  ^e  continued  to  be  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the 
Prime  Minister,  and  at  councils  was  studiously  obstructive  and 
haughtily  insolent.  After  a  quarrel,  owing  to  his  having  contested 
a  grant  of  a  million  in  aid  of  his  brother,  wrung  from  the  minister 
"like  drops  of  blood,"  the  latter  amiably  offered  him  two  places  in 
succession  for  his  son,  which  were  declined,  with  the  contemptu- 
ous speech  that  he  would  consult  the  Prince  upon  it.  When  the 
ministers  begged  the  Regent  to  be  allowed  to  wear  the  Regent's 
uniform  in  honor  of  his  birthday,  and  for  that  occasion  only,  the 
haughty  nobleman  declined  to  sign  the  application,  but  asked  it  in 
person,  and  was  graciously  privileged  not  only  on  that  but  on  all 
other  occasions.* 

It  becomes  entertaining  to  follow  the  network  of  speculation  and 
intrigue  that  was  thus  set  on  foot  by  "the  Prince's  old  friends," 
"the  Prince's  friends,"  and  the  Prince's  advisers,  who  were  neither 
old  nor  new  friends.  They  were  all  working  against  one  another, 
so  it  was  hard  for  the  distracted  Regent  to  know  how  to  act.  But 
new  influences  were  fatal  to  the  old.  Lord  Moira,  one  of  the 
"friends,"  thus  gravely  lectured  the  old  friends  on  his  policy: 

"Let  me  honestly  say,"  wrote  Lord  Moira,  "that  Lord  Gren- 
ville's  immediate  connections  have  to  charge  themselves  considera- 
bly with  the  present  state  of  things.  Then  a  tone  so  unconciliatory 
was  used  towards  the  Prince,  as  inevitably  repelled  his  dispositions, 
and  laid  him  open  to  the  representations  of  those  who  insinuated 
that  he  would  put  himself  into  thraldom  if  he  persevered  in  his 
original  plan.  To  clinch  the  matter  there  came  that  impolitic  oppo- 
sition, by  Lord  Grenville's  particular  friends,  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, to  the  reappointment  of  the  Duke  of  York."  f 

"One  thing  seems  evident,"  wrote  Lord  Bulkely,  "that  our 

*  "  Buckingham  Papers,"  pp.  12G,  127.  t  Auckland,  iv.  371. 


524  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

friend  of  Dropmore  has  no  chance  of  being  our  future  pilot,  and 
that  the  Prince  will  proscribe  him  and  Grey."*  But  Lord  Grey 
was  quite  sanguine,  and  believed  that  the  Prince  intended  to  bring 
in  his  old  friends.  "  Our  friend  of  Dropmore,"  on  the  other  hand, 
took  the  gloomiest  view,  and  declared  that  the  Prince  had  not  the 
smallest  disposition  towards  what  are  called  his  old  friends.  '  'He  has, 
1  am  confident,  no  plan  of  conduct  whatever,  but  is  governed  from 
day  to  day  by  the  two  people  that  have  taken  him. "  In  aid  of  these 
various  schemes,  negotiations  were  going  on  with  the  Whig  Dukes, 
and  it  was  given  out  "  with  great  exultation  that  the  Prince  had 
gained  over  the  great  houses  of  Norfolk,  Percy,  and  Cavendish." 
All  the  royal  family  too  were  eager  to  have  Lord  Wellcsley  at  the 
head  of  affairs,  for  patronage  was  to  be  given  over  to  the  Prince, 
and  he  was  besides  to  be  handsomely  treated  as  to  debts  and  allow 
ances,  and  established  by  some  brilliant  coups  of  foreign  policy. 

All,  therefore,  was  couleur  de  rose  when,  owing  to  the  influence 
of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  a  coolness  took  place.  The  Chancel- 
lor was  called  in,  and  these  champions  of  ascendency  succeeded  in 
touching  the  Prince  in  his  Protestant  feelings,  and  persuading  him 
that  the  late  behavior  of  the  Catholics  was  insolent  and  offensive, 
so  that  he  was  heard  to  declare  that  he  considered  their  conduct 
purely  hostile  to  him,  as  showing  a  distrust  of  him  wlien  he  should 
become  his  own  master;  that  so  long  as  they  assumed  this  menacing 
attitude,  there  should  be  no  change  that  would  favor  their  objects. 
It  was  thought  that  this  afforded  him  a  plausible  pretence  for 
"opportunism,"  of  leaving  things  as  they  were,  the  part  most  con- 
sonant to  his  love  of  ease  and  personal  timidity  of  character. 

This  was  practically  destroying  the  old  party  of  the  Prince's 
friends.  "  I  can  now  tell  you,"  wrote  a  judicious  observer,  "  for  I 
know  It,  that  your  friends  are  distinctly  excluded  from  any  chance 
of  success,  whatever  change  may  take  place.  On  this  depend. "f 
And  he  added  a  characteristic  reason  which  showed  he  was  not  un- 
skilled in  human  character.  It  was  becau«;c  the  Prince  had  already 
used  his  friends  so  ill  that  no  concession  or  recommendation  on  his 
part  could  set  such  a  compound  fracture  as  had  taken  plr.ce.t 

♦  Auckland,  iv.  373.  t  **  Buckinprham  Papers,''  p  ^f,'i. 

X  This  was  from  that  anonjTnou-s  correspondent  who  write.«?  such  piquant 
letters,  the  authorship  of  which  has  puzzled  Sir  O.  Cornwall  I^wis  and  others. 
A  clue  may  be  found  in  the  followinpr.  Many  years  a?o.  when  the  paper-*  nnd 
correspondence  of  the  Buckinsrhnin  f-im-lv  we-v  put  up  to  auction,  there  was 
among  the  lots  In  the  catalogue  one  thus  desci  ihtd.    •  120— Stuart  (Mr.),  editor 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  525 

With  this  may  be  contrasted  the  behavior  of  the  otherwise  worthy 
Perceval,  wliicli  was  certainly  imdiuiiified. 

His  eat^erness  to  conciliate  Lord  Wellesley  will  have  been  noted. 
In  this  view  he  seems  to  have  put  up  with  very  brusque  treatment 
and  many  snubs;  as,  when  the  bishopric  of  Oxford  fell  vacant  the 
Prince  at  once  thought  of  his  old  tutor  Jackson  (?),  and  in  an  inter- 
view with  the  minister  announced  his  intention  of  conferring  it  on 
him.  The  following  animated  conversation  took  place:  "On  that 
point,  sir,  I  am  positively  pledged,"  objected  Mr.  Perceval.  "  Pos- 
itively pledged,  Mr.  Perceval!"  said  the  Prince,  "  positively  pledged 
to  give  away  one  of  my  bishoprics?  I  don't  understand  you."  "I 
mean,"  said  the  other  humbly,  "  that  it  was  the  King's  positive  and 
declared  intention  to  give  it  to  Dean  Legge."  "Mr.  Perceval," 
replied  the  Prince  insolently,  "if  1  had  any  direct  intimation  of 
what  were  really  the  King's  wishes  upon  the  subject,  I  would  not 
only  make  Dean  Legge  Bishop  of  Oxford,  but  Archbishop  of  Can 
terbury,  if  it  were  in  my  power.  But  as  that  is  not  the  case,  I 
shall  make  my  own  bishop.  And  further,  I  desive  never  more  to 
hear  what  were  the  King's  wishes  upon  such  subjects  through  a 
third  person."*  This  sharp  rebuke  shows  that  the  Prince  was 
shrewd  and  sagacious  enough;  but  the  secret  of  this  bitterness  was 
really  owing  to  what  was  a  sore  subject  with  him,  refusal  of  money; 
and  here  the  minister,  no  doubt  looking  to  his  own  interests  with 
the  nation  and  the  King,  declined  to  be  complaisant.  He  had  con- 
sented to  a  grant  of  £150,000  to  defray  the  extra  expenses  of  the 
regency,  but  had  suddenly  changed  his  views  and  reduced  it  to 
£100,000.  On  this  the  Prince  made  the  following  angry  speech 
"  Sir,  I  am  not  afraid  of  your  bringing  the  whole  of  my  debts  before 
the  country,  provided  you  don't  misrepresent  me."  No  one  seems 
to  have  recalled  the  magnanimous  declaration  in  which  only  a  few 
months  before  the  Regent  had  declined  to  burden  the  nation  with 
any  fresh  demands,  saying  he  was  not  eager  for  money. 

of  'The  Oracle,'  Secret  Correspondence  with  the  Marquis  of  Buckingham, 
41  letters.  These  letters  are  mostly  of  great  length,  many  being  of  ten  or 
twelve  pages;  they  enter  very  fully  into  the  details  of  the  political  move- 
ments of  the  day,  and  evince  a  degree  of  close  intimacy  with  persons  of  high 
position.  A  large  portion  of  the  corre.spondence,  most  relative  to  private 
affairs  of  individuals,  is  unpublished."  This  is  an  almost  exact  description  of 
the  published  anonymous  documents.  Before  the  sale  the  letters  were  with- 
drawn. Stuart  was  brother  of  the  "  Dan  Stuart''  so  pleasantly  described  by 
Charles  Lamb. 
*  "  Buckingham  Papers,"  p.  172. 


526  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

The  most  singular  incident  in  the  history  of  cabinets  is  that  one 
member  of  the  Government  sliould  have  constituted  himself  the 
Prince's  oflScial  advocate  and  champion,  in  opposition  to  its  chief 
and  the  rest;  Lord  Wellesley  insisting  on  the  Prince's  rights  in  an 
almost  hostile  manner.  As  the  Regent's  agent  he  informed  Mr. 
Perceval  that  what  was  required  wa?<  that  the  King  should  have  a 
suitable  establishment,  sufficient  for  his  comfort  and  rank;  but  that 
the  full  Civil  List,  state,  etc.,  should  be  transferred  to  the  Regent, 
who  would  give  up  his  allowance  as  Prince  of  Wales.  The  Queen 
and  Princesses,  as  the  Prince  had  taken  cure  to  assure  them  at  the 
beginning,  should  have  separate  allowances.*  This  view  the  min- 
ister declined  to  accept  in  its  entirety,  and  proposed  that  the  Regent 
should  maintain  the  King  out  of  the  Civil  List  to  the  extent  of 
£100,000  a  year.  He  agreed,  however,  to  add  £50,000  from  the 
Prince's  old  allowance,  so  that  the  balance  would  only  be  £50,000. 

But  the  strange  incidents  of  this  little  struggle  to  overthrow  by 
personal  influence  and  favoritism  the  constituted  Government  is  mi- 
nutely unfolded  in  a  curious  account  given  by  Lord  Wellesley  him- 
self to  a  friend,  colored,  no  doubt,  by  his  impulsive  habit  of 
viewing  things.  From  it  we  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  turns  and  shifts 
of  this  uncertain  prince.f 

"  When  the  turn  of  good  fortune  on  the  Continent  had  come  the 
Prince  Regent  learned  from  Count  Milnster,  the  Hanoverian  min- 
ister, what  great  openings  there  were  for  adding  to  England's  pres- 
tige. On  this  topic  Lord  Wellesley  used  to  enlarge  until  the  Prince 
grew  fired  with  enthusiasm.  This,  Lord  Wellesley  says,  was  a 
bond  of  union.  The  Prince  and  his  brothers  were  even  anxious  to 
send  out  an  army  to  Hanover,  but  from  this  Lord  Wellesley  dis- 
suaded him.  He  proposed  even  that  all  these  plans  should  be  kept 
secret  from  the  other  ministers;  but  this  his  friend  dissuaded  him 
from.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Perceval  was  complaining  to  Lord  Welles- 
ley "that  he  despaired  of  getting  anything  done;  that  the  Prince 
Regent  talked  incessantly,  and  would  seldom  listen  to  business; 
that  he  frequently  went  away  without  having  shown  one  of  his 
papers." 

Towards  the  end  of  the  summer  the  Prince  Regent  began  to 
speak  to  him  on  the  subject  of  the  ministry  he  proposed  to  form  at 


♦  Lord  Wellesley  to  Perceval,  "  Life  of  Perceval  "  11.  227. 

+  It  seems  to  have  been  drawn  up  by  Colonel  Shawe,  his  secretary  and 
friend,  and  will  be  found  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  "Supplementary 
Despatches,"  vii.  257. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  527 

the  end  of  his  restrictions;  he  pressed  for  Lord  Wellesley's  advice 
without  stating  his  own  intentions.  Lord  Wellesley,  after  alluding 
to  his  favorite  principles  of  carrying  out  a  bold  policy  on  the  Con- 
tinent, still  advised  him,  if  he  had  given  a  pledge  to  any  particular 
set  of  men,  to  keep  his  word  and  commence  his  government  "  with 
unblemished  honor."  This  the  adviser  felt  would  throw  him  out 
of  office,  and  he  fancied  the  Prince's  idea  was  to  have  Lords  Grey 
and  Grenville,  who  had  too  many  of  their  own  friends  to  provide 
for  to  offer  him  anything.  The  Regent,  he  believed,  proposed  to 
retain  the  present  men  with  an  infusion  of  his  own  friends,  but 
getting  rid  of  Perceval.  No  doubt  he  wished  to  have  a  little  party 
of  his  own  in  the  Cabinet  whom  he  could  influence,  just  as  he  was 
now  working  on  Wellesley.  He  wished  to  put  an  end  to  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  Pitt  and  Fox  parties,  and  was  continually  saying: 
"For  God's  sake,  is  it  not  time  to  leave  at  rest  the  ashes  of  the  two 
great  men,  now  no  more,  who  are  quoted  at  every  step?"  In  these 
councils  the  Prince  pressed  his  friend  for  his  opinions  on  the  Catho- 
lic question,  who  enforced  on  him  that  something  must  be  done  for 
the  Catholics,  not,  certainly,  so  long  as  there  was  a  chance  of  its 
being  painful  to  the  King;  but  once  the  restrictions  were  removed, 
he  would  have  an  opportunity.  The  result  of  all  this  is  amusingly 
described.  The  Prince  took  up  these  views  rapturously;  "they 
were  exactly  his  own,"  except — an  important  exception  too — that 
the  matter  v,^as  not  to  be  touched  at  all  during  the  King's  life.  Lord 
Wellesley  applauded  this  filial  delicacy,  but  urged:  "You  cannot 
refuse  to  listen  to  the  Catholics;  if  you  create  peers  and  give  away 
the  garters,  the  same  reasoning  applies  to  both."  This  staggered 
the  Prince,  who  declared  that  the  argument  convinced  him. 

"This  was  now  become  the  favorite  topic  at  Carlton  House. 
Lord  Wellesley  was  made  to  repeat  his  intended  arguments  over 
and  over  again;  the  Prince  always  swearing  the  suggestions  were 
all  his  own  (as  is  usual  when  anything  pleases  him).  He  was  desired 
to  state  in  the  House  that  such  were  the  Prince's  own  opinions." 
But  he  excused  himself,  saying  it  was  inconsistent.  Even  when 
the  Prince  found  that  Lord  Wellesley's  speech  had  made  a  noise, 
he  complained  that  "Wellesley  had  not  dealt  fairly  by  him  in  con- 
cealing his  share  in  it."  The  trusting  foolish  lord  came  at  last  to 
think  that  he  was  certain  presently  to  dislodge  the  minister,  and  he 
himself  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  affairs. 

]\Ieanwhile  all  this  talk  and  flourish  might  have  been  accepted  as 
"certain  forecast  of  the  Regent's  going  no  farther  in  that  direc- 


528  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

tion."  Other  talk  and  councils  were  going  on  at  Hertford  House, 
and  it  was  artfully  suggested  to  the  Prince,  that  now  that  he  was 
wanting  money  alk)w:inces  for  the  houseiiold,  it  was  more  likely 
that  one  of  Perceval's  "  reputation  for  economy  and  frugality 
would  be  more  readily  followed  by  the  House  than  Lord  Welles- 
ley,  who  is  considered  an  extravagant  fellow."  The  Prince  deter- 
mined prudently  therefore  to  retain  Mr.  Perceval  until  he  had 
carried  the  Bill.  Thus  in  every  part  of  these  transactions  he  was 
veered  about  by  his  own  interest.  His  friend  now  began  to  have 
misgivings.  He  was  naturally  on  cold  and  distrustful  terms  with 
the  colleagues  he  was  undermining,  but  disdaining  to  act  cordially, 
absented  liimself  as  much  as  he  could.  He  took  the  same  course 
with  the  Prince. 

At  this  time  a  horse  had  trodden  on  the  Prince's  foot.'and  indeed, 
apart  from  this,  he  had  been  far  from  well,  complaining  of  strange 
symptoms  in  his  head.  His  fingers  had  so  swelled  that  his  rings 
had  to  be  sawn  off.  It  was  during  his  convalesence  that  Lord 
Wellesley  found  occasion  to  strengthen  his  influence,  dwelling  on 
topics  likely  to  touch  his  vanity — the  war  in  Spain,  combinations 
with  the  Northern  Courts,  etc.* 

On  Nov.  27th,  he  writes  the  Prime  Minister.  "As  I  reached 
Oatlands  this  morning  at  half-past  twelve,  the  Princesses  arrived 
from  Windsor,  which  event  prevented  me  from  seeing  the  Prince 
until  a  very  late  hour.  I  am  but  this  moment  arrived  in  town,  and 
have  had  no  dinner,  and  am  so  much  tired  (partly  from  the  extreme 
heat  of  the  room  at  Oatlands)  that  I  should  have  no  power  of  ren- 
dering justice  to  any  subject  of  public  busin*^ss  to-night,  even  if  I 
could  reach  you  in  any  reasonable  time.  The  subject  of  my  iHi- 
dience  to-day  was  Sweden ;  but  the  Prince  generally  stated  to  me 
the  same  ideas  which  I  have  already  mentioned  to  you,  with  much 
increased  earnestness,  and  indeed  on  some  points  with  considerable 
force.  He  informed  me  that  he  had  seen  the  Queen  yesterday,  and 
that  her  Majesty  entirely  approved  all  his  views  respecting  the 
King,  the  household,  and  the  seltleiientfor  the  Queen  and  the  Prin- 
cesses. He  continues  to  think  that  the  dignify  of  the  King  and  the 
comfort  of  his  situation  will  be  best  provided  for  by  a  separate 
establishment,  under  a  new  office  of  tlie  highest  rank.  That  the 
Regent  should  have  the  whole  Civil  List,  and  the  full  state,  as  well 


♦  See  Mr.  McCullagh  Torrens'  interesting  memoir,  "The  Marquess  Welles- 
ley,"  p.  465  et  seq.,  from  which  I  take  what  follows. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  529 

as  power,  of  the  Crown,  and  should  resign  his  allowances  as  Prince 
of  Wales.     That  the  Queen  should  have  an  independent  allowance, 
and  the  Princesses  the  same.     He  considers  this  part  of  the  arrange- 
ment to  be  inseparable  from  the  settlement  of  the  Regency  on  a 
permanent  basis.     He  will  state  many  very  strong  considerations  in 
favor  of  his  plan,  and  appears  intent  on  carrying  it  into  execution. 
He  said  to-day  that,  after  the  discussion  with  you  shall  have  taken 
place  (unless  you  agreed),  he  should  wait  to  receive  your  proposi- 
tions in  writing,  in  order  that  he  might  answer  them.     I  rather 
understood  this  to  be  a  proof  of  his  determination  to  abide  by  his 
own  ideas  than  a  symptom  of  any  intention  to  depart  from  them  in 
consequence  of  what  he  might  receive  in  writing  from  you.     .    .    . 
The  Prince  Regent,"  he  writes  again  to  the  Prime  Minister,  "  sent  an 
order  to  me,  which  reached  me  at  this  place  last  night,  directing  me  to 
attend  his  royal  highness  at  Oatlands,  at  twelve  to-day.   He  began  by 
asking  me  whether  I  had  seen  the  paper  which  he  had  received  from 
you  respecting  the  new  settlement  of  the  Regency.     I  said  (as  you 
know  I  must  have  said)  that  I  had  not  seen  the  paper,  but  that  I 
was  acquainted  with  the  substance  of  its  contents.     He  then  com- 
municated your  paper  to  me,  and  said  that  he  intended  to  state  his 
ideas  in  writing  on  the  whole  subject ;  that  he  was  aware  of  the 
impropriety  of  desiring  me  to  offer  any  advice  in  the  present  state 
of  the  question,  but  that  he  wished  to  declare  his  sentiments  freely 
to  me.     1  thought  it  was  my  duty  to  inform  his  royal  highness  that 
I  could  not,  in  this  stage  of  the  discussion,  offer  any  opinion  on  the 
subject,  either  of  your  paper  or  of  his  intended  answer;  and  as  this 
sentiment  agreed  with  his  own  feeling  he  did  not  ask  any  opinion 
from  me ;  but  he  proceeded  to  express  nearly  the  same  views  of  the 
subject  which  he  had  stated  to  you  and  to  me  on  former  occasions. 
I  collected  from  his  royal  highness's  conversation  that  your  paper 
had  produced  no  change  in  his  opinion,  and  that  he  entertained  a 
strong  persuasion  that  his  statement  would  have  great  weight,  and 
would  satisfy  you  that  you  had  taken  an  erroneous  view  of  the 
question." 

Mr.  Perceval  replied:  "  I  thank  you  for  your  letter,  and  regret 
extremely  that  his  royal  highness  continues  so  attached  to  his  former 
opinion  respecting  the  new  settlement  of  the  Regency.  I  had  called 
a  Cabinet  meeting  for  this  day,  at  two  o'clock."  On  this  he  repaired 
to  him,  remaining  "four  hours"  at  his  first  sitting,  on  which  the 
prudent  Yarmouth  hinted  "that  nothing  annoyed  the  Prince  so 
much  as  a  long  audience ;  he  could  not  bear  the  sight  of  a  man  for 
23 


5S0  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

a  week  after."  He  also  offered  to  give  him  hints  in  future  of  the 
Sime  kind.  It  was,  of  course,  the  Prince  that  declaimed  the  most 
part  of  the  time;  he  was  eager  for  his  "old  Cornwall  arrears." 
But  his  adviser  pointed  out  to  him  that  he  could  not  in  honor  ask 
for  them,  as  his  claims  had  been  abandoned  by  his  agent  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  Prince  said  this  had  been  done  without 
his  authority  ("a  favorite  expedient  of  his,"  says  his  friend).  See- 
ing that  tracasserie  of  some  kind  was  on  foot,  it  was  natural  that 
Perceval  and  his  colleagues  should  not  take  Lord  Wellesley  much 
into  their  confidence.  The  latter  pressed  to  be  allowed  to  resign, 
but  neither  the  Prince  nor  Mr.  Perceval  wished  him  to  retire.  He 
really  knew  not  what  to  do,  as  he  might  lose  all  chances  by  with- 
drawing. He  wished,  of  course,  to  avoid  the  mortification  of  find- 
ing Mr.  Perceval  chosen  as  minister,  and  of  being  dismissed  by 
bim;  and  thus,  in  an  irresolute  way,  weakly  consented  to  stay  on, 
little  suspecting  that  they  were  only  waiting  to  arrange  their  plans. 
He  owns  that  he  was  tormented  with  reports  of  Lord  Castlereagh 
being  offered  his  place;  but  the  Prince  kept  on  assuring  him  that 
be  should  have  full  notice  of  any  attempt  of  the  kind  being  made. 
When  he  learned  from  his  friends  tliat  Mr.  Perceval  was  telling 
every  one  he  was  to  be  retained  as  Prime  Minister,  it  was  too  late. 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBGE  IV.  631 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1812. 

Parliament  met  on  January  7th,  with  great  irritation  and  excite- 
ment on  both  sides.  The  Catholic  question  came  at  once  to  tlie 
front;  and  tlie  other  questions  of  tlie  household,  tlie  debts,  together 
with  his  own  illness,  almost  distracted  the  unhappy  Regent,  whose 
situation  was  deserving  of  commiseration.  His  early  and  continued 
excesses  were  telling  on  his  health.  He  was  growing  large  and 
corpulent;  his  recent  attack  filled  him  with  nervous  apprehensions; 
and  the  numbness  in  his  head  he  fancied  was  a  symptom  of  para- 
lysis. The  Queen,  too,  now  representing  a  distinct  interest,  but 
feeling  that  her  rule  was  slipping  from  her,  was  working  through 
the  Chancellor  and  the  Council  to  retain  as  much  power  and  influ- 
ence as  possible  for  herself,  and,  as  the  Speaker  said,  was  voracious 
in  her  claims,  harassing  her  son  even  when  he  was  ill.  She  was 
most  eager  that  her  daughters  should  not  have  independent  estab- 
lishments; while  the  Prince  was  mcliaed  to  grant  them.  On  the 
Catholic  question  it  seems  he  would  have  preferred  the  old  laissez- 
faire  policy.  Many  of  the  Cabinet  were  beginning  to  adopt  this 
view;  and  the  Prince  himself,  loudly  complaining  of  the  way  he 
had  been  treated,  affected  to  declare  that  the  Papists  ought  to  get 
relief,  but  at  the  proper  time.  He  and  Colonel  Tyrwhitt,  another 
of  the  "  Prince's  men,"  in  a  conversation  with  the  Speaker  about 
the  same  time,  expressed  the  same  view — that  "it  was  to  be  wished 
the  other  ministers  would  agree  to  resist  it  only  on  the  point  of  time. 
Could  not  the  Prince  say  that  in  the  King's  present  state  it  was  not 
to  be  done?"  To  which  appeal  the  Speaker  sensibly  replied  that  there 
must  be  a  solidarite  between  the  Prince  and  his  ministers,  and  that 
what  they  said  must  be  accepted  as  his  views;  in  short,  finessing 
would  not  do.  Further  evidence  of  his  irresolution  was,  that  after 
offering  himself  to  dine  with  the  Prime  Minister,  and  fixing  a  day, 
he  now  excused  himself,  "conscious,"  as  Colonel  Tyrwhitt  said, 
"that  he  was  watched,  and  that  misinterpretations  would  be  put 


532  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

upon  his  dining  at  this  time;  but  he  would  dine  with  him  on  some 
other  occasion."* 

But  the  Opposition  were  not  inclined  to  adopt  this  waiting  policy. 
Lord  Grenville  had  forced  the  question  on,  and  the  leader  of  the 
Opposition  in  the  other  House  also  brought  it  forward.  It  was  no 
doubt  pressed  on  the  Regent  that  this  was  an  affront.  The  intro- 
duction of  so  embarrassing  a  question  would  make  it  impossible  to 
have  such  men  as  advisers.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find 
that  by  the  20th  of  January  Colonel  Tyrwhitt  was  giving  out  that 
"the  Hegent  would  not  increase  his  father's  miseries  by  granting 
the  Catholics'  demands,  but  would  not  deny  them  so  as  to  extin- 
guish hope."  Anyhow,  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  Lord 
"Wellesley  and  the  ministry  of  which  he  formed  part  became  more 
interesting. 

In  reference  to  this  matter  Mr.  "Ward  gives  a  curious  statement. 
"There  was,"  he  says,  "a  meeting,  it  seems,  at  Ponsonby's  at 
which  he,  among  ninety  gentlemen,  was  present.  Ponsonby  sent 
for  them  in  order  to  relate  a  message  which  he  had  received  through 
Sheridan  from  the  Regent.  The  message  was,  'that  the  Catholic 
question  was  so  far  given  up  by  the  ministers  that  it  was  no  longet 
to  be  considered  as  a  ministerial  question;  and  that  every  one  was 
to  be  allowed  to  take  what  line  he  would,  without  being  considered 
as  renouncing  engagements  to  the  Government.'  Ponsonby,  how- 
ever, added  that  at  the  same  time  that  he  received  this,  he  had  also 
received  a  communication  from  some,  either  of  the  ministers  or 
persons  nearly  connected  with  them  (I  did  not  learn  which),  by 
which  he  was  given  to  understand  this  was  all  a  misapprehension." 

"  The  next  day  (Sunday),  upon  Lord  Moira's  calling  at  Carlton 
House  by  the  Prince's  order,  the  Prince  sent  out  his  page -in -waiting 
to  him,  to  tell  him  that  he  had  been  so  drunk  the  preceding  night, 
he  was  not  well  enough  to  see  him,  but  ordered  the  page  to  tell  him 
that  he  (tlie  Prince)  had  settled  the  Catholic  question,  which  was 
not  any  longer  to  form  a  Government  question.  Tlie  Prince,  later 
on  Sunday,  said  the  same  thing  to  Sheridan,  who  asked  if  he  might 
be  authorized  to  say  that  from  the  Princa  to  Ponsonby;  and  the 
Prince  said,  'By  all  means.'  You  see  in  this  we  have  only  the 
story  of  one  side;  but  it  remains  to  see  what  Perceval's  story  will 
be." 

It  was  a  bold  game  that  he  was  playing,  but  it  was  to  fail.    He 

*  Colchester.  "Diary,"  il.  854. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  533 

saw  that  the  only  way  of  release  from  his  troubles  would  be  in  get- 
ting ministers  to  adopt  this  new-found  principle  and  thus  save  his 
own  consistency.  He  accordingly  insisted  that  Lord  Wellesley 
should  meet  Perceval,  Lord  Liverpool,  and  the  Chancellor  at  Carl- 
ton House  to  consider  the  matter.  A  very  warm  discussion  was 
opened  by  the  Prince  desiring  that  the  question  should  be  con- 
sidered on  its  merits,  without  regard  to  the  opinions  previously 
expressed  by  any  of  the  parties  present.  He  himself  cordiuUy 
seconded  his  friend's  views  on  the  "opportunist"  theory,  and  the 
matter  ended,  as  might  be  expected,  by  Mr.  Perceval  and  the  Prot- 
estant party  adopting  this  view.* 

Lord  Holland  seems  to  have  gauged  the  Prince  thoroughly  in  his 
fluctuations  on  the  Catholic  question,  and  describes  how  he  came 
to  warn  him  seriously  that  his  popularity  in  Ireland,  at  least,  would 
be  in  peril,  if  a  belief  got  abroad  that  he  was  against  the  claims. 
The  Prince  declared  to  him  that,  "if  he  took  an  active  part,  it 
might  occasion  a  relapse  in  the  King,  and  expose  him  to  imputa- 
tions which  he  could  not  bear.  He  announced  that  he  would  never 
take  any  part  in  a  subject  that  was  hostile  to  the  King,  and  by  that 
declaration  he  would  abide.  He  then  seemed  to  hint  that  Lord 
Moira's  declaration  in  the  House  had  been  authorized  by  him." 
Later,  Lord  Holland  brought  Lord  Fingall,  the  representative  of 
the  Catholics,  to  Carlton  House,  where  "the  Prince  spoke  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  by  the  French  clock.  He  recounted  at  great  length, 
but  more  adroitly  than  distinctly,  the  history  of  his  opinions  on  the 
Roman  Catholic  question."  He  did  not  say  distinctly  that  he  was 
for  admitting  them  to  Parliament  and  offices,  but  "implied  his 
opinions,"  such  as  would  satisfy  Lord  Fingall.  He  censured  the 
ministry  of  1805,  but  authorized  his  visitor  to  repeat  that  his  opin- 
ions were  unchanged.  He  doubted  the  policy  of  bringing  matters 
on  now;  but  he  hoped  he  was  mistaken.  He  denied  that  he  had 
prompted  Lord  Moira.  "Of  course  he  will  vote  with  you.  He 
cannot  do  otherwise."  Lord  Fingall  departed  "  highly  satisfied." 
The  Prince's  conduct  at  this  interview  gives  an  excellent  idea  of 
his  cleverness  and  art.  No  one  knew  so  well  how  to  ring  the 
changes  on  "  opportunism,"  and  make  that  useful  auxiliary  serve 
as  covert  for  denial.  In  this  device,  however,  he  had  many  to 
imitate  him. 

The  result  was  most  mortifying  for  the  Catholic  champion;  for 

♦  "  BucldDjjliam  Papers,"  p.  21G. 


634  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

thus  the  ground  was,  as  it  were,  cut  from  beneath  his  feet,  and  the 
lever  for  supplanting  the  ministry  lost.  The  Regent,  forgetting  all 
that  he  had  held  out  to  his  friend,  only  thought  of  his  own  com- 
fort, which  had  been  secured.  The  other  at  once  informed  him 
that  he  could  no  longer  serve  under  Mr.  Perceval,  and  would  only 
delay  his  resignation  until  new  arrangements  could  be  made.  But 
Perceval,  perceiving  that  the  man  who  had  plotted  against  him  was 
baffled,  now  saw  his  advantage,  and  insisted  on  his  immediate 
resignation,  declaring  that  the  Government  could  not  go  on.  The 
Prince,  scenting  fresh  troubles,  objected,  declaring  that  his  resig- 
nation was  "only  in  petto,"  and  "that  it  would  put  him  in  great 
difficulty,  and  produce  him  much  uneasiness  of  mind,"  etc. — a 
characteristic  reason.  Perceval  insisted  pertinaciously  on  getting 
rid  of  his  colleague,  and  the  Prince  had  to  yield.  When  Lord 
Castlereagh  was  named  as  his  successor,  the  Regent  praised  the 
choice,  as  indeed  he  might,  for  he  was  connected  with  the  Hertford 
camarilla;  the  other  replied  that  he  had  not  proposed  the  matter  to 
hini,  but  that  he  was  certain  to  accept.  But  that  nobleman  haughti- 
ly answered,  "that  he  would  be  stopgap  to  no  man;  but  that  when 
the  restrictions  were  at  an  end,  if  the  Prince  chose  to  make  him  a 
formal  offer,  he  would  consider  it  with  humble  duty  and  acknowl- 
edgment." Much  mortified,  Perceval  then  proposed  to  take  in 
Lord  Sidmouth,  when  the  Prince  warmly  exclaimed:  "Is  it  possi- 
ble, Mr.  Perceval,  that  you  are  ignorant  of  my  feelings  and  senti- 
ments towards  that  person?  I  now  tell  you  I  never  will  have 
confidence  in  him,  or  in  any  person  who  forces  him  on  me.  If 
after  this  you  choose  to  employ  him,  be  it  so;  but  I  warn  you  that 
you  must  take  all  the  responsibility  upon  yourself."  He  repeatedly 
pressed  this  measure  on  the  Prince,  and  at  last  finding  that  he 
could  not  succeed,  he  proposed  that,  as  Lord  Wellesley  must  be 
retained,  he,  Mr.  Perceval,  should  be  empowered  to  state  that  he 
possessed  the  Prince's  sole  and  exclusive  confidence."  This  the 
Prince  positively  and  repeatedly  refused  in  a  tone  of  sarcasm  and 
disgust. 

These  scenes  seemed  to  have  been  reported  to  Lord  "Wellesley  by 
the  Prince  himself,  and  by  the  former  retailed  to  Lord  Temple's 
anonymous  correspondent.* 

Allowing  for  exaggeration,  there  could  be  no  doubt  this  took 
place,  for  the  Prince  was  exasperated  about  the  question  of  his 

•  "  Buckingham  Papers,"  1.  819. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  535 

debts.  Sympathy  would  go  with  the  minister  who  was  thus  flouted 
through  the  agency  of  a  subordinate,  only  for  his  mild  amiable 
endurance  in  accepting  such  treatment.  At  these  interviews  was 
given  a  good  specimen  of  the  Prince's  "  sharpness "  and  that  sort 
of  "  cleverness  "  in  conversation  with  which  he  was  certainly  gifted. 
Perceval  had  stated  that  Mr.  Yorke's  health  was  so  bad  that  he  was 
to  resign  at  the  expiration  of  the  restrictions.  "And  why,  Mr. 
Perceval,"  asked  the  Prince,  "  should  the  necessity  exist  for  Lord 
Wellesley,  and  not  for  Mr.  Yorke,  of  immediate  resignation?"  To 
this  the  minister  could  make  no  reply. 

This  difficulty  thus  staved  over  allowed  the  Prince  to  continue 
his  display  of  vacillation.  One  day  he  asked  Lord  Wellesley, 
"  Would  you  have  any  objection  lo  shake  hands  with  Lord  Grcn- 
ville?"  The  other  declared  he  had  not  the  least,  and  that  he  had 
the  greatest  regard  for  him.  He  indeed  made  himself  the  Prince's 
most  pliant  instrument.  "  His  influence  over  him  is  hourly  increas- 
ing, and  all  the  people  about  the  Prince  are  entirely  in  his  interests. 
For  the  rest,  having  adopted  as  the  groundwork  all  the  Prince's 
views  and  politics,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  he  is  willing  to  act 
with  any  man.  or  set  of  men."  Yet  this  devotion  was  requited  by 
abandonment,  and  his  fate  was  already  settled. 

In  the  preceding  November  the  Duchess  of  York  had  given  a 
ball  to  introduce  the  young  Princess,  and  the  fashionable  world 
was  horrified  to  learn  that  in  dancing  with  his  daughter,  "and  lead- 
ing her  briskly  along,  his  right  foot  came  in  contact  with  the  leg  of 
a  sofa,  by  which  two  tendons  of  his  foot  were  broken."  Such  was 
the  Court  newsman's  account.  Private  letters  brought  a  rather 
different  story  of  the  accident.  It  seems  that  one  evening  they 
were  dancing  the  Highland  fling,  and  there  was  a  laugh  in  making 
Adam,  the  Prince's  familiar  and  a  Scotchman,  teach  the  young 
Princess,  when  the  Regent  attempted  to  show  her  the  proper  step, 
and  in  doing  so  wrenched  his  ankle.  How  Fuch  a  misadventure 
came  about  is  not  stated,  but  the  way  he  was  afflicted  by  it  was 
extraordinary.  For  ten  days  he  never  quitted  his  bed,  complaining 
of  violent  pains  and  spasmodic  affections,  for  which  he  took  im- 
moderate doses  of  laudanum  every  three  hours.*  Lord  Yarmouth, 
coming  to  town,  reported  that  he  was  taking  as  much  as  seven 
hundred  drops  a  day — twelve  hundred,  according  to  others. f    This 


*  "  Buckingham  Papers— The  Regency,"  i.  145. 
t  Colchester,  '*  Diary,"  u.  344 


536  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

unmanly  disinclination  to  bear  pain  made  him  persist  in  the  prac- 
tice in  spite  of  the  physicians,  who  found  him  sunk  in  the  utmost 
despondency,  quite  enervated  and  prostrated.  They  prescribed  a 
familiar  medicine  of  the  most  drastic  character,  but  he  stiii  per- 
sisted in  his  laudanum,  which  he  said  relieved  his  pains.  He  would 
lie  on  his  stomach  for  hours,  hear  nothing  of  business,  sign  noth- 
ing, to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  ministers.  Truly  a  pitiable  pic- 
ture. His  worthy  brother  of  Cumberland  went  about  saying  "it 
was  all  sham,"  and  that  he  could  get  up  and  be  perfectly  well  if  he 
pleased,  which  was  indeed  true  enough;  for,  as  Mr.  Fremantle 
wrote,  it  was  likely  that  he  became  so  nervous  at  the  diflBculties 
before  him,  and  the  necessity  on  taking  some  resolve  as  the  day  of 
decision  drew  near,  that  he  could  not  bear  to  face  it.* 

Always  to  be  associated  with  the  history  of  the  Prince  was  that 
of  that  strange  group  known  as  the  "Royal  Brothers" — the  six 
Dukes— one  or  other  of  whom  was  always  to  be  attracting  public 
attention.  The  Dake  of  York  had  now  been  restored  to  the  office 
of  Commander-in-Chief,  its  occupant,  the  veteran  Sir  David  Dun- 
das,  having  retired.  This  step  excited  some  disgust,  but  was 
accepted.  In  the  House  of  Commons  it  was  again  vehemently 
commented  on  by  the  Liberals,  and  Lord  Grenville's  friends  were 
especially  bitter,  which  was,  of  course,  considered  a  fresh  offence. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  long  notorious  as  the  most  "ill  con- 
ditioned "  of  the  band,  had  formed  a  strict  alliance  with  Lord 
Eldon,  and  had  contrived  to  establish  a  sort  of  ascendency  over  his 
eldest  brother.  Both  would  come  down  together  to  see  the  King 
on  Sunday;  and  with  such  elements  in  alliance,  it  is  not  surprising 
to  hear  that  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  were  now  "on  very  bad 
terms. "f  This  fraternal  alliance  had  weakened  the  one  between 
him  and  the  Duke  of  York,  whose  visits  to  Carlton  House  became 
less  frequent,  while  those  of  the  other  Duke  increased.  As  he  con- 
trived to  make  the  Chancellor  one  of  the  party,  the  result  was  that 
the  influence  of  such  eminent  Protestant  champions  began  to  be 
felt.  This,  however,  will  be  shown  later. J  However,  before  the 
end  of  the  year,  this  royal  brother  also  had  fallen  out  of  favor.  In 
fact.  "  a  complete  quarrel"  had  taken  place  on  a  subject  relating  to 
a  German  officer  of  the  15th  Dragoons.     The  Regent  henceforth 

♦  The  Queen,  too.  had  been  III,  and  was  only  saved  from  death  by  appolexy 
by  a  fortunate  bleedijig  in  her  foot.  She  had  actually  taken  leave  of  her 
children. 

t  *'  Buckinffham  Papers-The  Reffency,"  i.  184.  t  Ibid.  L  155. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  If,  537 

determined  never  to  sec  him  alone,  and  when  he  called  always  had 
some  one  in  the  room. 

The  Duke  of  Sussex  was  a  consistent  "Whig,  and  usually  opposed 
to  his  brother.  Another  of  the  royal  brothers,  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
■was  attracting  general  attention  by  some  ridiculous  freak,  which 
might  reasonably  excite  suspicions  of  his  sanity.  The  pursuit  of 
the  well-known  heiress,  Miss  Long,  by  Mr.  Wellesley  Pole,  was 
being  watched  with  great  interest,  when  of  a  sudden  the  Duke  of 
Clarence  struck  in.  "  Before  he  went  down  to  Ramsgate  he  wrote 
to  her  to  offer  his  hand,  which  she  declined  in  firm  and  respectful 
terms.  From  Ramsgate  he  offered  himself  three  or  four  times,  and, 
after  his  return,  sent  her  an  abstract  of  the  Royal  Marriage  Act, 
which,  he  said,  the  Regent  had  consented  to  have  altered  for  his 
benefit,  and  conveying  to  her  the  Queen's  best  wishes  and  regards. 
Neither  of  tliese  personages  had  been  consulted  on  the  matter. 
Upon  finding  that  she  had  accepted  Mr,  Pole,  he  wrote  at  once  to 
Lord  Keith  to  propose  for  Miss  Mercer,  who,  in  the  most  decided 
terms,  rejected  him,  notwithstanding  which  he  went  to  stay  at  Lord 
Keith's.  Presently,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  amiably  made  Mrs. 
Jordan  acquainted  with  the  real  motive  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence's 
proposals,  on  which  the  lady  wrote  a  furious  letter,  with  another 
to  her  informant,  thanking  him  for  the  information,  but  directing 
them  wrongly,  in  consequence  of  which  there  was  a  scene  between 
the  royal  brothers.  Altogether,"  writes  this  sagacious  correspon- 
dent of  Lord  Temple,  "  the  conduct  of  these  illustrious  personages 
is  a  most  melancholy  and  alarming  feature  in  the  difficulties  wliich 
every  hour  increase  upon  us;  and  one  can  hardly  impute  it  to  any 
other  ground  but  an  affliction  of  the  same  nature  as  that  under 
wliich  the  King  labors."* 

The  Duke  of  Kent,  another  royal  brother,  was  a  prince  with  a 
grievance,  considering  himself  the  most  ill-treated  man  in  the  king- 
dom. He  had  certainly  been  dealt  with  in  the  harshest  manner  by 
his  father  when  in  possession  of  his  senses,  but  he,  like  the  rest,  had 
now  to  look  to  the  risen  sun.  But  later  on  we  shall  hear  of  the 
Royal  Brethren. 


*  Some  letters  of  his  to  a  Oermari  lady,  in  which  a  morganatic  marriage  is 
maintained  to  have  taken  place,  have  recently  been  published.  From  the 
exagp:erated  style  and  mistakes,  they  must  be  considered  as  apocryphal  a3 
the  continuation  of  "  Yorick's  Letters  to  Eliza."  Yet  their  claims  have  been 
gravely  discussed, 

23* 


538  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

While  the  Prince  was  telling  his  friend  what  brave  words  he  had 
used  to  the  Prime  Minister,  and  Lord  Wellesley  had  discovered  that 
his  own  treatment  had  been  "  unmannerly,"  the  Prince  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  retain  the  minister.  Lord  Wellesley's  resignation  took 
place  on  the  17th.  The  various  conversations  with  the  Prince  as  to 
finding  a  substitute  were  on  the  two  or  three  following  days,  and  on 
the  22nd  Perceval  wrote  to  Lord  Wellington,  ' '  that  his  royal  highness 
has  no  intention  of  looking  to  any  other  person  for  forming  an  ad 
ministration  at  the  present  time  than  myself,  nor  of  looking  to  any 
change  of  it  at  the  approaching  period  of  the  expiration  of  the  restric- 
tions of  the  regency,  but  such  as  I  may  find  necessary."  *  Indeed, 
all  through,  Perceval  seems  to  have  informed  his  friends  that  he 
was  secure,  and  this  may  account  for  Lord  Eldon  and  others  describ- 
ing how  he  had  gained  on  the  Prince.  He  was  sagacious  enough  to 
see  that  the  minister  had  a  certain  strength  of  respectability  and 
even  popularity,  while  the  Wellesleys,  Moiras,  and  Sheridans,  with 
the  "Lords  G,  and  G.,"  were  but  precarious  supporters.  It  was 
tempting  to  have  a  creature  of  his  own  as  Prime  Minister,  but  if 
stability  were  wanting  the  experiment  was  hardly  worth  making. 

It  must  be  said  his  situation  was  a  most  embarrassing  one.  He 
felt  that  he  was  expected,  to  some  extent,  to  call  on  his  old  friends 
for  assistance;  and  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  assistance  would 
have  only  added  to  his  embarrassments.  The  long  public  support 
extended  to  the  Perceval-Liverpool  administration  that  followed 
showed  that  it  was  not  so  distasteful  to  the  country,  while  it  seems 
almost  certain  that  a  ministry  of  his  "old  friends,"  distracted  by 
faction  and  intrigue,  could  not  have  stood  long.  This  is  the  first 
point  in  his  vindication.  The  second  is,  that  years  before  he  had 
publicly  dissociated  himself  from  them.  The  only  course  he  found 
open  was  to  offer  them  a  minor  share  in  the  Government,  in  taking 
which  step  he  no  doubt  must  have  suspect  "d  that  his  offer  would 
have  been  declined.  But  in  the  game  of  politics  there  is  always  a 
certain  amount  of  insincerity,  and  the  Regent  could  not  claim  to  be 
a  purist.  With  this  qualification  it  will  be  found  that  he  has  been 
dealt  with  somewhat  harshly  and  unreasonably,  and  that  he  made 
many  and  successive  attempts  at  conciliating  his  old  allies  by  offers 
not  at  all  uncommon  in  the  history  of  coalitions. 

We  shall  now  deal  with  this  curious  and  much-debated  episode, 


•  "Life  of  Perceval,"  li.  2C1. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  639 

wMch,  I  may  venture  to  say,  has  never  hitherto  been  fully  or  so 
minutely  unfolded. 

The  term  of  the  restrictions  being  at  hand,  it  was  natural  that 
the  Regent  should  think  of  the  old  combination  with  ' '  Lords  G. 
and  G."  We  have  thus  approached  that  much-talked-of  crisis  when 
a  fresh  offer  was  to  be  made  to  these  two  lords.  It  may  be  doubted 
if  Lord  Grenville  could  have  formed  an  administration,  owing  to 
the  lack  of  sympathy  between  himself  and  the  advanced  wing  of 
the  Liberals;  and,  more  recently,  his  advocacy  of  the  Catholics 
seemed  an  attempt  to  force  the  hand  of  the  Prince.  But  there  is 
another  view  whicli  has  been  overlooked,  viz.  a  sort  of  divergence 
between  him  and  his  friend  and  ally.  Lord  Grey.  The  latter,  all 
through,  seemed  to  have  faith  in  the  Prince.  He  urged  on  his 
friends  the  necessity  of  keeping  "perfectly  quiet, "and  exhibiting 
no  distrust.  "  For  himself  he  had  little  doubt  that  the  Prince  really 
entertained  the  intention  which  he  voluntarily  professed  both  to  him 
and  Lord  Grenville  last  winter;  "for,  "he  adds,  "will  any  failure 
in  the  execution  of  such  an  intention  make  me  think  that  it  has  not 
had  a  sincere  existence?  The  same  cause  which  has  long  delayed 
its  execution  may  finally  prevent  it  altogether,  or,  what  is  more  prob- 
able, lead  to  some  such  proposal  as  you  hint  at — a  coalition."  *  This 
was  like  the  generous  soul  of  Grey. 

It  need  not  be  said  that-  to  such  views  Lord  Grenville  was  totally 
opposed.  He  spoke  with  contempt  of  the  Regent  and  imputed  to 
him  the  least  creditable  motives.  The  Prince  had  even  told  Lord 
Grey,  that  though  he  would  gladly  take  him  on  and  half-a-dozen  of 
his  party,  "he  would  not  consent  to  be  shackled  by  his  associate." 
And  of  this  feeling  Lord  Grenville  seemed  to  have  an  instinct  when 
he  spoke  later  of  the  attempts  at  sowing  jealousy  between  him  and 
his  friend. 

It  is  characteristic  that  the  Prince  should  have  felt  later  well  dis- 
posed to  Lord  Grenville,  and  should  have  even  hated  Lord  Grey, 
who  had  construed  his  intentions  so  magnanimously.  But  this  is 
ever  found  in  weak  minds.  Still  one  can  have  no  doubt  at  this 
time  and  for  the  moment,  the  Prince  was  sincere  and  in  earnest ;  and 
it  will  be  seen  what  influences,  apart  from  the  growing  difficulty  of 
the  situation,  were  brought  to  bear  on  his  pliant  mind. 

Suddenly,  and  only  a  few  days  before  the  well-known  letter  to 
the  Duke  of  York  appeared,  the  Speaker,  always  well  informed, 

*  Letter  of  Lord  Grey,  "  Life  and  Opinions,"  p.  279. 


540  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

heard  that  the  new  arrangement  was  considered  at  Carlton  House 
as  only  a  bit  of  patchwork.  On  the  9th  Mr.  Perceval  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  Prince,  of  so  private  a  character  that  he  did  not  con- 
sider himself  at  liberty  to  communicate  to  his  Cabinet  what  had 
passed.  The  step  was  already  resolved  upon;  for  Lord  Eldon,  a 
sturdy  old  Tory,  seems  to  have  scented  out  what  was  being  planned, 
and  then  with  a  certain  bluntness  declined  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  it. 

On  the  following  day  there  was  much  excitement  and  specula- 
tion. It  was  reported  confidently  by  Lord  Lauderdale  that  the  dis- 
missal was  at  hand.  Yet  on  this  very  day  a  most  important  step 
had  been  taken,  and  the  Regent  had  addressed  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
the  Duke  of  York,  commissioning  him  to  negotiate  with  Lords  Grey 
and  Grenville.    The  letter  was  as  follows: 

THE  PBINCE  OF  WALES  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  YORK. 

*'  Carlton  House,  Feb.  13, 1812. 
"My  dearest  Brother, 

"As  the  restrictions  on  the  exercise  of  the  royal  authority 
will  shortly  expire,  when  I  must  make  my  arrangements  for  the 
future  administration  of  the  powers  with  which  I  am  invested,  I 
think  it  right  to  communicate  to  you  those  sentiments  which  I  was 
withheld  from  expressing  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  session,  by 
my  earnest  desire  that  the  expected  motion  on  the  affairs  of  Ire- 
land might  undergo  the  deliberate  discussion  of  Parliament,  un- 
mixed with  any  other  consideration.  I  think  it  hardly  necessary 
to  call  your  recollection  to  the  recent  circumstances  under  which  I 
assumed  the  authority  delegated  to  me  by  Parliament.  At  a  mo- 
ment of  unexampled  difficulty  and  danger,  I  was  called  upon  to 
make  a  selection  of  persons  to  whom  I  should  entrust  the  func- 
tions of  the  executive  government.  My  .sense  of  duty  to  our  royal 
father  solely  decided  that  choice;  and  every  private  feeling  gave 
way  to  considerations  which  admitted  of  no  doubt  or  hesitation. 
1  trust  I  acted,  in  that  respect,  as  the  genuine  representative  of  the 
august  person  whose  functions  I  was  appointed  to  discharge;  and  I 
have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  such  was  the  opinion  of  per- 
sons for  whose  judgment  and  honorable  principles  I  entertained  the 
highest  respect.  In  various  instances,  as  you  well  know,  where  the 
law  of  the  last  session  left  me  at  full  liberty,  I  waived  any  personal 
gratification,  in  order  that  his  Majesty  might  resume,  on  his  restora- 
tion to  health,  every  power  and  prerogative  belonging  to  his  crown. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  541 

I  certainly  am  the  last  person  in  the  kingdom  to  whom  it  can  be 
permitted  to  despair  of  our  royal  father's  recovery.  A  new  era  is 
now  arrived,  and  I  cannot  but  reflect  with  satisfaction  on  the  events 
which  have  distinguished  the  short  period  of  my  restricted  regency. 
Instead  of  suffering  in  the  loss  of  any  of  her  possessions  by  the 
gigantic  force  which  has  been  employed  against  them,  Great  Britain 
has  added  most  important  acquisitions  to  her  empire.  The  national 
faith  has  been  preserved  inviolate  to  our  allies;  and  if  character  is 
strength,  as  applied  to  a  nation,  the  increased  and  increasing  repu- 
tation of  his  Majesty's  arms  will  show  to  the  nations  of  the  Continent 
how  much  they  may  still  achieve  when  animated  by  a  glorious  spirit 
of  resistance  to  a  foreign  yoke.  In  the  critical  situation  of  the  war 
in  the  Peninsula,  I  shall  be  most  anxious  to  avoid  any  measure  that 
can  lead  my  allies  to  suppose  that  I  mean  to  depart  from  the  present 
system.  Perseverance  alone  can  achieve  the  great  object  in  ques- 
tion; and  I  cannot  withhold  my  approbation  from  those  who  have 
honorably  distinguished  themselves  in  support  of  it.  I  have  no 
predilections  to  indulge,  no  resentments  to  gratify,  no  objects  to 
attain,  but  such  as  are  common  to  the  whole  empire.  If  such  is  the 
leading  principle  of  my  conduct  (and  I  can  appeal  to  the  past,  in 
evidence  of  what  the  future  will  be),  I  flatter  myself  I  shall  meet 
with  the  support  of  Parliament  and  of  a  candid  and  enlightened 
nation.  Having  made  this  communication  of  my  sentiments  in 
this  new  and  extraordinary  crisis  of  our  affairs,  I  cannot  conclude 
without  expressing  the  gratification  I  could  feel,  if  some  of  those 
persons  with  whom  the  early  habits  of  my  public  life  were  formed 
would  strengthen  my  hands,  and  constitute  a  part  of  my  govern- 
ment. With  such  support,  and  aided  by  a  vigorous  and  united  ad- 
ministration formed  on  the  most  liberal  basis,  I  shall  look  with  addi- 
tional confidence  to  a  prosperous  issue  of  the  most  arduous  contest 
in  which  Great  Britain  ever  was  engaged.  You  are  authorized  to 
communicate  these  sentiments  to  Lord  Grey,  who,  I  have  no  doubt, 
will  make  them  known  to  Lord  Grenville.  I  am  always,  my  dear- 
est Frederick,  your  affectionate  Brother, 

"Geokge,  p.  R. 

*'  P.  S.— I  shall  send  a  copy  of  this  letter  immediately  to  Mr.  Per- 
ceval."* 


*  Lord  Grenville  states  that  the  Prince's  letter  had  been  in  Perceval's 
possession  before  he  made  his  speech,  and  prompted  it.    The  Prince  affected 


642  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  bitterness  of  the  Prince's  hostility  was 
shown  in  the  communications  being  directed  to  Lord  Grey,  "  who, 
he  had  no  doubt,  would  make  them  known  to  Lord  Grenville,"  as 
though  he  were  indifferent  whether  they  ever  reached  that  address. 

TJie  Morning  Chronicle  of  February  15th  was  the  first  to  let  the  pub- 
lic know  what  had  occurred.  The  noblemen  applied  to  were  indig- 
nant, and  agreed  that  it  was  a  mere  device  to  extort  a  refusal.  The 
view  they  took  was  that  it  was  "meant  only  to  make  a  case  against 
us;"  and  it  may  seem  to  have  some  foundation.  Some  margin  may 
be  allowed  for  the  Utopian  view  of  the  Prince,  which  will  be  ex- 
plained presently.  The  interview  between  the  two  noblemen  and 
the  Duke  of  York  succeeded,  which  was  a  highly  curious  one. 
They  first  handed  him  their  reply,  which  was  to  the  following  effect: 


LOBDS  GREY  AITO  GRENVILLE  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  YORK. 

••  February  15th,  1813. 

"Sm, 

"We  beg  most  humbly  to  express  to  your  Royal  Highness 
our  dutiful  acknowledgments  for  the  gracious  and  condescending 
manner  in  which  you  have  had  the  goodness  to  communicate  to  us 
the  letter  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  on  the  subject 
of  the  arrangements  to  be  now  made  for  the  future  administration 
of  the  public  affairs.  And  we  take  the  liberty  of  availing  ourselves 
of  your  gracious  permission  to  address  to  your  Royal  Highness  in 
this  form  what  has  occurred  to  us  in  consequence  of  that  communi- 
cation. 

"  The  Prince  Regent,  after  expressing  to  your  Royal  Highness  in 
that  letter  his  sentiments  on  various  public  matters,  has,  in  the  con- 
cluding paragraph,  condescended  to  intimate  his  wish  '  that  some 
of  those  persons  with  whom  the  early  habits  of  his  life  were  formed 
would  strengthen  his  Royal  Highness's  hands,  and  constitute  a  part 
of  his  Government.'  And  his  Royal  Highness  is  pleased  to  add, 
'  that,  with  such  support,  aided  by  a  vigorous  and  united  adminis- 
tration, formed  on  the  most  liberal  basis,  he  would  look  with  addi- 
tional confidence  to  the  prosperous  issue  of  the  most  arduous  contest 


to  be  indignant  at  the  disclosure.— "  Buckingham  Papers— The  Regency," 
I.  231. 

Sheridan  was  believed  to  have  had  a  share  in  the  composition  of  this 
famous  letter.— Ward,  "Diary,"  ii.  426. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  543 

"  On  the  other  parts  of  bis  Royal  Highness's  letter  we  do  not  pre- 
sume to  offer  any  observations.  But  on  the  concluding  paragraph, 
in  so  far  as  we  may  venture  to  suppose  ourselves  included  in  the 
gracious  wish  which  it  expresses,  we  owe  it,  in  obedience  and  duty 
to  your  Royal  Highness,  to  explain  ourselves  with  frankness  and 
sincerity. 

"We  beg  leave  most  earnestly  to  assure  your  Royal  Highness 
that  no  sacrifices,  except  those  of  honor  and  duty,  could  appear  to 
us  too  great  to  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  healing  the  divisions  of 
our  country,  and  of  uniting  both  its  Government  and  its  people. 
All  personal  exclusions  we  entirely  disclaim.  We  rest  on  public 
measures;  and  it  is  on  this  ground  alone  that  we  must  express, 
without  reserve,  the  impossibility  of  our  uniting  with  the  present 
Government.  Our  differences  of  opinion  are  too  many  and  too  im- 
portant to  admit  of  such  a  union.  His  Royal  Highness  will,  we  are 
confident,  do  us  the  justice  to  remember  that  we  have  twice  already 
acted  on  this  impression — in  1809,  on  the  proposition  made  to  us 
under  His  Majesty's  authority;  and  last  year,  when  his  Royal  High- 
ness w^as  graciously  pleased  to  require  our  advice  respecting  the 
formation  of  a  new  Government.  The  reasons  which  we  then 
humbly  submitted  to  him  are  strengthened  by  the  increasing  dan- 
gers of  the  times;  nor  has  there,  down  to  this  moment,  appeared 
even  any  approximation  towards  such  an  agreement  of  opinion  on 
the  public  interests  as  can  alone  form  a  basis  for  the  honorable 
union  of  parlies  previously  opposed  to  each  other. 

"Into  the  details  of  these  differences  we  are  unwilling  to  enter. 
They  embrace  almost  all  the  leading  features  of  the  present  policy 
of  the  empire.  But  his  Royal  Highness  has  himself  been  pleased  to 
advert  to  the  late  deliberations  of  Parliament  on  the  affairs  of  Ire- 
land. This  is  a  subject,  above  all  others,  important  in  itself,  and 
connected  with  the  most  pressing  dangers.  Far  from  concurring  in 
the  sentiments  which  his  Majesty's  ministers  have  on  that  occasion 
so  recently  expressed,  we  entertain  opinions  directly  opposite.  We 
are  firmly  persuaded  of  the  necessity  of  a  total  change  in  the  present 
system  of  government  in  that  country,  and  of  the  immediate  repeal 
of  those  civil  disabilities  under  which  so  large  a  portion  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects  still  labor  on  account  of  their  religious  opinions. 
To  recommend  to  Parliament  this  repeal  is  the  first  advice  which  it 
would  be  our  duty  to  offer  to  his  Royal  Highness.  Nor  could  we, 
even  for  the  shortest  time,  make  ourselves  responsible  for  any 
further  delay  in  the  proposal  of  a  measure  without  which  we  could 


644  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 

entertain  no  hope  of  rendering  our  services  useful  to  his  Royal  High, 
ness  or  to  our  country. 

"  We  have  only,  therefore,  further  to  beg  your  Royal  Highness 
to  lay  before  the  Prince  Regent  the  expressions  of  our  humble  duty, 
and  the  sincere  and  respectful  assurance  of  our  earnest  wishes  for 
whatever  may  best  promote  the  ease,  honor,  and  advantage  of  his 
Royal  Highness's  Government,  and  the  success  of  his  endeavors  for 
the  public  welfare. 

**  We  have  the  honor,  etc. 

"Grey, 
"Gkenville." 

After  much  discussion,  the  Duke  eagerly  pressing  them  to  accept, 
they  persisted  in  their  resolve. 

The  town  was  presently  infinitely  amused  with  the  "Parody  of  a 
Celebrated  Letter,"  full  of  wit  and  sarcasm,  and  soon  known  to  be 
the  work  of  the  Prince's  former  protege,  Moore. 

PARODY  OF  A  CELEBRATED  LETTER. 

At  length,  dearest  Freddy,  the  moment  is  nigh, 

When,  with  P— re— v— I's  leave,  I  may  throw  my  chains  by; 

And,  as  time  now  is  precious,  the  first  thing  I  do, 

Is  to  sit  down  and  write  a  wise  letter  to  you. 

I  meant  before  now  to  have  sent  you  this  Letter, 
But  Y— rm— th  and  I  thought  perhaps  'twould  be  better 
To  wait  till  the  Irish  aflfaii-s  were  decided— 
That  is,  till  both  Houses  had  prosed  and  divided, 
With  all  due  appearance  of  thought  and  digestion— 
For,  though  H— rtf— rd  House  had  long  settled  the  question, 
I  thought  it  but  decent,  between  me  and  you. 
That  the  two  other  Houses  should  settle  it  too. 

I  need  not  remind  you  how  cursedly  bad 
Our  affairs  were  all  looking  when  Father  went  mad: 
A  strait  waistcoast  on  him  and  restrictions  on  me, 
A  moi-e  limited  Monarchy  could  not  well  be. 

I  thought  the  best  way,  as  a  dutiful  son, 
Was  to  do  as  Old  Royalty's  self  would  have  done. 
So  I  sent  word  to  say  I  would  keep  the  whole  batch  In 
The  same  chest  of  tools,  without  cleansing  or  patching. 
And  think— only  think— if  our  Father  should  find. 
Upon  graciously  coming  again  to  his  mind. 
That  improvement  had  spoiled  any  favorite  adviser— 
That  R— se  had  grown  honest,  or  W— stm- rel— nd  wiser; 
That  R— d— r  was,  e'en  by  one  twinkle  the  brighter, 
Or  L— v— rp— I's  speeches  but  half  a  pound  lighter, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  546 

What  a  shock  to  his  old  royal  heart  it  would  be  1 
No!— far  were  such  dreams  of  improvement  from  me: 
And  it  pleased  me  to  find  at  the  house  where,  you  know. 
There's  such  good  mutton  cutlets  and  strong  curaQoa, 
That  the  Marchioness  called  me  a  duteous  old  boy, 
And  my  Y— rm— th's  red  whiskers  grew  redder  for  joy  1 

You  Iniow,  my  dear  Freddy,  how  oft,  if  I  wouldy 
By  the  law  of  last  sessions  I  might  have  done  good. 
I  might  have  told  Ireland  I  pitied  her  lot. 
Might  have  sooth'd  her  with  hope— but  you  know  I  did  not. 
And  my  wish  is,  in  truth,  that  the  best  of  old  fellows 
Should  not,  on  recovering,  have  cause  to  be  jealous. 
But  find  that,  while  he  has  been  laid  on  the  shelf, 
We've  been  all  of  us  nearly  as  mad  as  himself, 

A  new  era's  arrived— though  you'd  hardly  believe  it— 
And  all  things,  of  course,  must  be  new  to  receive  it, 
Kew  villas,  new  fetes  (which  e'en  Waithman  attends) — 
New  saddles,  new  helmets,  and— why  not  new  friends  t 

I  repeat  it,  "  New  Friends  "—for  I  cannot  describe 
The  delight  I  am  in  with  this  P— re— v— 1  tribe. 
Such  capering!— such  vaporing !— such  rigor!— such  vigor  I 
North,  south,  east,  and  west,  they  have  cut  such  a  figure. 
That  soon  they  will  bring  the  whole  world  round  our  ears. 
And  leave  us  no  friends— but  Old  Nick  and  Algiers, 
When  I  think  of  the  glory  they've  beam'd  on  my  chains, 
'Tis  enough  quite  to  turn  my  illustrious  brains! 
It  is  true  we  are  bankrupts  in  commerce  and  riches. 
But  think  how  we  furnish  our  allies  with  breeches  I 
We've  lost  the  warm  hearts  of  the  Irish,  'tis  granted. 
But  then  we've  got  Java,  an  island  much  wanted. 

I  am  proud  to  declare  I  have  no  predilections, 
My  heart  is  a  sieve,  where  some  scatter'd  affections 
Are  just  danced  about  for  a  moment  or  two, 
And  the  ^ner  they  are  the  more  sure  to  run  through; 
Neither  have  I  resentments,  nor  wish  there  should  come  111 
To  mortal— except  (now  I  think  on't)  Beau  Br— mm— 1, 
Who  threaten'd,  last  year,  in  a  superfine  passion. 
To  cut  me,  and  bring  the  old  King  into  fashion. 
This  is  all  I  can  lay  to  my  conscience  at  present, 
When  such  is  my  temper,  so  neutral,  so  pleasant, 
So  royally  free  from  all  troublesome  feelings, 
So  little  encumber 'd  by  faith  in  my  dealings. 
When  such  are  my  merits  (you  know  I  hate  cracking), 
I  hope,  like  the  vendor  of  Best  Patent  Blacking, 
"To  meet  with  the  generous  and  kind  approbation 
Of  a  candid,  enlighten'd,  and  liberal  nation," 


546  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

By  the  bye,  ere  I  cTose  this  magnificent  letter 
(No  man,  except  Pole,  could  have  writ  you  a  better), 
'Twould  please  me  if  those,  whom  I've  humbugged  so  long 
With  the  notion  (good  men !)  that  I  knew  right  from  wrong, 
Would  a  few  of  them  join  me— mind,  only  a  few — 
To  let  too  much  light  in  on  me  never  would  do; 
But  even  Grey's  brightness  sha'n't  make  me  afraid, 
While  I've  C— md— n  and  Eld— n  to  fly  to  for  shade; 
So,  in  short,  if  they  wish  to  have  places,  they  may. 
And  I'll  thank  you  to  tell  all  these  matters  to  Grey, 
Who,  I  doubt  not,  will  write  (as  there's  no  time  to  lose), 
By  the  twopenny  post  to  tell  Grenville  the  news; 
And  now,  dearest  Fred  (though  I've  no  predilection), 
Believe  me  yours  always  with  truest  affection. 

P.S.— A  copy  of  this  is  to  P— re— v— 1  going- 
Good  Lordl  how  St.  Stephens  will  ring  with  his  crowing! 

The  unhappy  Prince,  for  such  he  was,  all  this  time  was  in  the 
hands  of  favorites,  who,  at  Brookes's,  were  given  the  responsibility 
of  the  recent  transaction.  They  were,  says  a  member  of  that  club, 
talking  at  Lord  Yarmouth,  and  before  his  face  wondering  "  who 
the  vile  spy  can  be  who  has  poisoned  the  Regent's  mind  against  his 
old  friends,  and  this  as  loud  as  a  trumpet;  Manchester  Square  has 
in  fact  done  the  whole  business,  and  some  say  a  little  of  Windsor 
intermixed."  * 

The  Hertford  family  were  indeed  held  accountable  for  this  step. 
"  Not  a  day  passed  without  his  visiting  Lady  Hertford."  f  Her  son 
and  her  husband  had  now  both  posts  at  Court.  Mr.  Canning  was 
violent  in  his  language  against  the  two  lords,  and  declared  that  they 
ought  to  have  tcjnporized,  and  would  have  later  got  rid  of  him. 
People  were  talking  of  "  what  portion  of  Castlercagh's  and  '  Doc- 
tor's '  was  to  go  into  the  work."  It  is  unfortunate  that  in  so  many 
transactions  there  should  be  some  charge  of  perfidy  or  want  of  good 
faith  made  against  the  Prince.  In  this  instance  he  had  actually 
given  his  promise  to  Lord  Grey,  that  on  the  expiring  of  the  restric- 
tions he  would  call  them  to  power.  Lord  Grey  told  Mr.  Grey  Ben- 
nett's brother,  that  "at  an  interview  with  Lords  Grey  and  Gren- 
ville, he  assured  them  that  though  he  nominally  retained  his  minis- 
ters, yet  he  secretly  was  inclined  to  them,  and  that  he  would  give 
them  all  the  support  he  could  1  The  two  noblemen  made  him  a 
long  speech  on  the  unconstitutional  character  of  the  proposal,  and 
declined  coming  to  any  such  understanding.     The  Prince  stared 

*  *•  Buckingham's  Memoirs— Regency,"  L  24L 
t  Romilly,  "  Memoirs,"  ii. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  547 

at  them  for  some  time,  made  no  answes,  and  turned  on  his  heel." 
To  this  Lord  Grey  alluded  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Moira. *  "He  had 
promised  to  do  whenever  the  restrictions  on  his  authority  should 
cease."  But,  as  was  before  urged,  the  Prince's  canon  of  truth  often 
rested  on  his  humors  and  their  changes. 

As  he  departed.  Lord  Wellesley  bequeathed  to  his  master  a  new 
favorite,  Dr.  Knighton,  his  own  physician,  who  was  to  rule  him, 
even  despotically,  till  his  death.  Of  him  we  shall  hear  a  great  deal 
later  on. 

Before  the  end  of  the  week,  the  town  was  to  be  engrossed  by  an 
extraordinary  scene  which  had  taken  place  at  Carlton  House,  and 
was  to  turn  the  public  more  strongly  against  the  Regent,  who 
seemed  to  be  floundering  from  one  indiscretion  to  another.  On 
Saturday,  the  22nd,  he  gave  a  great  dinner  to  the  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess of  York,  at  which  were  also  present  Lord  Lauderdale,  Sheridan, 
Erskine,  and  his  daughter,  the  young  and  interesting  Princess 
Charlotte.  There  were  also  present  Lord  Tyrconnel  and  Lord  and 
Lady  Keith,  and  the  faithful  Adam.  After  dinner  and  much  wine, 
the  Prince  began  to  abuse  the  Whigs,  saying  they  all  hated  him 
except  three,  Lord  Erskine,  Sheridan,  and  Ponsonby,  with  many 
slight  expressions  on  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville's  conduct.  This 
attack  was  made  even  before  the  servants  had  quitted  the  room. 

Lord  Lauderdale  had,  however,  the  spirit  to  rise,  and  in  respect- 
ful terms  addressed  the  Prince  in  vindication  of  his  friends.  The 
Prince  uttered  some  further  words  of  dislike,  when  the  young 
Princess  suddenly  rose,  in  tears,  and  proceeded  to  leave  the  room, 
Sheridan  leading  her  to  the  door!  This  singular  scene  was  the  talk 
of  the  town. 

According  to  all  precedent,  as  Mr.  "Ward  remarked,  she  disliked 
her  father's  ministers  and  loved  the  Opposition.  At  the  opera,  that 
night,  seeing  Lord  Grey,  she  kissed  her  hand  and  smiled  very  gra- 
ciously on  hlm.f  She  appeared  delighted  with  the  scene,  and 
bowed  to  everyone.  This  waywardness,  injudicious  as  it  was,  was 
natural,  and  was  one  of  the  attractions  that  drew  the  nation  to  her. 
This  incident,  however,  was  in  every  one's  mouth,  and  celebrated 
by  the  famous  lines  %  of  Lord  Byron: 

*  "  Life  and  Opinions,"  p.  291.  +  Ward,  "  Diary,"  ii.  432. 

X  The  verses  are  often  quoted,  but  few  recollect  the  strange  scene  which 
occasioned  them.  They  were  copied,  repeated,  and  sent  over  the  kingdom; 
and,  for  so  short  and  simple  a  production,  were  surprisingly  effectual  in 
damaging  the  Regent. 


648  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IK 

LINES  TO  A  LADY  WEEPING. 

Weep,  daughter  of  a  royal  line, 

A  sire's  disgrace,  a  realm's  decay; 
Ah!  happy  if  each  tear  of  thine 

Could  wash  a  father's  fault  away. 

Weep,  for  thy  tears  are  virtue's  tears- 
Auspicious  to  these  suffering  isles; 

And  be  each  drop  in  future  years 
Repaid  thee  by  thy  people's  smiles. 

March,  1812. 

The  Prince  had  fallen  into  a  habit  which  excited  the  grave  fore- 
bodings of  his  friends — viz.  of  abusing  any  one  he  disliked  in  the 
raost  open  way;  and  the  Archbishop  of  York  bewailed  "his  loud 
discourse  to  large  companies  about  all  sorts  of  persons  and  things." 
Tlie  Morning  Chronicle  had  now  turned  sharply  on  him,  and  was 
attacking  him  bitterly.  Lord  Erskine  declared  that  he  would  never 
set  foot  in  Carlton  House  again,  and  there  was  also  a  coolness 
between  him  and  Lord  Lauderdale. 

By  March  19th  the  whole  of  the  recent  transactions  were  brought 
before  the  House  of  Lords  on  a  question  put  by  Lord  Bairington, 
whether  the  famous  letter  was  a  genuine  one?  The  excitement 
was  intense,  nearly  the  whole  House  appearing  to  be  in  the  House 
of  Lords.  Below  the  bar  there  was  an  equally  great  crowd.  The 
language  on  all  sides  was  excited.  The  language  on  the  Liberal 
side  was  certainly  well  pointed.  Lord  Darnley  said  that  the  minis- 
ters owed  their  places  to  "  unavowed  advisers,  whose  selfish  and 
bigoted  whispers  in  the  royal  ear  endangered  the  state."  He  added 
that  he  had  told  the  same  truths  to  the  Prince  himself.  Lord  Grey 
used  still  plainer  language.  He  virtually  charged  the  Prince  with 
having  given  promises  to  the  Catholics,  and  with  having  broken 
those  promises;  but  he  spoke  in  the  hearing  of  those  who  would 
contradict  him  if  what  he  said  was  unfounded,  and  who  would,  he 
was  sure,  support  its  truth  if  questioned.  In  this  he  referred  to 
Mr.  Ponsonby,  who  was  no  doubt  listening  in  the  crowd,  and  who 
when  appealed  to  in  a  later  debate  confirmed  it.*  He  then  asked 
contemptuously,  was  it  likely  that  he  would  join  with  the  minis- 

*  "  I  say  that  the  noble  Duke  fBedfordl  lately  at  the  head  of  the  Irish  Gov- 
ernment and  myself  did  receive  commands,  not  merely  permission,  but  the 
actual  commands  of  the  illnstrions  personape  alluded  to,  to  make  the  com- 
munication that  such  were  the  intentions  of  that  great  personage  in  respect 
to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland,  and  that  he  would  never  forsake  their 
Jnteregta" 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  549 

ters,  using  the  word  "condescend,"  and  passed  to  something  yet  more 
stinging,  "to  his  address."  The  cause  of  all  this,  he  said,  was  one 
thing  of  which  he  should  freely  speak,  beside  which  the  ministry 
itself  became  an  insignificant  question — the  unseen  influence  that 
lurked  behind  the  throne,  and  which  he  called  a  disastrous  and  dis- 
gusting influence;  a  cursed  one,  and  which  prevented  either  pubhc 
complaint  or  honest  counsel  from  reaching  his  ears.  Strong  words, 
that  must  have  made  their  ears  tingle,  and  which  were  never  forgot- 
ten or  forgiven  by  the  Prince.  Indeed,  both  Houses  rang  with  per- 
sonal insults  of  this  kind.  Mr.  Lyttleton  in  another  debate  alluded 
to  the  minions  and  favorites  who  surrounded  the  Regent,  and 
declared  that  what  was  to  reward  those  who  spent  their  blood  for 
their  country  was  lavished  on  "  Gavestons."  But  what  galled  him 
most,  as  Colonel  Tyrwhitt  told  the  Speaker,  was  Lord  Donough- 
more's  later  speech  on  the  Catholic  Question  on  March  21st. 

His  unpopularity  was  growing.  With  the  crowds  looking  on  in 
Pall  Mall  as  he  passed  by  on  his  way  to  the  drawing-room  there  was 
not  a  s'ngle  cheer;  at  Drury  Lane  allusions  in  the  play  to  promises 
made  by  the  Prince  of  Wales  were  taken  up  to  thunders  of  applause, 
and  at  the  Lyceum  some  mention  of  female  influence  was  similarly 
greeted.  Complimentary  addresses  to  him  all  over  the  country  were 
attempted,  but  the  attempts  failed.  At  the  Royal  Society  dinner 
Lord  Stafford  received  a  message  from  him,  to  the  effect  that  when 
the  royal  health  was  given  he  would  say  something  about  a  new 
lustre  he  had  presented  to  them,  and  his  wish  to  have  it  altered  if 
it  did  not  suit;  which  was  received  in  perfect  silence.  No  wonder 
he  began  to  lose  heart,  and  declined  the  Lord  Mayor's  banquet,  lest 
in  his  passage  through  the  City  he  should  be  hissed.  The  entourage 
seemed  quite  cowed,  and  though  Lord  Donoughmore  boldly  pub- 
lished his  speech,  so  offensive  to  the  Court  that  it  was  confidently 
expected  Lord  Yarmouth's  "red  herrings"  w^ould  have  challenged 
Mr.  Lyttleton,  the  whole  was  submitted  to  and  accepted. 

Never  had  a  false  step  met  so  speedy  and  effectual  a  punishment. 
And  that  all  was  the  work  of  ' '  minions  behind  the  throne  "  operating 
on  a  weak  nature  was  conclusively  proved.  He  was  presently  heard  to 
declare  that  the  only  one  of  the  party  that  had  "  treated  him  like  a 
gentleman "  was  the  proscribed  Lord  Grenville ;  and  he  now  pro- 
ceeded to  punish  these  enemies  by  drawing  up  a  new  list  for  the 
Carlton  House  droit  d' entree,  from  which  he  struck  out  all  old-friend 

counsellors,  with  a  couple  of  exceptions.* 

__^ .         — . .  - 

*  "  Buckingham's  Memoirs,"  i.  289. 


550  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  y. 
1812. 

While  he  was  in  this  state,  the  whole  country  was  startled  and 
shocked  to  learn  that  on  May  11th  the  Prime  Minister  had  been 
assassinated  in  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Commons.  This  catastro- 
phe was  thus  graphically  described: 

"  On  Monday,  11th  May,"  says  Mr.  Grey  Bennett,  "  I  went  down 
to  the  House  of  Commons,  to  attend  the  third  reading  of  Mr. 
Banke's  Sinecure  Bill,  which  it  was  understood  to  be  the  intention 
of  Mr.  Perceval  once  more  to  oppose.  I  arrived  at  the  House  at  a 
little  before  five,  and  found  the  House  in  a  committee  on  the 
order.  I  sat  down  on  the  bench  upon  the  floor,  near  to  the  spot 
where  the  witness  stood,  and  a  few  minutes  after  I  heard  the  report 
of  a  pistol,  which  appeared  to  come  from  the  lobby,  I  said  to 
Macdonald,  who  sat  by  me,  *  Good  God,  some  one  has  shot  him- 
self!' In  a  few  seconds  there  was  a  stir  in  the  gallery,  and  at  the 
same  time  some  one  burst  into  the  house  and  said,  '  A  member  is 
shot!'  and  a  moment  afterwards  Sir  S.  Vaughan  rushed  in  and 
exclaimed,  'Mr.  Perceval  is  shot!'  Every  one  then  rose,  there  not 
being  above  forty  members  in  the  House.  Mr.  Barrington,  who  was 
in  the  chair,  asked  leave  to  report  progress,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  Speaker  entered  the  House  and  took  his  chair.  He  ordered 
every  one  to  take  his  seat,  which,  after  a  minute  or  two  of  confu- 
sion, was  obeyed.  It  was  then  announced  that  the  assassin  was 
secured,  and  it  was  proposed  he  should  be  brought  through  the 
House,  to  be  lodged  in  one  of  the  upper  rooms  until  a  magistrate 
should  arrive.  The  prisoner  was  then  brought  to  the  bar,  held  by 
two  messengers,  and  appeared  haggard,  his  eyes  staring,  and  evi- 
dently in  the  greatest  agitation.  It  was  then  proposed  that  the 
Speaker,  to  avoid  a  rush  of  members,  all  pressing  at  once,  should 
name  some  to  precede  and  others  to  follow  the  prisoner.  He  first 
named  Mr.  Whitbread,  and  among  others  he  named  me.  I  accord- 
ingly followed,  and  the  prisoner  was  lodged  in  what  is  called  the 
prison-room. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  551 

"  Different  witnesses  deposed  what  had  passed — that  it  was  on 
entering  the  door  of  the  lobby  at  the  top  of  tlie  stone-stairs  that  the 
pistol  was  fired;  Mr.  Perceval  advanced  in  a  wild  manner — as  if 
seeking  for  shelter — three  or  four  steps,  clapped  his  hand  to  his 
heart,  and  fell  forwards,  exclaiming,  'Murder,'  or,  'Oh!  I  am  mur- 
dered.' He  was  caught  before  he  fell  by  a  Mr.  Phillips  of  Man- 
chester, and  carried  by  him  and  by  Mr.  W.  Smith  (member  for  Nor- 
wich) into  the  room  called  the  Secretary's  room ;  he  was  set  on  a 
table,  his  feet  resting  on  a  chair.  He  appeared  almost  lifeless, 
seemed  to  suffer  no  pain,  but  after  a  sort  of  convulsive  sob  expired 
in  about  eight  minutes  after  the  wound  had  been  given." 

Following  on  this  casualty  came  a  flood  of  lampoons  and  libellous 
attacks.  For  a  man  so  vain  as  the  Regent  was  of  his  physical 
advantages,  who  was  praised  and  flattered  by  sycophants,  it  must 
have  been  galling  to  read  the  stinging,  bitter,  perhaps  truthful 
attacks  that  were  from  time  to  time  made  upon  him.  These  were 
characterized  by  a  license  and  personality  that  now  seems  almost 
incredible.  Thus,  in  this  year,  there  appeared  in  The  Examiner 
one  of  the  most  savage  diatribes,  which  in  the  case  of  a  private  per- 
son would  have  been  punished  severely.  It  was  provoked,  as  Mr. 
Brougham,  counsel  for  the  Hunts,  contended,  by  the  sycophantic 
eulogies  of  the  Court  scribes,  who  were  thus  to  a  certain  extent 
accountable;  but  the  plea  did  not  avail.  This  "libel,"  which 
appeared  on  March  22nd,  was  to  this  effect: 

"  What  person  unacquainted  with  the  true  state  of  the  case  would 
imagine  in  reading  these  astounding  eulogies  that  this  Glory  of  the 
People  was  the  subject  of  millions  of  stings  and  reproaches!  That 
this  Protector  of  ilie  Arts  had  named  a  wretched  foreigner  his  his- 
torical painter,  in  disparagement,  or  in  ignorance,  of  the  merits  of 
his  countrymen !  That  this  Maecenas  of  the  age  patronized  not  a 
single  deserving  writer!  That  this  Breather  of  Eloquence  could  not 
say  a  few  decent  extempore  words,  if  we  are  to  judge,  at  least,  from 
what  he  said  to  his  regiment  on  its  embarkation  for  Portugal !  That 
this  Conqueror  of  Hearts  was  the  disappointer  of  hopes!  That  this 
Exciter  of  Desire  (Bravo,  messieurs  of  the  Post!),  this  Adonis  in 
Loveliness,  was  a  corpulent  gentleman  of  fifty!  In  short,  that  this 
delightful,  blissful,  wise,  pleasurable,  honorable,  tirtuous,  true,  and 
immortal  Prince  was  a  violator  of  his  word,  a  libertine,  over  head 
and  ears  in  debt  and  disgrace,  a  despiser  of  domestic  ties,  a  com- 


552  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV, 

panion  of  gamblers  and  demireps,  a  man  who  has  just  closed  half 
a  century  without  one  single  claim  on  the  gratitude  of  his  country 
or  the  respect  of  posterity!" 

Lord  Ellenborough  dealt  with  the  accused  in  the  severest  stylo  in 
his  partial  charge,  alluding  strangely  to  the  committal  of  adultery 
as  "  a  misfortune."  He  sentenced  the  two  brothers  Hunt  to  a  fine 
and  term  of  imprisonment,  during  which  they  were  visited  by 
Lord  Byron  and  others  of  their  friends  and  supporters.  "The 
Triumph  of  the  Whale  "  appeared  in  the  same  journal,  but  escaped 
prosecution. 

Here  is  a  specimen  of  this  light  persiflage,  written  by  Charles 
Lamb: 

THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  WHALE. 

lo!  Paean :  lo!  sing, 

To  the  finny  people's  king, 

Not  a  mightier  whale  than  this, 

In  the  vast  Atlantic  is; 

Not  a  fatter  fish  than  he. 

Flounders  round  the  Polar  sea: 

See  his  blubber  at  his  gills, 

What  a  world  of  drink  he  swills  1  .  .  . 

Such  a  person— next  declare, 

Musei  who  his  companions  are: 

Every  fish  of  generous  kind. 

Stands  aside  or  slinks  behind.  .  .  . 

Name  or  title,  what  has  he? 

Is  he  Regent  of  the  sea? 

By  his  bulk  and  by  his  size. 

By  his  oily  qualities, 

This  (or  else  my  eyesight  fails), 

This  should  be  the  Prince  of  Whalea 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  time  the  unpopularity  of  the 
Regent  was  excessive.  Much  of  this  was,  of  course,  owing  to  his 
personal  character  and  conduct,  but  more  to  the  harsh  severity  of 
the  department  administered  by  Lord  Sidmouth.  During  the  last 
year  of  the  Perceval  ministry  the  number  of  prosecutions  by  the 
Government  was  enormous,  and  the  system  had  been  since  kept  up 
with  unrelenting  severity.  No  one  was  so  sensitive  to  ndicule,  and 
no  one  was  so  lampooned  or  assailed  with  such  merciless  wit  and 
power — Moore,  the  Hunts,  Charles  Lamb,  Cruikshank,  Hone,  kept 
up  unceasing  attacks.  Moore's  verses,  turned  with  great  neatness 
and  full  of  "fun,"  gave  infinite  pleasure — 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  tV.  553 

The  table  spread  with  tea  and  toast, 
Death-warrants,  and  The  Morning  Post. 

The  political  result  of  the  minister's  death  was,  of  course,  to  dis- 
solve his  ministry.  It  was  felt  that  his  popularity  with  the  squires 
and  county  gentry  was  its  mainstay  and  support.  At  this  crisis 
the  Chancellor  gathered  the  voices  of  his  colleagues  as  to  what  was 
to  be  done.  Some  thought  it  "doubtful,"  others  "dangerous." 
The  Chancellor  was  timely  convinced  that  LordWellesley  and  Can- 
ning would  be  glad  to  come  in  as  they  "were  both  sick  of  being 
out."  Meanwhile,  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville  looked  on,  the  former 
in  town,  the  latter  at  his  country-seat,  one  at  least  being  certain  that 
an  application  must  be  made  to  them. 

The  result  of  the  new  deliberations  was  an  application  by  Lord 
Liverpool  to  Lord  Wellesley  and  Canning,  on  the  principle  that 
"his  royal  highness,  being  desirous  of  continuing  his  administra- 
tion upon  its  present  basis,  was  desirous  of  strengthening  it  as  much 
as  possible  by  associating  to  it  such  persons  in  public  life  as  agreed 
most  nearly  and  generally  upon  the  principles  upon  which  public 
affairs  had  been  conducted.'"*  This  definition  could  not  include 
the  two  persons  whose  opinions  on  the  Catholic  question  were  well 
known,  and  so  the  result  proved. 

"  The  day  that  Lord  Liverpool's  letter  appeared  m  The  Times,  on 
the  20th  May,  says  Mr.  G.  Bennett,  a  note  was  added  to  this  effect, 
that  a  further  continuance  of  this  correspondence  would  appear  on 
the  morrow.  When  Lord  Liverpool  read  this,  he  said .  '  That  is 
impossible,  as  there  is  no  other  letter.'  However,  on  Thursday 
night,  the  21st,  between  eight  and  nine  at  night,  Lord  Liverpool 
received  an  answer  to  his  letter,  and  which  appeared  in  The  Times 
and  Chronicle  of  the  next  day  (the  22nd)— which  papers  are  printed 
at  six  in  the  morning,  so  that  the  letter  must  have  been  sent  to  the 
press  at  the  same  time  it  was  forwarded  to  Lord  Liverpool.  This 
provoked  the  ministers  in  general  so  much,  that  they  determined, 
with  the  exception  of  Lord  Melville  (who  said  he  could  serve  with 
Lord  Wellesley,  but  never  under  him),  that  they  never  would 
belong  to  a  Cabinet  of  which  he  was  a  member.  Lord  Liverpool  is 
said  (Lord  Holland  told  me  the  story)  to  have  remarked  that  it  was 
not  safe  to  be  in  the  same  room  with  him. 

"In  consequence  of  this  and  other  failures  to  patch  up  a  Gov- 

*"  Life  and  Letters  of  Lord  Wellesley,"  where  the  whole  correspondence 
and  the  account  of  the  interviews  are  given. 
24 


554  TU^  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ernment,  Mr.  Stuart  Wortley,  the  great  supporter  of  Mr.  Perce vars 
administration,  and  the  avowed  enemy  of  all  Whigs  and  Whiggism, 
gave  notice  of  a  motion  on  the  19th  for  the  21st,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  address  the  Prince  to  form  an  effective  administration. 
Accordingly,  on  Thursday,  the  21st,  he,  after  a  short  speech,  stating 
the  necessity  of  a  strong  and  efficient  government,  moved  an  address 
to  the  above  effect.  None  of  the  Opposition  leaders  spoke,  and, 
after  a  rather  dull  debate,  the  House  divided:  174  for  the  address — 
170  against  it;  leaving  the  Government  in  a  minority  of  4. 

"  Thereupon  Mr.  Stuart  Wortley  and  Lord  Milton  waited  on  the 
Prince,  whose  reply  was :  '  I  shall  take  into  my  serious  and  imme- 
diate consideration  the  address  of  the  House  of  Commons.'  Accord- 
ingly, the  next  day,  the  Regent  sent  for  Lord  Wellesley,  and  gave 
him  instructions  to  form  an  administration.  Lord  W.  waited  on 
Lords  Grey  and  Grenville,  and  proposed  to  them  as  points  of  agree 
ment  the  question  of  the  Catholics  of  Ireland,  and  the  war  in  the 
Peninsula.  To  the  first  they  gave  their  unqualified  assent;  to  the 
second,  they  declared  themselves  as  anxious  as  he  could  be  to  prose- 
cute with  vigor  the  war  in  the  Peninsula;  but  they  could  not  decide 
upon  the  extent,  as  they,  not  forming  a  part  of  an  administration, 
could  have  no  opinion  as  to  the  means  possessed  by  the  country  to 
extend  or  continue  the  system. 

' '  Lord  Wellesley  saw  the  Regent  again,  and  gave  him  the  answers 
of  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville.  He  is  said  to  have  affected  to  con- 
sider them  as  refusals  to  take  office,  and  some  debate  was  necessary 
to  convince  him  of  his  error.  Lord  Wellesley,  too,  scat  the  same 
tests  to  the  existing  administration,  who  all  declined,  except  Lord 
Melville,  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it,  and  to  forming  a  part  of  a 
Cabinet  of  which  he  was  a  member.  Various  manoeuvres  were  then 
set  on  foot  to  separate  Canning  from  Lord  Wellesley;  but  all  failed 
Yet,  even  to  this  hour,  the  whole  arrangement  is  as  much  atloat  as 
ever,  and  yesterday  even  Mr.  Sheridan  said  that  no  difficulty  was 
overcome — people  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive  where  the  hitch  really  is 
— all  seem  agreed  in  the  opinion  that  no  arrangement  of  places  has 
even  as  yet  been  proposed;  but  it  is  suspected  that  the  point  in  dis- 
pute is  Hertford  House,  and  the  necessity  of  his  giving  up  that 
favorite  establishment  of  secret  intrigue  and  influence,  the  exist 
ence  of  which  no  administration,  meaning  well,  could  admit  of." 

Thus  the  old  backstair  intrigues  were  in  full  work.  It  liad  been 
understood  that  the  ministry  was  dissolved,  and  only  temporarily 
held  office;  but  people  now  hoard  of  the  Premier  being  closeted 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  555 

with  the  Regent,  of  midnight  Cabinet  Councils,  of  the  Chancellor 
neglecting  his  legal  duties  and  hurrying  away  from  Court  with  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  whilst  Lady  Bathurst  told  Lady  Bessborough, 
with  an  air  of  affected  regret  at  what  she  was  imparting,  "that  the 
thing  was  afloat  again,  and  that  Lord  Liverpool  had  been  too  hasty 
and  intemperate."  While  the  fickle  Prince,  quite  careless  as  to 
compromising  his  agents,  was  busy  with  his  familiars,  and  on  a  new 
track; 
His  anonymous  correspondent  thus  wrote  to  Lord  Buckingham: 

"  4  o'clock  P.M.,  May  26, 1812. 

"About  four  yesterday,  Lord Wellesley  saw  the  Prince  Regent, 
by  the  command  of  the  latter.  The  Prince  had  an  air  of  great 
gayety  and  pleasantry,  and  affected  great  kindness  towards  Lord 
Wellesley.  '  Well,  Wellesley,  I  find  you  have  totally  failed  with 
the  mmistry,'  to  which  Lord  Wellesley  assented;  'and  also,'  con 
tinned  the  Prince,  'with  Opposition.'  'There,  sir,'  said  Lord 
Wellesley,  '  I  must  beg  to  stop  you.  I  could  not  fail  where  I  had 
no  authority  to  treat.' 

"The  Prince  then  continued  thus  in  substance.  That  he  had 
read  over  and  well  considered  Lord  Wellesley's  project,  communi- 
cated to  him  the  evening  before.  That  on  one  principle  of  it, 
namely,  the  immediately  entering  upon  the  consideration  of  the 
Catholic  claims,  he  went  the  utmost  length  that  Lord  Wellesley  had 
gone,  or  would  wish  to  go,  and  that  he  would  name  no  Administra- 
tion, nor  put  his  confidence  in  any  which  should  not  adopt  that  line 
of  conduct.  To  which  Lord  Wellesley  replied,  that  if  that  were  his 
royal  highness's  determination,  and  that  if  it  were  fan-ly  and  honor- 
ably conducted,  without  trick  or  juggle  towards  the  Catholics,  that 
he,  for  one,  would  support  any  Administration  formed  on  such  a 
principle,  so  far  as  that  point  went;  but  he  would  not  pledge  him- 
self either  to  take  office  with  it,  or  give  it  his  general  support. 

"The  Prince  then  said,  that  as  to  making  a  proposition  for  a 
junction  with  Opposition,  nothing  should  ever  induce  him  to 
employ  them.  That  he  had  no  objection  to  one  or  two  of  them 
individually,  but  as  a  body,  he  would  rather  abdicate  the  Regency 
than  ever  come  into  contact  with  them.  'But,' added  he,  'there 
will  be  no  occasion  for  any  such  overture,  for  you  will  be  happy  to 
hear,  my  dear  Wellesley,  that  the  Chancellor  has  entirely  come 
round  to  you  upon  the  Catholic  question;  and,  indeed,  assures  me 
that  he  was  with  you  from  the  first.' 


556  THE  life:  of  GEORGE  IV. 

"I  need  not  tell  your  lordship  the  astonishment,  and  (I  believe) 
dismay,  with  which  Lord  Wellesley  received  this  extraordinary 
piece  of  intelligence. 

'•  *  And,'  continued  the  Prince,  'Melville,  who  was  never  violent 
against  it,  is  also  with  you,  and  I  have  prevailed  upon  him  to  waive 
his  personal  repugnance  to  acting  with  you.  I  have  seen  the  Chan- 
cellor and  Liverpool  this  morning,  and  have  rowed  them  handsomely 
for  their  letter  to  you,  which  was  a  most  unprovoked  and  unpardon- 
able folly.  And  I  have  desired  Liverpool  to  summon  a  Cabinet  this 
night,  when  the  whole  subject  will  be  considered  over  again.  And 
then  5'ou  know  you  can  all  meet  together  to-morrow,  or  next  day,  and 
choose  your  offices  amongst  one  another.' 

"As  late  as  three  this  day.  Lord  Wellesley  had  heard  nothing 
more,  and,  m  fact,  thinks  the  thing  will  go  off,  and  that  this  in- 
fatuated man  will  risk  himself  and  the  country  upon  the  present 
men." 

The  next  incident  was  the  introduction  of  Lord  Moira  on  the 
scene,  with  whom  the  Regent  had  a  reconciliation,  '•  hanging  upon 
iiis  neck  and  weeping."  He  saw  him  for  hours  at  a  time,  protesting 
that  the  only  way  to  meet  him  was  that  '*  there  should  be  a  fixed 
determination  that  everything  that  had  separated  them  should  be 
forgotten."  After  some  days  of  these  endearments,  the  Prince  tried 
to  persuade  him  to  see  Lord  Eldon,  which  the  other  declined.  lie 
then  bewailed  his  hard  case — that  he  could  not  bring  round  either 
of  his  two  friends  to  his  view.  His  nerves  were  beginning  to  fail 
him,  and  with  other  persons  he  was  in  "  such  a  state  of  irritation 
that  he  could  not  be  spoken  to,"  so  that  Lord  Liverpool  in  great 
alarm  sent  off  an  express  to  Oatlands  for  the  Duke  of  York.  The 
Prince's  next  extraordinary  step  was  to  be  found  closeted  wiili  '  the 
Doctor,"  Lord  Sidmouth,  the  man  he  disliked  and  had  called  "  a 
blockhead"  only  a  few  weeks  before.  But  the  weaker  mind  often 
turns  to  what  it  most  violently  proscribed.  The  ministers  were 
called  but  of  their  beds  to  go  to  Carlton  House;  in  short,  it  was  a 
season  of  the  wildest  and  most  rediculous  confusion,  while  the  con- 
tempt and  anger  which  pursued  the  irresolute  Prince  were  un- 
bounded. The  House  of  Commons  were  growing  impatient,  and 
every  one  clamored  for  a  solution. 

Mr.  Bennett  has  said  that  no  one  could  make  out  exactly  wliat 
the  hitch  was.  We,  however,  can  guess  it.  One  of  those  dreadful 
fits  of  animosity  which  would  take  possession  of  him  was  at  the 


THE  LIFE  OB'  GEORGE  IV.  55? 

bottom  of  it  all.  All  this  agitation  was  produced  by  resistance  to 
the  pressure  put  on  him  to  send  for  the  two  lords  and  give  them  a 
direct  commission.*  He  asked  Lord  Wellesley  was  he  not  shocked 
at  "the  grossness  of  female  connections  being  dragged  into  politics;" 
on  which  the  latter  said  bluntly  that  he  took  care  that  no  woman 
should  ever  have  anything  to  say  to  him  on  politics.  He  could 
not  overcome  his  disgust  at  the  nauseous  draught  until  May  31st, 
when,  at  five  o'clock,  just  as  the  puzzled  Wellesley  was  going  out 
of  town,  "to  remain,"  Lord  Moira  arrived  at  Apsley  House  with 
the  news  that  he  had  prevailed  on  the  Duke  of  York  to  go  to  the 
Prince  on  the  subject  of  his  "twenty-seven  years'  animosity"  to  Lord 
Grey;  and  the  Duke  had  undertaken  the  task  very  willingly.  A 
strange  heated  interview  followed  (at  which  Lord  Moira  was  present), 
and  much  ill-blood  between  the  brothers.  But  it  ended  by  the  Prince 
declaring  that  he  must  have  an  explanation,  and  a  satisfactory 
one,  of  the  words  Lord  Grey  had  used  in  his  speech,  where  he 
had  virtually  charged  the  Prince  with  breaking  his  promises.  In  a 
manly  way,  and  without  retraction,  Lord  Grey  virtually  re-stated 
what  he  had  said,  adding  that  if  the  Prince  felt  a  strong  personal 
objection  to  him,  he  was  quite  ready  to  stand  out  of  the  wa3^  f 

Lord  Moira  affected  to  think  this  quite  satisfactory,  and  declared 
that  a  preliminary  obstacle  to  the  negotiation  was  removed.  On 
the  next  day,  January  1st,  it  became  known  that  at  last  Lord  Wel- 
lesley had  been  empowered  to  make  a  direct  offer  to  the  two  lords. 
So  far  we  think  we  have  held  in  our  hand  the  clue  of  this  most  per- 
plexing game. 

*  See  "Buckingham— Regency, "passim,  pp.  308,  337. 
t  "  Life  of  Lord  Grey,"  p.  294. 


558  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEOBaE  IV. 


CHAPTER  VL 

1812 

Lord  Wellesley,  being  thus  once  more  introduced  on  the 
stage,  was  ordered  to  form  an  administration  with  carte  blancJie, 
being  specially  authorized  to  communicate  with  Lords  Grey  and 
Grenville.*  His  most  brilliant  hopes  might  now  fairly  be  kindled. 
Once  more  he  was  to  fail.  But  an  accurate  observer  shall  tell  the 
story : 

"Mr.  Wortley,"  says  Mr.  G.  Bennett,  "then  rose  and  said,  that 
in  consequence  of  the  various  rumors  and  reports  that  were  abroad, 
and  the  positive  assertions  on  one  side  and  the  other  in  all  the 
papers,  he  wished  to  ask  Mr.  Ponsonby,  and  he  had  accordingly 
written  the  question  down — '  Whether  he  or  his  friends  had  received 
any  offer  or  proposal  for  office,  which  they  had  refused  on  personal 
or  public  grounds.'  Mr.  Ponsonby  replied  that,  'no  offer  had  been 
made  of  any  sort,  so  there  could  be  no  refusal.'  These  questions 
were  settled  with  Ponsonby  in  the  morning,  Wortley  having  called 
upon  him,  and  it  was  felt  necessary  to  do  something  from  the  lies 
that  were  in  circulation,  as  even  in  the  daily  papers,  in  The  Morn- 
ing Herald,  TJie  Carlton  House  Gazette,  it  was  stated  that  four  seats 
had  been  offered  in  the  Cabinet  to  the  Whigs,  which  they  had  re- 
fused, wanting  all;  and  that  it  was  time  for  the  public,  nay,  the 
Privy  Council,  to  interfere,  to  check  this  overweening  and  over- 
bearing aristocracy. 

**/wn^  3?'r;.— When  the  House  of  Commons  met,  Mr.  Canning 
rose  and  stated  that  he  was  desired  by  Lord  Wellesley  to  make 
known  that,  as  it  had  been  told  to  the  House  that  he  had  been 
commissioned  by  the  Regent  to  form  an  administration,  he  thought 
it  fit  that  it  should  be  known  that  he  had  resigned  that  morning  all 


♦The  minute  of  Wellesley 's  interview  with  lyord  Grey,  " Buckingham 
Paper&-The  Regency,"  p.  890, 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV.  559 

those  powers  into  the  hands  of  the  Regent.  Mr.  Martin,  whose 
motion  to  follow  up  the  address  moved  by  Mr.  Wortley  stood  for 
that  day,  postponed  it  sine  die. 

"  My  brother  Ossulston  told  me"  (goes  on  the  diarist)  "  that  Lord 
Grey  had  shown  him  the  copy  of  the  original  proposals,  which 
were  as  follows:  Lord  Wellesley  to  be  First  Minister,  Lords  Grey 
and  Grenville  to  name  two  besides  themselves;  the  Regent  named 
Lords  Moira  and  Erskine.  The  Cabinet  to  consist  of  twelve ;  if  of 
thirteen  they  were  to  name  three,  so  that  the  Wellesleys  were  to 
have  five  in  one  case  and  six  in  the  other.  They  were  also  to  name 
the  Chancellor,  and  during  the  time  Lord  Wellesley  was  with  Lord 
Grey,  Canning  called  upon  Grant,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  to  offer 
him  the  seals,  not  consulting  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville.  Besides 
this  the  Regent  reserved  to  himself  the  power  of  naming  three  per- 
sons to  the  offices  he  thought  fit  they  should  hold.  When  Lord 
Wellesley  took  the  propositions  to  Lord  Grey,  he  told  him  that  as 
Lord  Grenville  was  out  of  town  he  declined  giving  an  answer,  but 
that  he  thought  it  candid  to  inform  him  that  they  could  not  be 
accepted  by  him,  and  that  he  felt  disposed,  were  it  not  from  that 
circumstance,  to  give  them  his  direct  negative.  All  this  took  place 
on  Monday,  the  first  day  that  any  communication  was  made  to  the 
Opposition.  Lord  Erskine  told  me  this  morning  that  the  whole 
difference  was  form.  His  idea  of  that  word  must  be  odd,  as  so 
unwarrantable  a  proposition  never  was  made.  Lord  Erskine  sided 
with  Opposition  in  their  refusal  to  accept  such  terms;  and  it  is 
said,  finding  that  he  was  not  to  be  Chancellor  but  Privy  Seal,  he 
exclaimed,  '  By  God !  I  suppose  I  am  to  sit  in  the  Cabinet  as  Com- 
missioner of  Bankrupts ! '  Lady  Jersey  told  Ossulston,  that  she 
overheard  a  conversation  last  night  at  Mrs.  Boham's  ball,  between 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  and  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Rutland. 
*  So,  sir,'  says  the  Duchess,  'I  hear  we  are  to  be  without  the  Tal- 
ents. It  is  all  over  with  them;  thank  God  for  it.'  'Thank  God 
for  it,'  replies  the  Duke,  '  but  they  keep  so  close  together.'  '  Yes, 
sir,'  rejoins  the  Duchess,  *  they  are  so  fond  of  place — it  is  all  to  get 
office.'  '  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  that,'  says  the  Duke,  '  but  then 
they  stick  so  damnably  close  to  each  other.'  " 

The  two  lords  after  a  short  deliberation  had  declined  the  scheme, 
on  the  ground  that  a  "principle  of  disunion  and  jealousy  "was 
introduced,  "a  supposed  balance  of  contending  interest  in  a  Cabi- 
net so  measured  out  by  preceding  stipulation,"  the  result  being 
only  disunion  and  weakness.    On  the  3rd  of  June  they  sent  an 


660  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

answer,  declining.*  There  was  much  bitterness  and  even  fury  on 
this  rejection,  as  the  Regent  and  his  party  now  thought  they  had 
had  a  very  liberal  allowance  in  the  Cabinet;  and  it  certainly  seemed 
that  with  Lord  Moira,  Erskine,  with  Canning  added  to  the  live 
Grenvillites,  would  give  them  a  majority.  Lord  Wellesley,  too, 
held  this  view:  Mr.  Canning  later  pronounced  this  "generous  and 
even  rash."  He  also  told  his  secretary  that  the  real  objection  was 
that  the  Regent  had  named  the  first  minister  and  not  left  it  to  the 
party  to  do.f  Hence  they  knew  that  they  would  still  have  to  con- 
tend wath  the  Prince,  his  camarilla,  and  his  minister.  Lord  Moira 
entreated  them  to  reconsider  the  matter,  pleading  that  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Cabinet  were  to  be  subject  to  the  two  lords'  approba- 
tion. 

It  must  be  owned  that  this  seemed  reasonable.  The  letter  tvas 
written  in  almost  affectionate  terms.  But  the  two  lords  were  in- 
flexible, and  Lord  Grey,  w^hile  acknowledging  the  good-will,  still 
declined.  So  that,  on  June  3rd,  Lord  Wellesley  had  announced 
his  new  failure  to  the  Prince,  and  his  commission  was  once  more 
announced  to  be  at  an  end.  Lord  Grey,  however,  gives  the  true 
reason  in  a  private  letter  to  Lord  Moira,  not  given  in  the  officially 
published  series. 

"It  is  my  deliberate  conviction  that  till  the  Prince  shall  see, 
that  to  render  our  services  useful  to  himself  it  is  necessary  that  he 
should  give  us  full  powers  in  making  the  arrangements  in  every 
part  of  the  Government,  in  the  same  manner  as  he  professed  to  do 
in  the  spring  of  1811,  and  as  he  promised  to  do  whenever  the  re- 
strictions on  his  authority  should  cease;  in  short,  till  he  is  pre- 
pared to  give  us  his  full  confidence  both  as  to  men  and  measures, 
it  certainly  is  not  desirable  for  us,  and  perhaps  not  for  him,  that 
we  should  be  called  to  his  councils." 

These  prognostications  proved  to  be  right,  as  on  the  same  day 
Lord  Moira  wrote  to  propose  a  conference,  "as  being  honored  with 
his  Royal  Highness's  confidence,  to  remove  misunderstanding. 
Should  the  issue  of  the  convention  be  favorable,  his  object  would 
be  to  solicit  the  Prince  Regent's  permission  to  address  them  per- 
sonally." This  proposal,  carried  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  was 
coldly  met  by  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville. 

"  Motives  of  obvious  delicacy  stand  in  the  way.    We  shall  always 


♦  The  correspondence  is  given  In  "Lord  Wellesley'g  Life,"  iii.  28J. 
t  Stapleton,  "  Life  of  Canning,"  p.  201, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  561 

receive  with  dutiful  submission  his  Royal  Highness's  commands, 
in  whatever  channel  he  may  be  pleased  to  signify  them;  but  we 
cannot  venture  to  suggest  to  his  Royal  Highness,  through  any  other 
person,  our  opinions  on  points  in  which  his  Royal  Highness  is  not 
pleased  to  require  our  advice." 

"Ample  testimonies  were  borne  to  Lord  Moira's  character," 
resumes  our  diarist,  "and  his  disposition  to  reconcile  all  differ- 
ences, but  no  new  overture  had  been  made.  Taylor  told  me  that 
the  difficulty  was  with  the  Regent  to  admit  Lord  Grey  into  the 
Cabinet,  and  when  that  was  got  over  all  was  thought  settled. 
Lord  Forbes  told  me  last  night  that  his  uncle,  Lord  Moira,  was 
by  at  the  time  Lord  Wellesley  had  some  words  with  the  Regent, 
and  said  that  *he  would  not  form  a  part  of  any  administration.* 
We  shall  see  how  he  kept  his  word. 

''June  5^7i.— No  new  proposal,  nor,  indeed,  a  renewal  of  the 
old  ones,  was  made  this  day  to  Lords  Grey  and  Grenvile.  In  the 
House  of  Commons,  after  some  conversation,  it  was  agreed  to 
adjourn  over  to  Monday,  and,  if  no  administration  was  then 
appointed,  General  Gascoigne  pledged  himself  to  propose  some 
resolution  to  the  House.  In  the  Lords,  Lord  Moira  began  the  dis- 
cussion by  stating  that  the  expressions  used  by  Lord  Wellesley  on 
Wednesday,  that  dreadful  animosities  existed,  had  been  mischiev- 
ously applied  to  the  Regent.  Now  he  solemnly  denied  that  they 
existed,  and  that  he,  though  the  humble  instrument  of  the  negotia- 
tion, could  state  that  upon  his  own  knowledge.  He  repeated  that 
all  the  (ielay  had  proceeded  from  a  misapprehension,  and  he  denied 
that  the  Regent- had  named  any  one  to  any  office,  but  the  whole  was 
left  free  to  future  arrangement.  Lord  Grey  said  it  was  impossible 
to  have  any  doubt  that  persons  and  officers  were  named  and  filled 
up,  and  that  to  prove  this  assertion  he  read  the  terms  as  they  came 
from  Lord  Wellesley,  in  which  it  appeared  that  Lord  Wellesley 
was  named  First  Commissioner  of  the  Treasury,  and  Lord  Moira, 
Erskine,  and  Canning,  designated  a  part  of  the  Cabinet.  Lord 
Moira  re-asserted  that  the  whole  was  a  misapprehension,  and  that 
yet  his  hopes  were  not  wholly  extinct  of  coming  to  an  amicable 
adjustment.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  serious  things,  the  only  joke 
I  have  heard  of  it  was  from  Sheridan,  who  said  to  me  the  other 
night,  that  two  trades  were  lost  in  this  town,  viz.  cabinet-makers 
and  joiners. 

"On  Friday  night,  after  the  debate,  a  letter  was  written  to  the 
Puke  of  Bedford,  praying  him  to  n:jediate  between  Lords  Grey, 

^4* 


562  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Grenville,  and  Moira;  and  Wbitbread  was  sent  for  to  town.  On 
Saturday  Lord  Moira  notified  to  them  that  he  had  full  powers  to 
form  an  administration.  Accordingly,  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville 
met  Lord  Moira  and  Lord  Erskine,  and  Lord  Moira  stated  he  had 
powers  to  concede  the  Catholic  claims,  the  Orders  of  Council, 
economical  reforms,  and  all  other  reforms;  even,  if  thought  neces- 
sary, reform  in  Parliament.  Lord  Grey  then  said  that  before  they 
went  farther  as  to  the  discussion  of  offices  to  be  held  by  different 
persons,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  ask  what  was  intended  to  be 
done  in  respect  to  the  officers  of  the  household.  Lord  Moira  said 
that  he  had  full  powers  to  remove  them,  as  well  as  any  other 
officers  of  state,  but  that  he  personally  should  consider  such  an  act 
as  highly  injurious  to  the  public  service. 

"  To  this  Lord  Grey  and  Lord  Grenville  replied,  they  also  acted 
on  public  grounds  alone,  and  with  no  other  feeling  whatever  than 
that  which  arose  from  the  necessity  of  giving  to  a  new  Govern- 
ment that  character  of  efficiency  and  stability,  and  those  marks  of 
the  constitutional  support  of  the  Crown  which  were  required  to 
enable  it  to  act  usefully  for  the  public  service;  and  that  on  these 
grounds  it  appeared  to  them  indispensable  that  the  connection  of 
the  great  offices  of  the  Court  with  the  political  administration 
should  be  clearly  estab^shed  in  its  first  arrangements." 

*' A  decided  difference  of  opinion  as  to  this  point  having  been 
thus  expressed  on  both  sides,  the  conversation  ended  here  with 
mutual  declarations  of  regret. 

"Nothing  was  said  on  the  subject  of  official  arrangements,  nor 
any  persons  proposed  on  either  side,  to  fill  any  particular  situa- 
tion." 

Such  was  the  conclusion  of  the  comedy.  The  behavior  of  the 
two  lords  has  often  been  discussed,  and  on  the  record,  as  it 
were,  they  would  seem  to  have  been  grasping.  But  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  they  were  only  to  form  a  portion  of  the  ministry, 
and  that  the  Prince's  agent  was  to  be  the  head.  And  they  knew 
enough  of  what  tracasseries  were  certain  to  follow.* 

**  Yet  there  are  some  people  still  who  doubt  the  discretion  and 


♦  Mr.  Grenville  wrote :  "  As  long  ago  as  Sunday  se'nnight,  Lord  Hertford 
told  old  Sloane  that  he  would  insure  to  him  the  continuance  of  the  old  Gov- 
ernment; and  early  on  Sunday,  a  great  prelate,  a  friend  of  mine,  remarking 
to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  that  Moira  was  said  to  have  completed  his  Gov- 
ernment, was  answered:  *  Do  not  be  such  a  fool  as  to  believe  him— it  is  to  be 
the  old  Government  again.'  "— "  Regency,"  p.  809, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV.  563 

judgment  with  which  the  negotiation  was  carried  on  between 
Lords  Grey,  Grenville,  and  Moira.  Whitbread,  for  instance,  is 
decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  whole  matter  was  sadly  mismanaged, 
and  that  supposing  Lord  Moira's  intentions  to  have  been  sincere 
they  might  have  carried  their  point,  and  the  honor  of  all  parties 
been  saved.  He  says,  for  example,  when  Lord  Moira  told  them 
that  he  had  power  to  remove  all  the  officers  of  the  household,  he 
should  have  said :  Pass  over  to  your  other  powers  and  we  will  talk 
of  that  afterwards..  Then,  having  settled  the  great  questions  of 
reform,  Orders  of  Council,  Catholics,  etc.,  he  would  have  said: 
Now  change  'I  have  power'  into  'we  have  power,'  and  then  let 
us  look  at  the  question.  1st.  The  Duke  of  Montrose,  Lord  Jocelyn, 
and  Lord  Cholmondeley ;  the  Regent  can  have  no  wish  to  keep 
them,  and  we  require  their  sacrifice  to  show  that  we  have  the  power. 
Then  Lords  Hertford  and  Yarmouth.  Now,  as  all  men  have  weak- 
nesses, and  are  to  be  led  and  managed  through  them,  though  we 
have  the  power  to  remove  those  officers  we  will  not  exercise  it,  but 
this  must  be  known  to  be  an  act  of  our  choice  and  not  of  necessity 
or  compulsion;  for  if  by  removing  Lord  Hertford,  etc.,  you  could 
destroy  his  influence  and  annihilate  his  power,  there  could  be  no 
doubt  it  would  be  a  wise  step ;  but  so  far  from  it,  you  would  only 
make  that  power  be  used  more  vehemently  against  yourself,  you 
M^ould  sharpen  all  the  existing  animosities;  whereas  if  they  held 
office  they  would  be  disarmed,  or,  at  least,  have  not  such  immediate 
interest  in  overthrowing  you.  I  very  much  concur  in  all  this, 
which  Whitbread  stated  to  me  the  other  evening,  and  I  am  dis- 
posed to  think  that  however  honorable  and  praiseworthy  and  pure 
the  motives  of  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville  were,  they  were  not  wise 
in  the  management  of  the  transaction;  for  what  are  these  offices  in 
comparison  with  the  good  an  entire  change  of  measures  would  have 
effected?  The  whole  question  is,  was  the  Regent  sincere,  and  did 
he  send  Lord  Moira  with  a  disposition  to  form  an  administration; 
if  he  was  we  have  acted  unwisely,  if  not,  the  sooner  we  were  out 
of  the  scrape  the  better." 

"June  l\th. — We  had  a  long  debate  in  the  Commons  upon  the 
motion  of  Mr.  Wortley  to  pray  the  Regent  to  continue  his  exertions 
to  form  a  strong  administration.  The  debate  was  dull  and  heavy, 
and  the  defence  of  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville  in  no  way  made 
clearly  out.  The  truth  of  the  whole  appears  to  be  that  the  Regent 
hated  them  and  they  distrusted  him,  and  that  there  was  no  likeli- 
hood of  their  agreeing  together.    Among  the  singularities  of  th^ 


564  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

night,  Lord  Yarmouth  declared  that  he  and  the  other  members  of 
the  household  thought  they  ought  not  to  retain  their  offices;  all 
they  requested  was  to  know  ten  minutes  before  certain  gentlemen 
received  the  seals  that  they  might  resign.  He  said  he  had  requested 
Mr.  Sheridan  to  make  known  to  his  friends  their  determination,  and 
that  he  has  advised  them  not  to  resign,  for  that  would  degrade  the 
Prince.  To  that  statement  Mr.  Ponsonby  and  Mr.  Tierney  replied, 
and  denied  that  they  or  their  friends  had  received  from  Mr.  Sheridan 
the  smallest  information  on  the  subject,  and  Mr,  Tierney  states  that 
he,  on  Friday,  had  mentioned  to  Mr.  Sheridan  some  reports  that  he 
had  heard  of  the  fact,  and  that  Lord  Robert  Seymour  had  stated 
that  Lord  Hertford  would  resign  the  moment  it  was  settled  the 
Opposition  were  to  be  in  office,  and  asked  him  if  he  knew  anything 
about  it.  Sheridan  replied :  '  I  will  bet  you  500  guineas  to  1  no 
such  thing  was  ever  in  contemplation,'  Mr.  Canning  stated  that 
the  interval  of  ten  days  which  had  elapsed  between  the  unauthorized 
offer  of  Lord  Wellesley  to  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville,  and  when  the 
Regent  gave  him  full  powers,  was  employed  in  endeavoring  to  induce 
the  present  administration  to  connect  themselves  with  Lord  Wellesley ; 
he  said  besides,  that  Lord  Moira  told  him,  five  minutes  after  he  came 
out  of  the  closet,  that  immediately  upon  the  breaking  off  of  the  negotia- 
tion, he  (Lord  Moira)  had  gone  to  the  Regent,  and  that  the  Prince  had 
said:  '  Well,  Moira,  do  you  bring  me  an  administration? '  To  which 
Lord  Moira  replied :  '  Before  I  answer  that,  I  wish  to  know,  Is  your 
royal  highness  prepared  upon  my  advice  to  part  with  all  your  house- 
hold? '  The  answer  was:  'I  am.'  'Then,  sir,' said  Lord  Moira, 
*  not  one  of  them  shall  be  moved,'  He  further  added  that  Lord 
Moira  did  not  advise  the  return  of  the  present  administration,  nor 
did  Mr.  Canning  say  one  word  upon  the  attempt  and  failure  of  Lord 
Moira  to  form  an  administration  on  Monday,  prior  to  Lord  Moim 
giving  back  into  the  Regent's  hands  his  commission:  what  that 
broke  off  upon  is  not  yet  known.  Sheridan  was  always  at  Carlton 
House,  where  Lord  Yarmouth  said,  it  was  no  secret,  but  universally 
known — his  conduct  deserves  another  name — as  it  must  have  been 
something  worse  than  baseness  to  have  suffered  his  friends  to  have 
risked  a  question  on  which  he  knew  the  whole  negotiation  must 
break  off,  when  he  had  a  knowledge  of  a  fact,  which,  if  told,  would 
have  prevented  the  proposition  being  made. 

"Jwne  13^^.— Last  night  at  Brookes's,  Sheridan  entered  into  his 
defence  before  an  audience  certainly  not  favorable  to  him.  He 
denies  that  Lord  Yarmouth  ^ver  commissioiKd   bim  to  tell  his 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  565 

friends,  and  added  that  if  he  had  lie  should  have  told  him  that  he 
was  not  upon  such  terms  of  intimacy  with  Lords  Grey  and  Grenville 
and  Mr.  Ponsonby,  as  to  warrant  that  liberty.  Lord  Kinnaird  put 
him  in  mind  of  his  speech  to  him  on  the  Wednesdaj^  before,  *  that 
he  thought  the  Regent  ought  not  to  give  up  his  household,  and  that 
he  was  sure  and  knew  he  would  not. '  It  may  be  asked  then,  under 
these  circumstances,  as  he  knew  also  that  his  friends  made  that  a 
sine  qua  non,  and  knew  well  that  the  household  would  resign,  why 
he  did  not  step  forward  as  a  common  friend  to  tell  them  there  was 
no  occasion  to  agitate  the  question,  for  the  cause  would  not  arise 
that  would  require  it.  Yet  Whitbread  told  me  that  Lord  Moira 
told  him  that  Sheridan  had  been  working  night  and  day  for  weeks 
to  remove  the  impressions  that  existed  in  the  Regent's  mind  against 
Grey,  pressing  that  he  should  be  Prime  Minister. 

"As  to  the  strange  events  of  Monday,  and  Lord  Moira's  attempt 
to  form  an  administration  alone,  Whitbread  said  that  he  believed 
that  Moira  took  Canning  with  him  to  Carlton  House  on  Monday  to 
kiss  hands  as  Secretary  of  State;  and  on  going  into  the  closet,  the 
Regent  said:  'Have  you  made  an  administration? '  '  I  am  making 
one,' was  the  answer.  'Then,'  said  the  Regent,  'the  country  re- 
quires an  immediate  Government,  and  I  shall  retain  the  present 
people  in  their  places.'  Lord  Moira  bowed  and  retired.  Canning 
was  not  admitted.  Lord  Moira  telling  him  that  all  was  over,  and 
that  there  was  no  use  in  his  seeing  the  Regent. 

"  Sheridan  tried  to  vindicate  himself  in  this  debate,  but  the  ques- 
tion still  remained  unanswered:  '  You  knew  of  the  intention  of  the 
household  to  resign,  why  did  you  conceal  it? '  This  whole  speech 
was  most  doting,  and  showed  hardly  any  remains  of  what  he  was 
— he  forgot  all  facts,  and  made  such  an  exhibition  that  it  would 
have  been  cruel  to  have  pressed  him  hard,  which  neither  Tierney 
nor  Ponsonby  did.  Tierney  told  me  that  he  thinks  him  quite  gone ; 
that  once  during  his  speech  his  jaw  became  locked,  so  that  he  could 
not  utter.  I  never  witnessed  a  sight  more  distressing.  I  have  no 
doubt  he  will  never  speak  again.  Brougham,  however,  told  me 
last  night,  th9  21st,  that  he  dined  with  Sheridan  at  Whitbread 's, 
and  that,  upon  a  review  of  the  case,  it  really  was  evident  that  he 
had  not  been  as  bad  and  as  treacherous  as  before  suspected.  He 
saw  a  correspondence  between  Lord  Yarmouth  and  Sheridan,  in 
which  Lord  Yarmouth  states  that  he  bears  a  willing  testimony  to 
the  truth  of  all  the  facts  that  Sheridan  stated,  and  that  satisfied 
Brougham  as  to  the  truth  of  the  case,  who  said  that  after  all  there 


r)(^G  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

was  nothing  against  Slieridan  but  the  guilt  of  one  of  those  lies 
he  was  so  subject  to  tell.  Whitbread  was  satisfied  as  to  his  con- 
duct." 

It  is  a  contribution  to  the  history  of  favorites  to  see  what  was  the 
fate  of  the  tools  and  instruments  who  had  labored  so  earnestly  in 
this  intricate  business.  Slieridan,  who  had  atoned  for  his  feeble 
effort  to  perform  what  was  right  by  sacrificing  his  reputation  on 
the  household  question,  was  afterwards  left  to  shift  for  himself. 
Lord  Moira,  over  whom  the  Regent  had  wept,  was  dismissed  in  dis- 
grace. "After  he  had  accepted  the  Garter,"  says  Mr.  Moore,  "and 
the  present  Ministers  secured  their  places,  there  w^as  a  drawing- 
room  at  which  the  whole  house  of  Moira  was;  the  Prince  went 
about  inviting  company  to  Carlton  House  that  evening,  but  never 
asked  any  one  of  that  family;  which,  considering  all  the  tears  he 
shed  at  the  reconciliation,  might  have  been  expected  as  a  thing  of 
course.  On  the  Friday,  Lord  M.  went  to  the  levee,  and  was 
installed.  The  next  day  the  Prince  had  a  great  dinner  of  what  he 
called  friends,  to  which  Lord  M.  was  not  invited." 

Now  for  the  finale  of  one  of  the  most  singular  political  intrigues 
in  modern  politics: 

"Adam,"  wrote  Mr.  Grenville,  "has  just  announced  to  my 
brother  the  Prince's  desire  to  see  him  and  Lord  Grey  on  Sunday 
morning;  and  has  privately  communicated  to  them,  by  the  Prince's 
desire,  his  intention  of  continuing  the  present  Ministers,  It  is 
received  by  Lord  Grenville  as  final,  but  must  not  be  indiscreetly 
mentioned  till  after  the  formal  audience  on  Sunday.  Rejoice  with 
me,  my  dearest  brother,  at  this  providential  escape. " 

Poor  Lord  Wellesley  had  to  drink  the  last  drop  of  his  humilia- 
tion. Lords  Grey  and  Grenville's  final  answer  had  been  put  into 
his  hand  just  as  he  was  setting  out  for  Carlton  House.  There  was 
a  difficulty  started  in  it — or  rather  a  question — which  he  could  have 
disposed  of  by  a  few  words  of  explanation.  Such  was  his  delusion ; 
but  it  was  to  be  seen  that  they  understood  the  situation  better  than 
he  did.  *  When  he  reached  Carlton  House,  it  seemed  to  him  that 
the  Prince  already  knew  the  purport  of  the  answer; -mud  when  he 
read  it,  he  said;  "By  G— d,  Wellesley,  I  see  they  will  not  act,  and, 
as  the  other  fellows  have  refused,  on  personal  grounds,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  you  to  arrange  this  matter,  and  I  liave  resolved  to  put  it 
into  Moira's  hands,  who  is  not  committed  with  either  party. "  He 
added,  he  was  sure  that  he  would  support  Lord  Moira. 

This  poor  dupe,  inexpressibly  mortified  at  the  part  he  had  been 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  567 

made  to  play,  could  only  say  that  he  was  sure  that  Lord  Moira 
would  never  ask  him  to  serve  under  him.  To  make  his  situation 
more  mortifying,  it  was  he  that,  after  two  days'  labor,  had  brought 
about  the  maudlin  reconciliation  between  the  Prince  and  his  old 
friend,  when  they  had  fallen  "on  each  other's  neck."  Lord  Moira, 
who  was  at  Carlton  House  at  the  time,  seemed  himself  much  dis- 
tressed at  his  sudden  elevation  and  the  mission  imposed  on  him, 
and  followed  Lord  Wellesley  downstairs,  protesting  that  he  was 
quite  unfit  for  the  office,  and  that  he  would  positively  resign  it  to 
the  other  at  the  end  of  the  year.  Lord  Wellesley,  however,  left 
town  next  day. 

Mr.  Tierney  assured  Lord  Wellesley  afterwards  that  the  Grenville 
party  held  back  because  they  doubted  the  Prince's  sincerity  to  Lord 
Wellesley.  Macmahon  and  others  of  the  Prince's  party  declared 
that  the  Prince  "meant  fairly."  But  he  was  the  dupe  of  the  cam- 
arilla at  Beaufort  House,  who  persuaded  him — what  would  seem 
to  have  been  the  truth — that  Lord  Wellesley  had  no  following,  and 
could  not  help  him. 

When  Lord  Moira  had  also  failed,  Lords  Yarmouth  and  Tyr- 
whitt  came  by  night  to  Lord  Wellesley  to  ask  him  would  he  go  to 
L'eland  "at  the  Regent's  request."  But  he  was  no  longer  to  be 
played  with,  and  declined  bluntly  to  entertain  any  private  mes- 
sages of  the  kind.  If  the  offer  was  made  in  an  open  proper  manner 
he  would  consider  and  answer  it  in  the  same  spirit. 

It  becomes  more  and  more  evident,  as  we  consider  these  trans- 
actions, that  the  Regent,  while  all  through  beguiling  his  "old 
friends"  by  illusive  offers,  was  sagacious  enough  to  see  that  the 
Government  that  would  be  most  secure  and  least  troublesome  to 
him  was  the  one  to  which  his  own  sympathies  tended;  one  formed 
of  steady  united  men,  that  would  command  confidence  in  the 
country,  and  not  of  the  heterogeneous  distracted  band  who  then 
made  the  Liberal  party.  In  this  he  forecasted  truly.  For  here 
was  the  inauguratioa  of  the  long-lived  Liverpool  Ministry, 


fiaS  TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1812—1813. 

Turning  aside  from  politics  we  shall  now  glance  at  a  most  inter- 
esting household — also  looked  on  by  the  Regent  as  a  hostile  camp — 
that  of  the  amiable,  engaging,  and  spirited  young  Princess  Char- 
lotte, now  blooming  into  a  handsome  young  girl. 

It  was  wonderful  indeed  how  her  spirit  had  not  been  crushed  or 
depressed  by  the  cold  and  despotic  supervision  she  had  to  endure 
from  the  grim  Queen,  her  harsh  father,  her  uncertain  mother,  and 
severe  preceptors.  But  that  warmth  of  temper  which  in  her  child- 
hood had  given  her  aunt  cause  for  anxiety,  had  developed  into  an 
impetuosity — perhaps  wilfulness — which  redeemed  her  character 
from  insipidity.  There  was  a  danger  that  this,  worked  upon  by 
foolish  designing  persons,  might  lead  her  into  difficulties.  Her 
father  ventured  to  be  prophetic  on  the  danger  of  these  imperfec- 
tions developing,  and  declared  to  Princess  Lieven,  who  repeated  it 
to  Lord  Houghton,  that  "it  was  fortunate  for  the  country  that  she 
died,  as  she  would  have  made  a  very  bad  queen ;"  a  forecast  refuted 
by  her  behavior  during  her  short  married  life.  Political  ardor  in 
one  so  young  had  been  early  fostered  in  her  by  the  Prince  having 
her  carefully  instructed  in  true  Whig  principles  by  Mr.  Adam ;  and 
when  her  health  was  drunk  at  the  Pavilion,  thus  acknowledged  the 
toast. 

"I  have  made  it  my  care  to  instil  into  the  mind  and  heart  of  my 
daughter  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  true  principtes  of  the  Brit- 
ish Constitution ;  and  I  have  pointed  out  to  her  young  understand- 
ing, as  a  model  for  study,  the  political  conduct  of  my  most  revered 
and  lamented  friend,  Mr.  Fox,  who  has  a8.serted  and  maintained 
with  such  transcendent  force  the  just  principles  upon  which  the 
government  under  this  excellent  constitution  ought  to  be  adminis- 
tered, for  the  true  and  solid  dignity  of  the  crown,  and  the  real 
security,  freedom,  and  happiness  of  the  people."  He  ended  his 
speech  by  expressing  h\<  confidence  "that  the  Princess  would  fulfil 
all  the  duties  which  sli<  mi-hi  be  called  upon  to  discharge  when  hi- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  569 

bones  were  laid  in  the  grave!"  This  declaration  he  of  course  con- 
trived to  reconcile  with  his  own  Tory  principles,  after  his  favorite 
convenient  fashion. 

The  young  Princess,  who  had  much  of  what  is  called  "the  tom- 
boy" in  her  nature,  took  a  friendly  interest  in  a  young  Westmin- 
ster lad,  young  Keppel,  later  Lord  Albemarle,  who  still  survives, 
full  of  years.  He  relates  some  charming  natural  traits  of  his 
playmate.  She  would  intercede  with  the  head  of  the  school  for 
him,  write  him  grave  admonitory  letters,  and,  once  prevailing  on 
him  to  mount  a  horse,  gave  the  animal  a  lash  from  a  cutting  whip 
which  set  him  off  at  full  speed,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  assem- 
bled Court. 

An  agreeable  letter  of  hers,  hitherto  unpublished,  shows  her 
thoughtfulness  and  good  spirits.  It  appears  to  be  addressed  to 
some  'protege,  possibly  Willy  Austin. 


PRINCESS  CHARLOTTE   TO 


"  My  dear  William, 

"You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  poor  Miss  Sandon  has  been 
very  unwell,  but  you  will  at  the  same  time  be  glad  to  hear  also 
that  she  is  better,  but  not  quite  well  enough  to  answer  your  letter 
herself. 

"I  hope  you  will  And  the  biscuits  good. 

"Little  John  acted  Tom  Thumb,  and  acted  the  part  of  Tom 
Thumb  himself  at  his  aunt's  house.  He  performed  so  well  that 
Lady  Charlotte  thinks  he  will  amuse  you  all  to  act  some  plays  at 
Christmas,  either  at  her  house  or  at  Blackheath. 

"I  thank  you  for  your  kind  letter,  and  am  happy  to  hear  that 
you  are  so  well  and  comfortable;  and  believe  me, 

"  Your  most  sincere  Friend, 

"C.  P. 

"The  ladies  all  send  their  love,  and  myself  the  same." 

The  young  Princess  now  took  up  her  mother's  cause  with  vehe- 
mence. Her  father,  it  was  said,  was  jealous  of  her  to  a  degree  of 
insanity.  And  another  curious  motive  seems  to  have  been  used  to 
inflame  her  against  him:  that  he  was  being  persuaded  by  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  and  Lord  Yarmouth  that  he  might  obtain  a  divorce, 
and,  by  marrying  again,  secure  the  chance  of  a  male  heir  to  his 
throne.     The  ^'oung  Princess  therefore  felt  how  much  "  she  was  in 


570  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

the  same  boat  with  her  mother."  This  natural  deduction  was  no 
doubt  artfully  pressed  upon  her.  It  clearly  shows  into  what  a  net- 
work of  intrigues  we  are  entering;  father  arrayed  against  mother 
and  daughter ;  the  father  eager  to  be  rid  of  the  daughter,  yet  using 
her  as  an  instrument  to  "  spite"  her  mother — intriguers  and  counsel- 
lors on  both  sides  whetting  and  inflaming  these  animosities. 

These  family  altercations  soon  led  to  action,  and  in  the  last  week 
of  September  the  Princess  of  Wales  drove  down  to  Windsor  and 
asked  to  see  her  child.  It  may  be  conceived  the  flutter  and  con- 
sternation that  this  visit  produced.  But  she  was  denied,  and  it  is 
added  that  an  interview  took  place  between  the  Queen  and  her 
daughter-in-law,  in  which  the  latter  announced  that  she  would 
bring  the  question  before  the  public.  The  Queen  behaved  temper- 
ately, and  pointed  out  to  her  that  the  authority  and  discretion  in 
the  matter  was  with  the  Regent.  But  the  angry  mother  was  not  to 
be  thus  pacified.  The  pariah-like  view  taken  of  her  as  a  tainted 
and  corrupting  personage  inflamed  her  to  madness.  Her  doubtful 
friend,  Lady  C.  Campbell,  tells  us  "that  in  consequence  of  the 
Princess  having  gone  to  Windsor  to  see  her  diiughter,  a  message 
was  sent  to  her  from  the  Regent  by  Lord  Liverpool,  to  desire  her 
not  to  go  there  again.  Her  reply  was  that,  if  she  saw  the  Princess 
Charlotte  as  usual,  once  a  week,  she  would  obey;  but  if  not,  she 
thought  her  duty  in  respect  to  her  child  was  paramount  to  all 
others.  The  Princess  Charlotte  has  not  come  to  her,  and  the 
Princess  of  Wales  is  determined  to  go  again  to  Windsor.  Her 
royal  highness  knows  she  will  be  refused  seeing  her  daughter,  but 
wishes  to  have  the  refusal  in  black  and  white ;  and  also  to  be  able 
to  say  that  she  did  all  in  her  power  to  prove  her  love  for  Princess 
Charlotte." 

This  scene  may  be  considered  the  starting-point  for  hostilities, 
and  led  to  all  the  scandals  of  the  succeeding  years.  Yet  it  was 
diflicult  to  say  what  could  be  done  or  how  the  crisis  could  be 
avoided.  It  was  impossible  to  allow  such  a  mother  and  such  a 
daughter  to  be  in  unrestricted  communication  without  fatal  k  -nils 
to  the  latter,  even  on  the  ground  mentioned  in  one  of  the  accounts 
by  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  her  mother's  behavior  in  hor  presence. 

In  this  state  of  things,  and  after  many  consultations  with  Mr. 
Brougham,  it  was  determined  to  send  to  the  Queen  a  very  sensible 
letter  which  the  Princess  of  Wales  had  written  in  her  own  charr.c- 
teristic  style — though  a  portion  was  the  work  of  Brougham,  who, 
ft9  be  says,  made  the  whole  "safe  and  sure" — claiming  to  b© 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  571 

allowed  full  and  proper  access  to  her  daughter,  and  complaining  of 
her  education  being  interrupted,  and  of  her  being  kept  in  close 
confinement.  This,  the  first  attack,  produced  dismay  and  fury  at 
Carlton  House.  The  Duke  of  Kent  bluntly  "thanked  his  stars 
that  he  hadn't  to  answer  it."  Tlie  Queen  had  to  do  so,  and, 
according  to  Mr,  Brougham,  wrote  an  answer  "full  of  lies  and 
evasions."  * 

Meanwhile  it  was  determined  to  take  prompt  measures  to  subdue 
the  young  Princess,  whose  flippant  speeches  to  her  father  were 
being  repeated.  She  had  given  the  Queen  the  nickname  of  "  The 
Merry  Wife  of  Windsor,"  for  which  she  had  been  reprimanded. 
"Don't  you  know,"  he  said,  "my  mother  is  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land?" "And  you  seem  to  forget  that  w?/ niother  is  Princess  of 
Wales;"  a  retort  which  must  have  rankled  in  his  mind.  It  was 
determined  that  she  should  be  under  his  immediate  control,  and  as 
a  first  step  it  was  secretly  determined  to  get  rid  of  the  governess 
to  whom  she  was  attached,  and  who  was  supposed  to  favor  her 
young  charge  and  her  mother  too  much.  Yet  this  idea  was  un- 
founded. 


*  Brougham,  "  Autobiography,"  p.  170. 


572  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

1813. 

At  the  openirg  of  Parliament  the  Regent  found  occasion  for  a 
grand  display  of  all  his  love  of  pomp  and  magnificence.  The 
pageant  was  unusually  striking — the  state  procession  and  the  show 
of  uniforms.  But  the  chief  attraction  was  the  interesting  young 
Princess,  who,  seated  near  her  father,  could  not  restrain  her  delight 
and  gayety.  '  *  It  was  remarked, "  says  an  observer,  * '  that  she  talked 
and  laughed  much,  turned  her  back  often  upon  papa,  and  had  a 
certain  expressive  smile  during  the  speech,  which  did  not  displease 
all  the  lords,  nor  all  the  ladies  there.  The  Prince,  it  is  said,  was 
much  displeased  at  her  manner;  in  addition  to  which,  the  Princess 
Charlotte  spoke  to  Lord  Erskine,  and  nodded  to  Lord  Jersey.  His 
royal  highness  was  flumed,  but  read  his  speech  well — a  pretty 
3^eech  it  was.  He  was  received  with  dead  silence,  and  not  a  hat 
raised  or  mark  of  disapprobation  even;  only  a  few  plaudits  as  he 
went  through  the  Horse  Guards." 

His  daughter's  levity  was  perhaps  exaggerated,  but  the  talking  to 
Lord  Erskine,  wiidm  the  Prince  had  "cut,"  was  characteristic. 
The  opportunity  for  revolt  was  soon  found,  when  a  rumor  reached 
'  IV  that  the  old  Duchess  of  Leeds  *  was  to  succeed  Lady  de  Clifford 
in  authority  over  her. 

Almost  on  the  eve  of  her  birthday,  when  she  would  be  seventeen, 
the  Regent  must  have  been  confounded  to  learn  from  Lord  Liver- 
pool that  the  young  Princess  had  written  to  him  to  announce  that, 
as  her  late  governess  had  resigned,  she  was  now  old  enough  to  do 
without  another,  requiring  an  establishment  with  her  own  ladies-in- 
waiting.  Like  some  young  heroine  she  wrote  off  delighted  letters 
to  her  mother,  detailing  what  battles  she  had  had  with  the  Queen 
and  aunts.  She  was  said  to  have  been  encouraged  in  this  step  by 
Miss  Mercer  El phin stone,  who,  according  to  Miss  Knight,  was  set 
on  by  Lord  Erskine. 

*  This  lady  later  became  Countess  Flahault  and  Baroness  Keith.  She  was 
granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Thrale,  and  survived  until  lately. 


THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV.  573 

One  morning  there  arrived  at  Windsor  the  Regent  himself, 
accompanied  by  the  Lord  Chancellor.  The  young  Princess  was 
sent  for,  in  presence  of  the  Queen,  hQr  aunt,  and  governess.  Her 
father  addressed  her  in  angry  tones,  asking  "What  she  meant  by 
refusing  to  have  a  governess?  As  long  as  I  live,  you  shall  have  no 
establishment  unless  you  marry."  She  gayly  referred  him  to  her 
letter,  on  which  "the  Queen  and  he  abused  her  as  an  obstinate, 
perverse,  and  wilful  girl." 

The  Chancellor  in  a  very  rough  way  explained  to  her  the  law  of 
the  country  as  to  his  rights,  and  the  Princess  putting  it  to  him  as  a 
father  what  he  would  do,  he  answered  that  if  the  Princess  had  been 
his  child  he  would  have  locked  her  up.  The  high-spirited  young 
creature  thus  baited,  conducted  herself  with  much  dignity,  and  did 
not  answer,  but  withdrew  to  the  room  of  one  of  her  aunts,  when, 
bursting  into  tears,  she  exclaimed,  "What  would  the  King  say  if 
he  could  know  that  his  granddaughter  had  been  compared  to  the 
granddaughter  of  a  collier?" 

After  this  scene  it  was  felt  it  would  not  do  to  push  her  into  open 
rebellion.  A  concession  was  made;  she  was  to  have  a  governess 
only  in  name — the  Duchess  of  Leeds — and  two  ladies,  one  of  whom 
was  the  well-known  Miss  Knight,  the  chief  mover  in  this  business. 

There  was  great  dismay  on  the  evening  of  the  14th  of  January  at 
Montague*  House,  the  residence  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  when  a 
messenger  arrived  with  the  news  that  her  daughter  had  submitted. 
This  was  a  defeat  for  her.  On  the  instant  the  well-known  letter  to 
the  Prince  was  despatched  to  Lord  Liverpool.  This  docume^nt,  and 
the  step  of  addressing  such  a  document,  had  been  carefully  con- 
sidered by  their  adviser,  who  had  written  it.  At  a  special  interview 
he  solemnly  asked  her  to  consider  the  consequences.  He  warned 
her  that  the  old  scrutiny  of  her  conduct  would  be  revived,  and 
bade  her  "  prove  herself"  as  to  how  she  could  encounter  it. 

On  the  14th  two  copies  were  sent  to  Fife  House;  one  sealed,  for 
the  Regent;  the  other  open,  for  the  benefit  of  Lords  Liverpool  and 
Eldon.  The  sealed  letter  was  returned  and  sent  back  many  times, 
but  was  finally  received. 

Meanwhile  the  young  Princess  had  been  sent  to  Windsor,  and 
had  been  allowed  to  come  into  Warwick  House,  for  a  ball  at  Carlton 
House,  and  for  her  birthday.  But  she  had  caught  a  cold  at  the  ball, 
"which  she  did  not  shake  off,  and  she  was  allowed  to  remain  in  town. 
It  was  while  she  was  at  Warwick  House  that  her  mother  sent  to 
beg  that  she  might  be  allowed  to  visit  her.     The  minister  gave  his 


574  I'HE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

consent,  and  informed  her  that  her  daughter  was  to  come  and  see 
her  on  the  11th.  Now  this  seems  a  certain  act  of  grace,  and  an 
advance  at  least,  and  it  probably  occurred  to  the  Princess's  party 
that  the  advantage  they  hoped  from  the  letter  might  be  lost.  It 
was  determined  to  give  it  to  the  public.  "  They  are  frightened  to 
death,"  said  Mr.  Brougham,  "I  know;  for  Lord  Moira  has  been 
sent  to  Whitbread  to  tell  him  that  the  Regent  being  afraid  he  may 
have  been  led  into  error  respecting  the  Princess,  wished  to  submit 
some  papers  to  him.  This  message,  by-the-bye,  came  from  Sheri- 
dan, who  came  from  Lord  Moira  Mr.  Whitbread  said  he  could 
not  then  stay  in  town  to  read  papers,  but  that  he  should  return  in  a 
few  weeks."  "  It  is  a  singular  fact,"  says  Mr.  Grey  Bennett,  "  that 
in  all  this  Princess  of  Wales  business,  its  notoriety  and  publicity 
depended  upon  one  vote  out  of  three.  Brougham  and  Whitbread 
differed  last  year  as  to  the  publication  of  the  first  letter — Brougham 
for,  Whitbread  against — Creevy  was  sent  for,  and  reading  the  note 
while  dining  at  Taylor's,  wrote  with  a  pencil,  'Publish:'  and  the 
first  letter  appeared  in  the  next  day's  paper." 

In  this  well-known  and  skilfully  drawn-up  paper  she  argued 
how  patiently  she  had  waited,  and  how  day  by  day  the  restric- 
tions on  seeing  her  daughter  were  increased.  ' '  Our  intercourse 
has  been  gradually  diminished — a  single  interview  weekly  seemed 
sufficientl}'^  hard  allowance  for  a  mother's  affections;  that,  however, 
was  reduced  to  our  meeting  once  a  fortnight,  and  I  now  learn,  that 
even  this  most  rigorous  interdiction  is  to  be  still  more  rigidly 
enforced.  Then  let  me  implore  you  to  reflect  on  the  situation  in 
which  I  am  placed,  without  the  shadow  of  a  charge  against  me — 
without  even  an  accuser — after  an  inquiry  that  led  to  my  ample 
vindication,  yet  treated  as  if  I  were  still  more  culpable  than  the 
perjuries  of  my  suborned  traducers  represented  me,  holding  me  up 
to  the  world  as  a  mother  who  may  not  enjoy  the  society  of  her  only 
child." 

She  reminded  him  that  their  daughter  had  never  been  confirmed — 
an  odd  suggestion  for  her — and  wound  up  with  a  hmnble  and  touch- 
ing appeal.  The  result  was  extraordinary.  "  I  recollect,"  says  Mr. 
Brougham,  "no  instance  of  such  effects  being  produced  by  any 
statement  of  a  case  of  appeal  to  the  public  against  a  grievance. 
The  suddenness  of  the  proceeding,  the  plain  and  simple  nature  of 
her  complaint  on  a  subject  by  which  the  domestic  feelings  of  all 
were  affected,  no  doubt  contributed  to  the  effect  produced." 

The  whole  country  became  at  once  parties  to  the  quarrel,  and  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  575 

Spectacle  of  a  mother  harshly  separated  from  her  daughter  came 
home  to  every  household.  The  step,  however,  was  a  fatal  mistake. 
She  was,  moreover,  within  a  few  days  to  learn  that  the  opposite 
party  could  also  appeal,  under  far  more  favorable  conditions. 

THE  PRINCE  REGENT  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

"  C.  H.,  yi  pt.  7  P.M. 

"  Feb.  10th,  1813. 
"My  DEAR  Friend, 

"  Pray  give  me  a  call  in  your  way  home,  when  your  Cabinet 
breaks  up,  as  an  idea  has  struck  me  which  I  wish  to  talk  over  with 
you  for  five  minutes,  in  order  that  you  may  turn  it  over  in  your 
mind  before  to-morrow  morning.  Just  send  me  a  line,  to  mention 
about  what  hour  I  may  be  likely  to  see  you,  in  order  that  I  may  be 
in  the  way  and  not  keep  you  waiting. 

' '  Ever  sincerely  yours, 

"George  P.  R." 

This  boded  her  no  good.  Presently  rumors  came  to  her  ear  that 
the  matter  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Privy  Council,  who 
were  to  decide  the  unpleasant  issue  wliether  she  was  fit  to  have  the 
charge  of  the  heiress  to  the  Crown.  Nor  was  this  surprising.  She 
had  given  public  challenge,  and  here  it  was  taken  up  and  referred 
to  an  impartial  body — his  Council — for  examination.  But  the 
prejudiced  Speaker  tells  us  what  the  papers  were  that  were  sub- 
mitted to  this  conclave,  viz.  the  materials  used  in  "  The  Book,"  the 
Minutes  of  the  Cabinet,  and  a  new  one,  made  in  1809.  There  were 
also  the  opinions  of  Messrs.  Adam,  Jekyll,  and  Garrow,  the  Prince's 
law  officers,  "that  the  evidence  was  such  as  could  go  to  a  jury." 
But  the  most  extraordinary  part  of  the  transaction  was  this.  It  was 
necessary  to  have  something  to  cover  the  interval  from  1807,  and 
prove  that  the  King  had  taken  the  Prince's  view.  The  Speaker  says 
that  this  was  among  the  facts  which  "alone  would  warrant  him  in 
forming  an  opinion — the  King's  important  declaration  in  1806,  that 
the  Princess  of  Wales  could  never  again  be  received  as  a  member 
of  his  family,  and  could  only  be  treated  with  the  common  forms  of 
civility." 

It  seems  scarcely  conceivable  that  the  whole  evidence  as  to  the 
intentions,  etc.,  of  the  insane  King  was  obtained,  not  from  his  own 
writings  or  words,  but  from  a  letter  of  the  Queen's  to  the  Council! 

After  discussion  by  the  Privy  Council  they  arrived  at  a  unanimous 


576  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

conclusion  that  there  should  be  restraint  and  restriction.  But  when 
the  report  came  to  be  drawn  up,  the  Chancellor,  after  declaring  that 
the  draft  report  was  "admirable,"  declined  peremptorily  to  sign  it, 
adding  that  it  would  be  an  implication  that  he  had  changed  his 
opinion  as  to  the  serious  charges  of  adultery,  pregnancy,  etc.,  made 
in  1807.  Through  his  influence  they  were  inclined  to  make  a 
declaration  in  her  favor  on  this  point.  But  now  Lord  EUenborough 
interposed,  insisting  that  he  could  not  concur  in  auj'thing  that 
would  affirm  her  innocence,  as  his  private  conviction  was  that  she 
was  guilty  on  these  points.  In  this  state  of  things  it  was  determined 
to  confine  themselves  to  the  strict  questions  at  issue. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  w^ay  that  the  affair  was  managed,  that 
when  all  was  settled,  Lord  Castlereagh  came  to  the  Speaker  in  the 
House  of  Commons  with  a  paragraph,  suggested  by,  or  "much 
desired,"  by  the  Prince,  in  refutation  of  the  words  "suborned 
testimony,"  which  the  Princess  had  used.  This  was  subsequently 
adopted. 

The  object  of  this  proceeding  had  meanwhile  heard  of  what  was 
going  on,  and  addressed  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to  Lord  Harrowby, 
urging  that  it  was  all  ex  parte,  and  offering  to  submit  her  case  to 
any  fair  tribunal,  provided  she  was  heard.*  The  reply  was  a  copy 
of  the  report,  in  which  it  was  set  out:  "That  the  intercourse 
between  her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales  and  her  Royal 
Hig'hness  the  Princess  Charlotte  should  continue  to  be  subject  to 
regulation  and  restraint.  That  as  to  the  postponement  of  the.  con- 
firmation, it  appears,  by  a  statement  under  the  hand  of  her  Majesty 
the  Queen,  that  your  royal  highness  has  conformed  in  this  respect 
to  the  declared  will  of  his  Majesty."  "  We  also  humbly  trust  that 
we  may  be  further  permitted  to  notice  some  expressions  in  the  letter 
of  her  royal  highness.  We  refer  to  the  words  'suborned  traducers.' 
As  this  expression,  from  the  manner  it  is  introduced,  may  perhaps 
be  liable  to  misconstruction  (however  impossible  it  may  be  to  sup- 
pose that  It  can  have  been  so  intended),  to  have  reference  to  some 
part  of  the  conduct  of  your  royal  highness,  we  feel  it  our  bounden 
duty  not  to  omit  this  opportunity  of  declaring  that  the  documents 
laid  before  us  afford  the  most  amj  le  proof  that  there  is  not  the 
slightest  foundation  for  such  an  aspersion." 
In  these  domestic  broils,  the  Regent  was  presented  in  the  undig- 


♦  Huish,  "Queen  Caroline,"  L  468. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  577 

nified  attitude  of  contending,  aided  by  his  ministers  and  depend- 
ants, with  two  women — liis  wife  and  his  daughter!  Some  one  des- 
canting, in  his  presence,  on  the  victories  of  Lord  Wellington  "in 

the  north,"  he  burst  out,  after  his  favorite  style :  "  D n  the  north, 

and  d n  the  south,  and  d n  Wellington;  the  question  is,  how 

am  I  to  be  rid  of  this  d — -d  Princess  of  Wales?" 
25 


678  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
1813. 

At  the  bottom  of  Warwick  Street,  close  to  Charing  Cross,  there 
stood  at  this  time  an  old  mansion,  known  as  Warwick  House,  occu 
pying  the  ground  nearly  behind  where  the  Military  Club  is  now 
erected.  All  the  space  no\v  covered  by  Carlton  House  Terrace  was 
then  laid  out  as  garden  and  grounds  of  this  mansion,  as  well  as 
those  of  Carlton  House.  The  residences  of  the  father  and  daughter 
were  only  separated  by  the  road.  Warwick  House  was  at  this  time 
in  a  state  of  dilapidation,  and  seemed  like  a  convent.  Here  a  small 
establishment  had  been  formed  of  old  servants,  with  Miss  Knight 
as  "lady  companion,"  and  hither  the  lively  young  Princess  was 
delighted  to  come,  indifferent  as  to  the  accommodation,  for  she  was 
escaping  from  the  Lower  Lodge  at  Windsor  and  the  supervision  of 
the  Queen.  All  that  was  allowed  for  the  establishment  was  £14,000 
a  year;  £15  a  month  was  served  out  to  her  for  pocket-money,  and 
£800  a  year  for  her  wardrobe.  It  was  capriciously  determined  that 
she  should  be  kept  back,  and  "an  elegant  little  girl  of  fifteen"  was 
to  be  her  playmate.  However,  we  find  her  occasionally  at  Carlton 
House.  At  one  of  these  visits  the  Prince  took  Miss  Knight  aside, 
and  inveighed  a  long  time  against  his  wife,  making  a  particular 
charge  against  her  allowing  a  smallpox  mark  to  come  on  their 
daughter's  nose,  having,  in  fact,  neglected  to  secure  her  little  hands. 
He  had  always  watched  her.  Then  came  the  drawing-room  held  on 
February  the  4th,  and  to  which  the  young  Princess  was  not  allowed 
to  go,  though  a  story  went  round  that  she  refused  to  go  unless  i)re- 
sented  by  her  mother.  At  this  drawing-room  the  Prince  and  his 
wife  actually  met  each  other  and  exchanged  "a  slight  acknowledg- 
ment." 

The  young  Princess  was  now  to  find  that  she  had  only  come  to 
town  to  be  worried.  She  was  "worn  out  with  anxiety "  as  to  her 
mother.  Her  health  was  not  good,  and  her  great  relatives  seemed 
to  delight  in  harassing  her.  The  Duchess  of  York  filled  her  with 
alarm  by  volunteering  to  come  and  dine  with  her. 


PRINCESS  CHARLOTTE. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  579 

But  presently  she  was  further  alarmed  by  one  of  the  usual  visits 
of  intimidation  from  her  father  attended  by  his  Prime  Minister. 
They  came  to  announce  to  her  that  a  solemn  tribunal  was  investi- 
gating her  mother's  behavior;  that  "  it  was  a  very  serious  matter  " 
and  would  end  in  a  very  painful  way,  that  on  the  result  depended 
whether  she  should  ever  be  allowed  to  visit  her  again,  that  in  the 
meantime  all  intercourse  must  cease.  She  w^as  "  dreadfully  over- 
come," and  her  delicate  nature  seemed  to  be  hurt  also  at  this  lec- 
ture being  given  in  presence  of  strangers.  For  some  weeks  she 
was  in  anxious  suspense,  refusing  to  go  out  to  parties  or  show 
herself  in  public,  though  pressed  by  Sir  H.  Halford  and  others, 
always  declaring  that  it  was  unbecoming  while  her  mother  lay 
under  such  accusations.  The  finding  was  sent  to  the  Duchess  of 
Leeds,  who  handed  it  to  her  with  true  delicacy  without  opening  it; 
this  quite  changed  her  bearing  to  that  lady,  showing  how  easily  she 
could  have  been  "  led  "  if  dealt  with  generously. 

Soon  the  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  her  grandmother,  died.  She 
had  been  living  in  London,  and  gradually  drawn  into  the  family 
contest,  and  had  not  dared  to  take  part  with  her  own  daughter.  All 
were  struck  by  her  feeling  and  anxiety ;  she  wrote  letters  to  all  that 
were  concerned,  she  took  it  much  to  heart  and  reproached  herself 
with  not  having  visited  her  so  much  of  late.  She  desired  to  see  her 
remains,  but  this  was  forbidden.  She  w^as  allowed  to  see  her  mother, 
wiio  bore  her  loss  philosophically  enough.  The  latter  was  now 
beginning  to  complain  of  her  daughter,  desiring  her  to  refuse  to  go 
to  any  ball  unless  she  were  asked. 

But  as  the  months  rolled  on,  there  were  symptoms  that  the  young 
Princess  was  growing  weary  and  felt  her  strength  failing.  The 
lady  in  the  interest  of  the  Regent,  Miss  Mercer  Elphinstone,  was 
now  sent  to  her.  The  Regent  had  taken  a  dislike  to  Miss  Knight, 
finding    that    she    would    not   be    his     tool.      On    one    occasion 

he  had  declared  with  an  oath,  he  would  not  have  those  d d 

ladies — referring  to  the  Duchess  of  Leeds  also.  Her  situation  was 
precarious  and  uncomfortable.  The  old  Duchess  would  come  from 
the  Queen  and  Regent  in  tears,  having  been  soundly  reprimanded. 

It  was  not  unnatural  that  the  young  impulsive  girl's  thoughts 
should  turn  to  those  who  took  her  part,  and  look  for  release  to  some 
romantic  attachment  or  marriage.  She  had  already  had  "  a  flirta- 
tion, "  connected  with  which  was  a  curious  little  history.  Attached 
to  the  suite  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  York  was  a  certain  Captain 
Hesse,  who  had  become  a  follower  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — a 


580  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

person  not  to  be  encouraged,  but  the  foolish  mother  seemed  to  have 
a  fancy  for  bringing  him  and  her  daughter  together ;  a  fresh  proof 
of  her  indiscretion,  as  well  as  of  the  wisdom  of  "  restriction."  The 
portrait  of  a  hussar  hung  in  the  young  Princess's  room,  which  was 
no  doubt  that  of  this  person,  who  was  in  the  18th  Hussars,  and  not 
of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  as  it  was  supposed.  The  young  Princess 
had  been  flattered  by  his  compliments,  and  as  Miss  Mercer,  in  1832, 
told  the  story  to  Mr.  Greville,  even  corresponded  with  him.  He 
was  employed  to  secretly  convey  the  mother's  letters  to  her  daugh- 
ter. He  was  sent  to  Spain  with  his  regiment,  and  was  there 
wounded,  on  which  the  Princess  of  Wales,  according  to  Captain 
Gronow,  wrote  to  Lord  Wellington,  forwarding  his  watch  and  pic- 
ture, and  begging  that  he  might  be  carefully  looked  after.  When 
the  Duke  of  York's  scandal  came  out  the  young  Princess  became 
alarmed  as  to  her  letters,  and  got  Miss  Mercer  to  require  that  they 
should  be  returned.  This  he  refused  to  do,  but  was  forced  to  give 
them  up.  His  later  life  was  that  of  an  adventurer.  He  was  ex- 
pelled from  Naples,  and  shot  in  a  duel  by  one  Leon,  supposed  to 
be  a  son  of  Napoleon's. 

Another  admirer  came  upon  the  scene  in  the  shape  of  her  cousin, 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  more  than  double  her  age.  This  prince 
seemed  to  have  conceived  the  idea  that  he  might  recommend  him- 
self, and  tried  to  show  her  that  he  was  her  friend  and  would  be  her 
protector.  At  one  of  the  magnificent  balls  given  at  Carlton  House, 
the  foolish  Duke,  known  so  well  as  "  Silly  Billy,"  whose  pretensions 
annoyed  and  disgusted  the  Regent,  devoted  himself  to  her  so  par- 
ticularly, that  a  request  was  sent  to  her  by  Lady  Liverpool  to 
change  her  place.  After  the  Queen  and  her  family  had  gone,  the 
young  Princess  apologized  to  them  both,  when  the  Duke  seized  the 
occasion  to  declare  himself  devoted  to  her,  and  ready  to  come  for- 
ward whenever  she  would  cast  her  eyes  on  him.  And  he  used 
his  opportunity  with  such  effect,  that  before  August  she  had  con- 
fided to  Sir  H.  Halford  that  the  man  she  preferred  was  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester.*  The  Regent  at  once  put  it  aside,  with  many  lectures 
to  his  daughter.  The  strangest  part  of  the  affair  seems  to  be  that 
she  was  encouraged  in  it  by  Sir  Henry  Halford. 

This  lively  girl  had  another  ;>6m;Aa;i<— the  young  Duke  of  Devon- 
shire— at  that  time  sought  and  followed  by  all  the  matrons  in  Lon- 
don.    At  balls,  he  danced  nearly  the  whole  night  with  her  and  the 


♦  Miss  Knight,  "Autobiography,"  i.  255. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  681 

Princess  Mary  alternately.  Being  of  a  romantic  turn,  he  also  was 
believed  to  nourish  a  tender  passion  for  his  future  queen,  and  the 
Regent  looked  on  complacently,  seeing  that  this  would  attach  him 
to  his  party.  It  is  evident  that  various  matrimonial  schemes  were 
kept  before  her  mind  by  the  adroit  Halford,  with  a  view  to  some 
serious  alliance;  for  at  this  moment  a  fresh  intrigue  or  plan  was  on 
foot  by  which  the  Regent  was  to  find  relief.  There  now  were  fair 
hopes  of  crushing  his  wife,  or  of  driving  her  from  the  country, 
while  a  suitable  marriage  might  also  remove  his  daughter — his  rival 
with  the  public. 

Meanwhile  discussions  on  the  quarrel  with  his  wife  were  embar- 
rassing. The  ministry  were  pressed  on  the  point  why  the  Douglases 
were  not  prosecuted  for  perjury,  and  could  only  reply  that  there 
were  reasons  which  made  it  unadvisable;  while  Mr.  Canning  de- 
clared that  the  report  of  1807  conveyed  a  "  complete,  satisfactory, 
and  unlimited  acquittal."  It  was  no  wonder  that  Lord  Castlereagh 
came  to  the  Speaker  to  tell  him  of  the  "irritation"  of  the  Regent — 
his  own  ministers  seemed  to  have  "  thrown  him  over."  They  com- 
plained that  he  was  "quite  intractable."  He  talked  of  writing  a 
letter  to  the  Speaker,  to  be  read  to  the  House.  They  contrived  a 
soothing  answer — reminding  him  that  the  Speaker  had  given  his 
opinion. 

The  Chancellor,  too,  seems  to  have  come  in  for  his  share  of  ill- 
humor.  "  Places,"  he  said,  "  he  must  dispose  of  without  reference 
to  anybody  but  myself,  if  I  am  to  continue  Chancellor.  I  doubt 
whether  I  am:  the  Prince  having  applied  for  all,  and  I  having 
refused  him  all.  I  am  too  low,  and  too  ill,  to  mix  with  the  world, 
and  I  therefore  absented  myself  yesterday,  and  shall  do  so  to-day. 
The  P.  has  been  treating  me  with  so  much  unkindness,  because  I 
won't  do  as  to  his  wife  and  daughter  as  he  wishes — in  a  way— that 
one  more  such  interview  as  I  have  had,  if  it  occurs,  will  save  me 
the  trouble  of  appointing  to  the  secretaryship,  or  anything  else 
where  the  officer  goes  out  of  office  with  the  Chancellor," 

During  the  next  few  days,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  public,  the 
Carlton  House  papers.  The  Herald  and  Post,  became  filled  with 
revolting  matter  of  the  old  evidence  of  "the  delicate  investigation," 
the  former  paper  being  directed  by  a  low  bruising  parson,  Bate 
Dudley,*  one  of  the  Prince's  favorites. 


*  The  history  of  this  clergyman  is  truly  edifying.    His  whole  course  Is 
marked  by  "duels,  boxing-matches,  libels;  at  last  purchasing  a  'fat'  living 


582  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

This  scandal  was  the  retort  of  the  Prince's  friends,  and  the 
materials  could  only  have  been  supplied  by  them. 

No  wonder  Mr.  Whitbread  renewed  the  attack,  dwelling  on  the 
scandalous  remarks  and  statements  with  which  the  papers  were 
filled,  and  asking  when  the  Prince,  "as  protector  of  his  wife,"  was 
ready  to  take  proceedings  to  restrain  them.  Excited  debates  fol- 
lowed, in  which  the  Prince's  character  was  badly  mauled,  Lord 
Milton  "advising  persons  in  high  station  to  beware  how  they  trifled 
with  the  feeHngs  of  the  public. "  He  almost  in  plain  terms  accused 
the  Prince  of  causing  the  publication  of  the  evidence.  Mr.  Whit- 
bread presented  a  petition  from  Sir  John  Douglas,  and  made  some 
extraordinaiy  statements,  as  it  were,  in  defence  of  that  person.  He 
had  been  informed  by  him  that  Lady  Douglas  had  been  examined 
by  a  Treasury  official  before  a  magistrate  in  February  last. 

Among  those  who  vindicated  the  Government  was  Mr.  Romilly, 
who  proved  by  precedents  that  such  inquiries  were  legal  and  had 
often  been  permitted.  Two  or  three  days  later  he  was  waited  on 
by  Nash,  the  architect,  who  was  employed  in  carrying  out  the 
Prince's  "hobbies,"  and  who,  since  his  project  of  the  new  Regent's 
Park,  enjoyed  the  highest  favor.  Nash  said  that  "  the  manly  part " 
he  had  taken  in  the  debate  had  been  very  thankfully  received  at 
Carlton  House,  and  that  his  royal  employer  was  very  anxious  to  see 
and  consult  with  him  on  the  subject  of  the  Princess  of  Wales. 
Romilly  declined;  but  was  told,  on  a  later  visit,  by  Lord  Yarmouth, 
"that  his  advice  had  been  followed  with  all  the  respect  and  atten- 
tion that  it  deserved."  This  astonished  him  a  little,  as  he  had 
given  no  advice.  With  the  curious  love  of  intrigue  which  charac- 
terized Carlton  House,  persistent  efforts  were  made  to  attract  him, 
and  he  was  asked,  "as  entirely  from  Lord  Yarmouth,  and  without 
direct  authority  from  the  Prince,  if  he  would  take  the  Chancellor- 
ship without  his  party."  He  positively  declined.  It  is  amusing 
to  follow  the  pertinacity  with  which  this  scheme  was  insisted  on. 
The  architect  came  again.  "He  said  that  he  did  not  come  to  me 
by  any  authority  whatever  from  the  Prince;  but  that,  since  he  had 
seen  me,  he  had  had  a  very  long  conversation  with  the  Prince,  at 
which  no  person  was  present,  the  Prince  having  made  some  excuse 


for  a  large  sum,  to  which  his  bishop  refused  to  induct  him,  but  ending  respect- 
ably as  a  baronet— Sir  Henry  Bate  Dudley— and  a  country  gentleman."— See 
Taylor,  "  Records,"  and  '*  The  Vauxhall  Affray:  an  encounter  with  'Fighting 
Fitzgerald.'  " 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  583 

for  sending  away  Lord  Yarmouth;  and  that  in  tliat  conversation 
the  Prince  had  talked  much  about  me,  and  of  the  confidence  he 
was  disposed  to  place  in  me;  and  had  said  that,  in  a  matter  respect- 
ing his  own  family,  he  had  a  right  to  consult  me  as  his  private 
counsel,  The  Prince,  in  the  course  of  what  he  said,  remarked  that 
I  now  never  left  my  name  at  Carlton  House,  which  is  true :  since 
the  restrictions  on  the  Regency  ceased,  I  have  omitted  to  do  so.  To 
all  this  I  answered,  that  the  more  I  considered  the  subject,  the  more 
I  felt  the  great  impropriety  of  the  Piince  taking  advice  relative  to 
the  Princess  from  any  person  but  his  responsible  ministers;  and  that 
I  could  not  reconcile  it  to  any  notions  I  entertained  of  my  duty  to 
offer  him  any  advice."  He  was  then  asked  to  dine  at  Mr.  Nash's, 
when,  to  his  surprise,  he  found  Lord  Yarmouth,  who  seemed  almost 
a  stranger  to  the  house.  But,  before  this  nobleman's  arrival,  he 
was  taken  aside  and  assured  by  his  host  that  ''everything  was  in 
confusion  at  Carlton  House;  that  was  the  moment  for  bringing 
about  a  change  of  administration;  that  he  Avas  himself — i.e.  the 
Prince — most  anxious  that  it  should  be  accomplished ;  and  that  I 
was  the  link  by  which  the  Prince  might  be  reunited  with  his  old 
friends."    He  was  again  rebuffed,  and  told  it  was  impossible. 

Such  were  the  clumsy  and  profitless  arts  by  which  the  game  at 
Carlton  House  was  carried  on,  resembling  more  the  intrigues  of  the 
Sultan's  palace  than  of  an  English  ruler. 

The  most  curious  feature  in  the  transaction  was  this,  that  the 
publication  of  all  the  noisome  matter  relating  to  this  delicate  inves- 
tigation would  seem  to  have  been  actually  prompted  by  the  good 
and  admirable  Romilly;  for,  in  his  discussions  with  Nash,  he  had 
made  the  remark — rather  incautiously — that  since  so  much  had  been 
published  as  to  the  Princess  the  whole  had  better  be  known.  As  it 
was,  these  advances  had  the  effect  of  making  the  lawyer  take  a 
rather  more  tolerant  view  of  the  Prince  and  his  party,  though  he 
continued  inflexible  as  to  the  point  of  actual  adhesion. 

Addresses  of  congratulation  were  voted  by  the  City  of  London 
and  other  bodies  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  which  were  brought  up 
with  some  confusion  and  mobbing.  Alarming  cries  of  "  To  Carlton 
House!"  were  heard,  whither  they  were  prepared  to  draw  her  car- 
riage, and  had  assembled  at  Westminster  Bridge  for  the  purpose. 
The  Regent  judiciously  went  out  of  town  in  the  morning. 

She  was  encouraged  by  this  growing  popularity  to  appear  at  the 
Opera,  which  she  did  on  May  29th;  though  it  must  have  been  a 
mortification   to  her  to  receive  a  well-meant  warniniir   from  Mr. 

^7 


fi84  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV, 

Whitbread,  imploring  ber  to  be  very  careful  about  her  dress,  and, 
in  short,  to  "cover  her  neck."  The  poor  lady,  who  was  to  receive 
all  sorts  of  contradictory  instructions  and  advice  from  the  friends 
who  had  "  taken  up  her  case,"  wept  bitterly  at  the  affront.  But  she 
was  indenmified  when  at  the  theatre,  and  there  was  a  burst  of 
applause,  mingled  with  which  were  two  or  three  hisses.     "  I  heard 

afterwards  that  the  Dowager  Lady  C ^y  was  one  of  those  who 

hissed— more  shame  to  her!  It  is  said  a  very  great  lady,  who  is 
now  far  advanced  in  years,  the  mother  of  a  particularly  pious  noble- 
man, was  the  leader  of  this  disapprobation."* 

Another  incident  which  delighted  the  public  was  the  strange 
meeting  of  the  separated  mother  and  daughter.  As  she  was  return- 
ing, in  the  forenoon  of  March  the  9th,  in  her  carriage  down  Consti- 
tution Hill,  she  observed  the  Princess  Charlotte,  in  her  carriage,  pro- 
ceeding along  Piccadilly  towards  Hyde  Park,  Immediately  order- 
ing her  coachman  to  turn  round,  and  the  horses  running  nearly  at  a 
gallop,  she  overtook  the  Princess  Charlotte's  carriage  in  Hyde  Park, 
near  the  bridge.  The  royal  mother  and  daughter,  from  the  windows 
of  their  carriages,  affectionately  embraced  each  other,  and  continued 
in  earnest  conversation  for  about  ten  minutes. 

At  this  point  recurs  the  memory  of  the  poor  old  insane  King,  now 
almost  forgotten,  to  whom  his  son  paid  a  visit,  which  the  valet- 
scribes  of  the  Court  declared  "  proved  him  susceptible  of  the  finest 
feelings,  and  that  he  could  and  did  regard  the  duties  of  a  son.  The 
filial  affection  by  which  the  Prince  Regent  has  been  distinguished 
will  ever  be  remembered  to  his  honor,  and  will  be  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  counteract  the  base  calumnies  of  all  the  foul-mouthed  revilers 
of  dignities.  His  royal  highness  entered  the  room  at  Windsor  where 
his  venerable  parent  was,  and  heard  him  lamenting  his  blindness  in 
the  passage  from  Milton :  '  Oh  dark,  dark,  dark,  amid  the  blaze  of 
noon.'" 

This  was  indeed  a  sad  spectacle  enough,  and  had  such  an  effect 
upon  the  Regent  that  "he  burst  into  a  fiood  of  tears,  and  was 
obliged  to  retire  to  another  apartment." 

This  sensibility — something  after  the  manner  of  Sterne — attended 
him  through  his  life,  being  displayed  on  occasions  of  romantic 
interest.  Witness  the  congratulation  which  he  had,  a  few  months 
before,  addressed  to  Lord  Wellington. 

•  jAdy  C.  Campbell,  "  piary." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  585 


CHAPTEK  X. 

1813—1814. 

THE  REGENT  TO  LORD  WELLINGTON. 

"  Carlton  House,  July  3,  1813. 
"My  dear  Lord, 

' '  Your  glorious  conduct  is  beyond  all  human  praise,  and  far 
above  my  reward,  I  know  no  language  the  world  affords  worthy 
to  express  it.  I  feel  I  have  nothing  left  to  say,  but  devoutly  to 
offer  up  my  prayers  of  gratitude  to  Providence  that  it  has  in  its 
omnipotent  bounty  blessed  my  country  and  myself  with  such  a 
general.  You  have  sent  me,  among  many  other  trophies  of  your 
unrivalled  fame,  the  staff  of  a  French  marshal,  and  I  send  you  in 
return  that  of  England,  The  British  army  will  hail  it  with  enthusi- 
asm, while  the  whole  universe  will  acknowledge  these  valorous 
efforts  which  have  so  imperiously  called  for  it.  That  uninterrupted 
health  and  still  increasing  laurels  may  still  continue  to  crown  you 
through  a  glorious  and  long  career  of  life  are  the  never-ceasing  and 
most  ardent  wishes  of,  my  dear  sir, 

"Your  very  sincere  and  faithful  Friend, 

"G.  P.  R." 

It  would  take  long  to  unfold  the  pitiful  incidents  of  this  most 
pitiful  warfare,  and  what  further  unworthy  devices  were  used  to 
harass  the  Princess  of  Wales,  She  was  refused  permission  to 
remain  in  the  palace  at  Kensington,  on  the  ground  that  the  Prince 
required  it.* 

The  withdrawal  of  the  use  of  Kensington  Palace,  with  its  privi- 
lege of  firing,  light,  etc.,  made  a  serious  difference;  and  she  had 
notv  to  look  out  for  a  house  in  town.  "When  she  selected  Lady 
Reid's,  in  Curzon  Street,  and  nearly  concluded  for  it,  it  was  refused 
to  her.  It  almost  seemed 'as  though  difficulties  had  been  put  in  the 
way.     She  then  fixed  on  Connaught  House,     Even  the  reputable 

♦  Lord  Berkeley,  to  Lord  Auckland's  "  Memoirs," 
25* 


586  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

banking  house  of  Drummond's  refused  to  let  her  overdraw  for  the 
small  sum  of  £500. 

What  the  Prince  was  most  eager  for  now  was  the  marriage  of  his 
daughter,  and  he  had  already  fixed  on  a  husband.  This  was  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  a  young  man  who  had  been  educated  at  English 
schools,  and  was  serving  on  Lord  Wellington's  staff.  Sir  Henry 
Halford,  whom  we  have  seen  favoring  a  pencJiaiit  for  the  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  had  suggested  the  Dutch  prince  to  her.  He  was  coming 
over  with  despatches  for  Lord  Wellington,  and  the  business  was  at 
once  entered  on.  She  avoided  meeting  him.  But  Lady  Anne 
Smith  and  Sir  Henry  worked  liprd,  and  at  the  end  of  November  she 
was  heard  to  say  that  "  the  prince  was  certainly  adored  in  the  army, 
and  that  Lord  Wellington,  his  brothers,  and  particularly  John  Fre- 
mantle,  spoke  highly  of  him."  At  a  dinner  given  at  Carlton  House 
in  December,  a  print  of  the  candidate  was  placed  on  a  chair  to  be 
looked  at,  and  the  young  girl  thought  it  "not  ugly."  His  father 
had  just  got  back  his  dominions,  which  was  naturally  in  favor  of  the 
young  prince. 

The  Regent,  then  at  a  party,  was  in  high  good-humor.  He  pre- 
sented her  with  some  jewels,  and  joked  about  a  ring.  The  "little 
Lord  Arran  "  was  heard  to  say  to  one  of  the  Princesses:  "  It  will  do, 
it  will  do,"  holding  up  his  hands  with  delight.  In  short,  the  saga- 
cious Brougham,  who  was  watching  the  situation,  was  quite 
convinced  that  she  would  accept  him. 

It  was  amusing  to  find  tliat  the  portrait  of  the  hussar  was  at  this 
time  taken  down  and  made  a  present  of  to  Lady  Anne  Smith,  and 
that  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  hung  up  in  its  phice.  Another  party 
was  given  at  Carlton  House,  at  which  she  was  to  meet  him  for  the 
first  time.  The  young  Princess  was  much  agitated,  and  dressed 
herself  in  violet  satin  and  blonde  lace.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
turned  out  to  be  rather  plain  and  sickly  looking,  but  had  a  manly 
soldierlike  manner.  The  Princess  paid  him  this  compliment— he 
was  by  no  means  "  so  disagreeable  as  she  had  expected;"  and  the 
happy  Regent  took  them  into  another  room,  where  they  walked  up 
and  down  together.  He  impressed  her  favorably  at  dinner  by 
"talking  very  handsomely  of  the  old  liberties  of  Holland."  Later, 
the  Regent  came  to  her.  "Well,  it  will  not  do?"  he  asked  anx- 
iously. And  she  answered  to  his  delight*,  "  I  don't  say  that;  I  like 
his  manner  very  well  so  far."  Without  further  delay,  the  eager 
father  joined  their  hands. 

Two  days  later  both  paid  the  young  Princess  a  visit  of  ceremony. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  687 

The  lovers  retired  to  talk,  while  the  Regent  sat  down  with  Miss 
Knight.  It  was  to  be  kept  a  secret,  he  said,  but  she  was  to  keep 
her  charge  dearly,  and  see  there  was  "no  flirtation."  Then  the 
pious  Prince  spoke  of  her  going  to  Windsor  to  be  confirmed  and 
"take  the  sacrament  with  the  family."  But  while  thus  engaged 
they  were  strangely  interrupted  by  hearing  the  young  Princess 
burst  into  a  violent  fit  of  hysterical  tears.  The  Princes  started  up, 
and  both  hurried  into  the  other  room.  They  found  the  Prince  of 
Orange  much  scared  and  the  Princess  in  deep  distress,  "What," 
exclaimed  her  father  adroitly,  "  is  he  saying  good-bye?"  She  only 
replied:  "  Not  yet,"  and  hurried  to  her  room.  The  Prince  had  to 
take  the  lover  away  with  him. 

It  seems  that  it  had  been  told  to  her,  for  the  first  time,  that  she 
would  have  to  leave  England  and  live  two  or  three  months  of  the 
year  in  Holland.  But  she  herself  relates  what  took  place  in  her  own 
natural  style:  "  He  told  me  yesterday  what  has  cut  me  to  the  heart 
nearly,  that  he  expected  and  wished  me  to  go  abroad  with  him 
afterwards  to  Holland,  but  that  I  should  have  a  home  here  and 
there,  and  be  constantly  coming  backwards  and  forwards ;  that  he 
wished  me  to  go  to  Berlin,  and  travel  in  different  parts  of  Germany. 
He  was  all  kindness,  I  must  say ;  at  the  same  time,  as  he  told  me,  it 
should  never  prevent  my  seeing  and  having  my  friends  with  me  as 
much  as  ever  I  liked;  that  he  should  be  happy  if  they  would  all  go 
with  me,  or  else  come  and  see  me.  His  anxious  wish,  I  must  say, 
is  to  do  what  I  like  as  much  as  possible  to  make  me  happy,  and 
study  everything  that  can  make  me  so.  I  have  only  to  add  that  this 
latter  plan  must,  as  you  will  see,  remain  in  perfect  uncertainty,  as 
it  must  depend  upon  a  peace,  or  else  I  could  not  certainly  go;  be- 
sides which,  this  is  a  step  which  cannot  be  taken  without  consent  of 
Parliament." 

But  this  was  only  a  temporary  difficulty,  and  she  was  soon  per- 
suaded into  compliance.  The  matter,  for  the  next  three  or  four 
months,  was  considered  to  be  settled,  though  the  marriage  was  not 
formally  announced.  The  Regent  at  this  time  seems  to  have  been, 
unhappily,  more  than  usually  addicted  to  the  favorite  vice  of  the 
day ;  his  daughter  saying  in  her  expressive  phrase  that  there  was 
generally  "too  much  oil  in  the  lamp."  Thus  at  a  f^te  at  the  New 
Military  College  of  Sandhurst,  where  the  whole  royal  family  were 
assembled,  and  the  Queen  on  her  departure  asked  for  the  Regent, 
he  was  not  then  to  be  found;  and  the  ladies  learned  that  he,  with  the 
Puke  of  York,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  other  noble  guests,  were 


588  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  TV. 

under  the  table.*    The  Duke  of  York  hurt  his  head  very  seriously 
against  a  wine  cellaret. 

On  January  6th,  1814,  we  find  the  Regent  at  Belvoir  Castle,  cele- 
brating the  baptism  of  an  heir  with  great  and  prolonged  festivities. 
It  is  no  surprise,  then,  that  in  February  he  was  seriously  ill,  "kept 
low,"  and  in  a  nervous  state;  indeed,  at  one  period  it  was  thought 
his  life  was  in  danger.  He  was  much  disturbed  at  the  Princess 
Charlotte  having  a  carriage  built  for  herself,  but  more  particularly 
at  its  not  being  ordered  from  his  own  coachmaker.  In  this  de- 
pressed condition  he  spoke  of  going  to  Hanover,  and  would  burst 
into  tears  on  an  allusion  to  his  sister  Princess  Amelia.  No  wonder 
that  Mr.  Brougham  thus  lugubriously  dwelt  on  the  situation,  and 
foreboded  evil.  We  must,  however,  make  due  allowances  for  par- 
tisanship: "Truly  things  may  be  said  to  be  desperate  when  the 
most  unpopular  King  since  James  II.,  at  the  most  alarming  crisis, 
is  able  to  do  exactly  what  he  pleases,  and  by  whom.  We  owe  it  to 
his  forbearance  that  Macmahon  and  Tyrwhitt  are  not  appointed 
Lord  High  Treasurer  and  Lord  High  Admiral." 

In  January,  1814,  the  Princess  went  through  the  ordeal  of  a  visit 
to  Windsor,  where,  as  she  says:  "What  with  congratulations,  ill- 
concealed  joy  as  ill-concealed  sorrow,  good  humor  and  bad,  peeping 
out,  my  Confirmation  and  the  Sacrament,  and  little  jokes  and  witty 
sayings  that  were  circulated,  I  was  both  excessively  put  out  and 
overcome,  and  when  I  returned  to  town  I  was  quite  ill  for  some 
days  afterwards. "  When  she  got  back  to  London  she  was  left  to 
spend  her  birthday  alone.  A  few  days  later  she  was  dining  with 
her  mother,  when  the  foolish  lady  began  pouring  dissatisfaction 
into  her  daughter's  ear — if  it  were  not  there  already — saying,  "all 
the  world  had  hoped  for  promotions,  and  for  emancipation  from 
prisons,  etc.,  etc.,  the  day  of  her  coming  of  age,  but  that  no  public 
testimony  of  joy  had  been  shown  on  the  occasion,  and  it  had  passed 
away  in  a  mournful  silence. "  Princess  Charlotte  was  considerably 
struck,  and  replied:  "Oh,  but  the  war  and  the  great  expenses  of 
the  nation  occasion  my  coming  of  age  to  be  passed  over  at  present.  ** 
"A  very  good  excuse,  tnily,"8aid  the  Princess  of  Wales,  "and  you 
are  child  enough  to  believe  it!" 

In  the  April  of  this  year  a  proceeding  of  somewhat  romantic  in- 
terest took  place  in  the  chapel  at  Windsor.  Some  repairs  or  altera- 
tions were  being  made,  and  it  was  determined  to  open  the  coffin 


*  Miss  Knight,  "  Autobiography,"  I.  252. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  589 

which  held  the  remains  of  Charles  I.  The  propriety  of  this  step 
was  questionable,  but  the  curiosity  among  antiquarians  to  ascertain 
whether  the  account  handed  down  was  accurate  in  all  particulars 
could  not  be  resisted.  The  historic  associations  kindled  the  im- 
agination of  the  Prince  Regent,  who  determined,  with  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  to  be  present.  Accordingly,  on  the  13th  of  April,  he 
attended  with  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  and  others. 
Within  a  leaden  coffin  a  wooden  one  appeared,  which  was  opened. 
Sir  Henry  Halford  describes  what  was  seen.  "The  body  carefully 
wrapped  up  in  cerecloth,  into  the  folds  of  which  a  quantity  of  unc- 
tuous matter  mixed  with  resin,  as  it  seemed,  had  been  melted.  .  .  . 
At  length  the  whole  face  was  disengaged  from  its  covering.  The 
complexion  of  the  skin  of  it  was  dark  and  discolored.  The  fore- 
head and  temples  had  lost  little  or  nothing  of  their  muscular  sub- 
stance; the  cartilage  of  the  nose  was  gone,  but  the  left  eye,  in  the 
first  moment  of  exposure,  was  open  and  full,  though  it  vanished 
immediately;  and  the  pointed  beard  was  perfect."  The  head  was 
held  up  for  the  spectators  to  examine.  Contemporaneous  accounts 
describe  it  as  having  been  sewn  on ;  but  the  threads,  of  course,  had 
long  since  decayed  away.  The  hair  was  found  to  be  thick  and  a 
brow^n  color,  but  the  pointed  beard  was  of  a  reddish  tinge. 

A  sort  of  proces  verbal  was  drawn  up  and  attested  by  the  Prince, 
who  hurried  to  his  daughter's  room  (as  Miss  Knight  used  to  relate) 
to  vent  his  emotions  after  he  had  been  much  affected.  He  gave 
her  a  lock  of  the  hair  which  he  had  cut  off.* 

Subjoined  are  Lord  Byron's  scurrilous  lines  "  On  the  Prince 
Regent  being  seen  standing  between  the  coffins  of  Charles  I.  and 
Henry  Vm."- 

THE  VAULT  REFLECTION. 

Famed  for  contemptuous  breach  of  sacred  ties, 

By  headless  Charles  see  heartless  Harry  lies; 

Between  them  stands  another  sceptred  thing, 

It  moves,  it  reigns,  in  all  but  name  a  king. 

Charles  to  his  people,  Harry  to  his  wife, 

In  him  the  double  tyrant  wakes  to  life. 

Justice  and  death  have  mixed  their  dust  in  vain ; 

Each  royal  vampire  wakes  to  life  again. 

Ah,  what  can  tombs  avail,  since  these  disgorge 

The  blood  and  dust  of  both  to  mould  a  George! 

♦  "  Notes  and  Queries,"  Third  Series,  viii.  444— Halford's  Essays,  1833. 


590  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1813—1814. 

In  discussing  the  alliance  between  the  Prince  of  Orange  and 
Princess  Charlotte,  it  is  singular  that  the  embarrassment  as  to  the 
choice  of  residence  did  not  at  once  strike  the  statesmen  concerned 
— for  both  the  parties  were  heirs  to  thrones — and  it  would  seem 
impossible  that  a  mode  of  living  could  be  devised  that  would  be 
acceptable  to  both  countries.  The  course  pursued  was  to  leave  the 
question  open,  both  retaining  the  right  of  succession,  the  only  one 
stipulation  being  as  regards  the  children,  that  the  two  crowns  were 
not  to  devolve  on  one  person,  but  if  there  were  two  sons,  the  eldest 
should  succeed  in  England,  the  second  in  Holland.*  But  this 
seemed  remote,  the  pressing  question  being  where  the  young  pair 
were  to  reside  in  the  meantime.  Was  the  "  Hope  of  England"  to 
be  removed  from  the  people  that  loved  her,  and  that  she  loved,  to 
the  Hague?  Early  in  March,  the  Dutch  envoy,  "Baron  Van  der 
Duyn  van  Maasdam,"  arrived  with  the  solemn  formal  proposals  of 
marriage  from  the  Dutch  Court — this  being  always  a  matter  of  strict 
etiquette.  He  brought  also  a  portrait  of  the  Prince,  with  the  modest 
offering  of  £14,000  for  jewels.  But  the  affianced  husband  did  not 
seem  to  gain  upon  his  betrothed.  She  was  treated  ungraciously 
enough,  in  a  childish  way;  no  information  was  vouchsafed  to  her 
as  to  her  establis^jment,  or  as  to  the  ladies  who  were  to  be  in  her 
suite.  No  wonder  she  began  to  listen  to  whispers.  At  her  mother's 
she  was  told  that  the  proposed  marriage  was  unpopular  with  the 
nation,  and  by  March  it  was  evident  that  the  high-spirited  girl,  to 
whom  it  now  came  home  that  she  was  "  being  got  out  of  the  way," 
began  to  meditate  rebellion.  Even  in  this  affair  her  mother  was  to 
be  affronted,  for  the  Dutch  envoys  were  cautioned  not  to  go  near 
her.f 

But  what  helped  to  shipwreck  the  whole  affair  was  the  opportune 
arrival  of  a  very  important  personage,  namely,  the  Czar's  sister, 
the  Grand  Duchess  Catherine,  widow  of  the  Duke  of  Oldenburg. 


*  Oastlereagh,  "  Letters,"  Ix.  161-181.  t  Stockmar,  "  Memoirg,"  L  1& 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  591 

The  object  of  this  visit  has  not  been  very  clearly  ascertained,  though 
it  could  hardly  have  been  with  a  view  to  the  design  which  the  pub- 
lic had  only  the  year  before  assumed  was  on  foot,  namely,  that  of 
marrying  her  to  the  Regent  himself,  so  soon  as  he  obtained  a 
divorce.  She  was  a  slightly-made,  graceful,  and  interesting  per- 
sonage. The  idea  that  she  had  come  with  any  set  purpose  to  break 
off  the  Princess's  marriage  is  doubtful.  Still,  the  Prince  of  Orange 
eventually  married  her  sister.  It  would  take  a  long  time  to  unfold 
the  successive  stages  of  this  struggle ;  how  the  young  girl,  prompted 
by  Brougham,  met  every  objection  and  worsted  her  father  and  his 
counsellor.  The  whole  affair,  from  whatever  influence,  presently 
came  to  a  dead  stop. 

In  this  desperate  state  of  things  the  only  resource  was  to  send  for 
the  fiance,  who  was,  in  truth,  taking  the  matter  rather  calmly. 
He  arrived  in  town  on  April  30th.  It  was  strange  that,  following 
the  regular  modern  habit  of  hospitality  to  foreign  sovereigns,  he 
was  allowed  to  shift  for  himself  in  the  matter  of  quarters,  and 
found  a  lodging  at  his  tailor's.  This  may  have  been  to  keep  his 
incognito,* 

Miss  Mercer  (Lady  Keith)  told  Mr,  Greville  in  1832,  that  there 
was  another  reason  for  this  change — that  the  Princess  had  fallen  in 
love  with  "Prince  Augustus  of  Prussia,"  with  whom,  she  says, 
jVEiss  Knight  had  contrived  clandestine  meetings. 

During  this  struggle  the  nation  was  in  a  great  tumult  of  joy  at 
the  defeat  of  ''the  Corsican  ogre."  One  of  the  results  of  this  catas- 
trophe was  the  return  of  the  long-exiled  King  of  France.  He  was 
now  to  take  his  departure,  and  the  Regent,  who,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  shown  the  exiled  family  the  most  marked  honors,  made  this 
the  occasion  for  a  fresh  and  last  display.  Nothing  could  exceed 
the  enthusiasm  and  cordiality  of  the  crowd,  and  the  exertions  of 
the  Regent,  The  French  royal  family  were  to  come  to  town  in 
solemn  procession,  from  Stanmore  Priory. 

During  this  interesting  proceeding,  at  which  the  whole  of  London 
assisted,  there  were  two  persons  almost  purposely  excluded,  the 
Princess  of  Wales  and  her  daughter.  The  young  girl,  who  would 
have  enjoyed  such  a  show,  was  going  herself  in  her  carriage  to  the 
park  to  get  as  good  a  view  as  she  could,  when  the  Grand  Duchess, 
calling  by  chance,  brought  her  to  her  hotel.  There,  we  are  told, 
neither  the  Prince  nor  the  royal  family  took  any  notice  of  her,  "and 

*  "  Mem.  Regency,"  i.  75. 


592  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

this  neglect  seemed  to  press  hard  upon  her,"  adds  Miss  Knight. 
However,  the  honest  mob,  who  by  a  sort  of  instinct  seemed  to  know 
her  case,  welcomed  her  with  delighted  acclamations,  scarcely  allow- 
ing her  to  pass;  indeed,  wherever  she  appeared  now,  this  was  the 
case,  though  she  did  not  seek  it.  The  Regent  certainly  showed  the 
King  and  his  family  the  most  unbounded  devotion,  made  them 
flowery  speeches  in  French,  while  his  brother  Clarence  attended  the 
party  to  France. 

But  there  were  even  greater  festivities  at  hand:  the  foreign  sove- 
reigns were  coming  to  London,  and  the  Regent  w^ould  have  good 
opportunity  for  displaying  his  taste  for  pageants  and  entertainments. 
But  every  step  he  took  in  these  agreeable  plaisanees  was  to  bring  him 
mortilicution  and  a  reminder  of  his  hete  noir.  That  irrepressible 
being,  his  wife,  would  take  advantage  of  the  presence  of  strangers 
to  claim  their  attentions.  Two  drawing-rooms  had  been  announced 
with  much  flourish  in  honor  of  the  illustrious  guests,  and  it  was 
understood  that  the  j'oung  Princess  was  to  appear  at  them.  The 
gossips  found  an  explanation  for  the  two  ceremonials  in  its  being  a 
device  by  which  the  hostile  couple  might  avoid  meeting.  But  at 
the  end  of  May  the  public  were  favored  with  another  episode  of  this 
unhappy  scandal,  which  took  the  shape  of  the  following  communi- 
cation, dated  Windsor  Castle,  May  33rd,  1814: 

"  The  Queen  considers  it  to  be  her  duty  to  lose  no  time  in  ac- 
quainting the  Princess  of  Wales  that  she  has  received  a  communi- 
cation from  her  son,  the  Prince  Regent,  in  which  he  states  that  her 
Majesty's  intention  of  holding  two  drawing-rooms  in  the  ensuing 
month  having  been  notified  to  the  public,  he  must  declare  that  he 
considers  that  his  own  presence  at  her  Court  cannot  be  dispensed 
with;  and  that  he  desires  it  to  be  understood,  for  reasons  of  which 
he  alone  can  be  the  judge,  to  be  his  fixed  and  unalterable  determi- 
nation not  to  meet  the  Princess  of  Wales  upon  any  occasion,  either 
in  public  or  private.  The  Queen  is  thus  placed  under  the  painful 
necessity  of  intimating  to  the  Princess  of  Wales  the  impossibility  of 
her  Majesty's  receiving  her  royal  highness  at  the  drawing-rooms. 

"Charlotte  R." 

The  Princess  was  determined  to  accept  the  challenge  and  go. 
Mr.  Whitbread,  however,  in  the  most  peremptory  manner,  required 
a  letter  of  submission,  written  by  himself,  to  be  adopted. 

The  answer  was  of  the  humblest  kind,  alluding  to  her  unpro- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  593 

tected  state,  and  asking  that  the  reason  of  such  a  slight  should  be 
explained  to  the  illustrious  guests.  She  declared,  however,  that 
she  would  appeal  to  the  public.  The  Queen  answered,  that  she 
would  have  complied  with  the  request,  only  that  the  proposed  pub- 
lication made  it  unnecessary.  What  follows,  and  related  by  Mr. 
Grey  Bennett,  shows  what  a  political  instrument  the  poor  lady  had 
been  made  by  adverse  and  contending  advisers. 

"On  the  night  of  the  25th  Creevey  called  upon  Whitbread,  who 
showed  him  the  letter  and  his  answer.  Creevey's  remark  was, 
'You  have  cut  her  throat;'  and  although  he  does  not  go  all  the 
lengths  of  Brougham,  who  persists  she  ought  to  go  to  Court, 
yet  he  maintains  that  she  ought  to  have  made  as  great  a  noise  as 
possible,  demanding  reasons  why  she  should  be  so  excluded,  etc. 
etc.  Whitbread  was  much  hurt  at  this;  and  yesterday,  the  22nd, 
he  told  Creevey  he  had  deprived  him  of  his  night's  rest.  Last  night 
at  Brookes's,  Creevey  and  I  being  there,  Whitbread  came  in  from 
the  play  very  much  out  of  spirits.  The  waiter  gave  him  a  letter 
from  Brougham,  who  had  missed  seeing  him  in  the  morning. 
Creevey  told  me  it  was  very  impertinent.  Whitbread  sent  his  reply, 
and  Creevey  still  maintaining  that  the  Princess  was  lost  without  a 
hope  of  redemption,  if  some  way  was  not  found  to  get  her  out  of 
the  scrape,  proposed  that  she  should  write  a  letter  to  the  Prince, 
calling  upon  him  to  state  why  she  should  be  excluded  from  Court, 
and  that  her  assent  to  the  Queen's  proposal  was  out  of  respect  to 
her  mother,  and  that  she  did  not  wish  to  be  any  impediment  to  her 
holding  a  drawing-room.  This  letter  was  written  when  I  left 
Brookes's  this  morning  at  two.  It  has  long  been  understood  that 
the  Princess  returning  to  Court  w^as  the  cause  there  was  no  draw- 
ing-room, and  that  the  Prince  was  endeavoring  to  persuade  the 
Queen  to  take  this  step,  she  resisting  unless  writing  by  his  order. 
At  last  she  has  consented,  and  she  will  live  to  repent  it.  On  the 
night  of  the  26th  an  answer  came  back  from  the  Queen,  thanking 
the  Princess  for  her  determination.  MacMahon  had  no  notion  of 
the  letter  to  the  Regent,  and  told  Creevey  in  the  morning  that  it 
was  a  sad  scrape  the  Regent  had  got  into.  Creevey  said,  '  Yes,  it 
is,  as  the  Regent  has  now  declared  his  determination  that  she 
should  not  be  crowned.'  'No,  but  he  has  not,'  replied  MacMahon. 
'Yes,  but  he  has,'  says  Creevey — quoting  the  words  'public  and 
private ' — '  we  think  it  so,  and  have  acted  accordingly.'  MacMahon 
then  said  that  'he  was  sick  to  death  of  the  whole  concern,  and  that 
be  never  went  to  bed  without  wishing  he  might  never  rise  again.' 


594  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 

So  much  for  little  Mac.     Lord  Sidmouth,  upon  M.  An<^elo  Taylor 
speaking  to  him  on  the  subject,  said  it  was  a  fatal  business. 

"The  letter  to  the  Prince  was  a  spirited  one.  She  told  him  that 
she  had  '  been  declared  innocent.  I  will  not  submit  to  be  treated  as 
guilty.  Sir,  your  royal  higliness  may  positively  refuse  to  read  this 
letter;  but  the  world  must  know  that  I  have  written  it,  and  they 
will  see  my  real  motives  for  foregoing,  in  this  instance,  the  rights 
of  my  rank.  Occasions,  however,  may  arise  (one,  I  trust,  is  far 
distant)  when  I  must  appear  in  public,  and  your  royal  highness 
must  be  present  also.  I  w^aive  my  rights  in  a  case  where  I  am  not 
absolutely  bound  to  assert  them,  in  order  to  relieve  the  Queen,  as 
far  as  I  can,  from  the  painful  situation  in  which  she  is  placed  by 
your  royal  highness,  not  from  any  consciousness  of  blame,  nor  from 
any  doubt  of  the  existence  of  those  rights,  or  of  my  own  worthiness 
to  enjoy  them.  Sir,  the  time  you  have  selected  for  this  proceed- 
ing is  calculated  to  make  it  peculiarly  galling.  Many  illustrious 
strangers  are  already  arrived  in  England.  This  season  your  royal 
highness  has  chosen  for  treating  me  with  fresh  and  unprovoked  in- 
dignity; and,  of  all  his  Majesty's  subjects,  I  alone  am  prevented  by 
your  royal  highness  from  appearing  in  my  place,  to  partake  of  the 
general  joy ;  and  am  deprived  of  the  indulgence  in  those  feelings  of 
pride  and  affection  permitted  to  every  mother  but  me.' " 

After  this  protest  she  went  down  to  Worthing,  where  she  dis- 
played herself  on  the  beach.  Here  she  already  conceived  the  idea 
of  leaving  the  country,  demanding  £50,000  a  year,  which  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia,  her  friend  as  she  considered  him,  was  to  ask  the 
Regent  for. 

On  June  8th  the  sovereigns  arrived.  Then  l^egjin  a  series  of 
f6tes,  and  a  banquet  of  the  most  magnificent  description. 

After  the  first  interview  of  the  General  with  the  Prince,  an  inter- 
esting scene  took  place:  "The  Prince  Regent  returned  with  the  gal- 
lant Blttcher  from  his  private  apartments,  and  in  the  centre  of  the 
grand  hall,  surrounded  by  the  people,  placed  a  blue  ribbon  on  his 
shoulder,  fastening  it  with  his  own  hand,  to  which  was  hung  a 
beautiful  medallion,  with  a  likeness  of  the  Prince,  richly  set  with 
diamonds.  The  Marshal  knelt  while  the  Prince  was  conferring  this 
honor,  and  on  his  rising,  kissed  the  Prince's  hand.  The  Prince  and 
the  General  bowed  to  the  public,  whose  acclamations  in  return  ex- 
ceeded description." 

London,  as  Miss  Knight  says,  "was  out  of  its  senses,"  rushing 
after  these  foreign  visitors,  acclaiming  them  with  delight.     But  it 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  595 

must  have  been  infinitely  mortifying  to  the  host  to  find  himself 
greeted,  in  the  presence  of  the  guests  he  wished  to  honor,  with 
hisses  and  groans!  A  fellow  put  his  head  into  the  carriage,  saying; 
"Where's  your  wife?"  On  which  the  Regent,  with  readiness  and 
good-humor,  said  quietly,  "Emperor,  that's  for  you!"  The  latter 
had  insisted  that  his  sister  should  sit  in  the  same  carriage  with  hirh 
and  the  Regent,  which  the  latter  declared  was  impossible,  "as  no 
woman  ever  went  in  the  same  carriage  with  the  sovereign, "  On 
such  a  point  of  etiquette  he  could  be  firm  and  vehement  enough, 
and  the  discussion  was  maintained  for  hours. 

There  was  now  a  geand  state  night  at  the  opera,  which  all  the 
potentates  were  to  visit.  But  again  to  the  Regent  it  was  to  be  a 
night  of  mortification,  for  his  wife  intended  to  be  there— a  com- 
peting attraction.  Hitherto,  his  efforts  to  have  her  excluded  from 
the  various  pageants  had  been  successful.  To  the  Guildhall  ban- 
quet, "the  City,"  who  were  friendly,  dared  not  ask  her.  From  the 
theatre  he  would  also  have  excluded  her  if  he  could.  Here  was  the 
scene : 

"When  we  arrived  at  the  opera,"  says  her  lady-in-w^aiting,  "to 
the  Princess's  and  all  her  attendants'  infinite  surprise,  we  saw  the 
Regent  placed  between  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
all  the  minor  princes,  in  a  box  to  the  right.  '  God  save  the  King' 
was  performing  when  the  Princess  entered,  and  consequently  she 
did  not  sit  down.  I  saw  the  Regent  was  at  that  time  standing  and 
applauding  the  Grassinis.  As  soon  as  the  air  w^as  over,  the  whole 
pit  turned  round  to  the  Princess's  box  and  applauded  her.  We  in- 
treated  her  to  rise  and  make  a  curtsy,  but  she  sat  immovable,  and 

at  last,  turning  round,  she  said  to  Lady :  'My  dear.  Punch's 

wife  is  nobody  when  Punch  is  present.'  '  We  shall  be  hissed,'  said 
Sir  W.  Gell,  'No,  no,'  again  replied  the  Princess  with  infinite 
good-humor,  '  I  know  my  business  better  than  to  take  the  morsel 
out  of  my  husband's  mouth;  lam  not  to  seem  to  know  that  the 
applause  is  meant  for  me  till  they  call  my  name. '  The  Prince 
seemed  to  verify  her  words,  for  he  got  up  and  bowed  to  the  audi- 
ence. This  was  construed  into  a  bow  to  the  Princess,  most  unfor- 
tunately; I  say  most  unfortunately,  because  she  has  been  blamed 
for  not  returning  it ;  but  I,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  circum- 
stance, know  the  Princess  acted  just  as  she  ought  to  have  done. 
The  fact  was,  the  Prince  took  the  applause  to  himself;  and  his 
friends,  or  rather  his  toadies  (for  they  do  not  deserve  the  name  of 
friends),  to  save  him  from  the  imputation  of  this  ridiculous  vanity, 


596  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

chose  to  say  thai  he  did  the  most  beautiful  and  elegant  thing  in  the 
world,  and  bowed  to  his  wife! 

"  Wlien  the  opera  was  finished,  the  Prince  and  his  supporters  were 
applauded,  but  not  enthusiastically;  and  scarcely  had  his  royal  high- 
ness left  the  box,  when  the  people  called  for  the  Princess,  and  gave 
her  a  very  warm  applause.  She  then  went  forward  and  made  three 
curtsies,  and  hastily  withdrew.  When  the  coachman  attempted  to 
drive  home  through  Charles  Street,  the  crowd  of  carriages  was  so 
immense  it  was  impossible  to  pass  down  that  street,  and  with  diffi- 
culty the  Princess's  carriage  backed,  and  we  returned  past  Carlton 
House,  where  the  mob  surrounded  her  carriage,  and,  having  once 
found  out  that  it  was  her  royal  highness,  they  applauded  and  huz- 
zaed her.  The  mob  opened  the  carriage  doors,  and  some  of  them 
insisted  upon  shaking  hands  with  her,  and  asked  if  they  should 
burn  Carlton  House.  'No,  my  good  people,'  she  said;  'be  quite 
quiet — let  me  pass,  and  go  home  to  your  beds.'  " 

The  poor  lady  was  buoyed  up  by  this  success,  in  the  belief  that 
the  sovereign  would  come  to  see  her,  and  a  rumor  reached  her  that 
the  Czar  was  to  call  on  that  or  the  following  daj',  but  he  never 
came.  She  was  delighted.  She  gradually  gave  way  to  the  hope 
which  charmed  her,  and  said — poor  soul! — "  My  ears  are  very  ugly, 
but  I  would  give  them  both  to  persuade  the  Emperor  to  come  to 
me  to  a  ball,  supper,  any  entertainment  that  he  would  choose."  She 
dressed,  and  waited  till  seven,  but  no  Emperor  came. 

The  reception  the  Regent  met  with  on  some  occasions  was  pain- 
ful. "The  Prince  Regent,  with  his  superb  retinue,  passed  along 
Pall  Mall  without  interruption;  but  his  carriage  no  sooner  entered 
the  park  than  the  multitudes  assembled  there  recognized  his  royal 
highness,  and  he  was  annoyed  by  the  most  dismal  yells,  groans,  and 
hisses,  which  continued  the  whole  way  from  ihe  stableyard  to  the 
Queen's  house.  The  horses  were  put  to  their  full  speed  to  carry  his 
royal  highness  through  this  ungracious  scene." 

The  sovereigns  were  in  a  difficult  position,  and  it  is  said  that  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  had  settled  to  call  upon  her,  when,  on  setting 
out,  one  of  the  ministers  came  in  hot  haste  from  the  Regent,  im- 
ploring him  in  his  master's  name  not  to  do  so.  The  King  of  Prussia 
took  the  half-hearted  course  of  sending  his  chamberlain. 

"  The  Regent  was  much  hissed  and  groaned  at,"  wrote  a  lady  to 
Lord  Fitzharris,  "on  his  way  to  and  from  the  drawing-room.  The 
Princess  of  Wales  was  in  one  of  the  private  boxes  upstairs  at  the 
play  last  night,  and  had  a  little  boy  placed  before  her.    Towards 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  597 

the  end  of  the  play  a  man  in  a  higher  box  stood  up,  told  the  house 
they  were  honored  with  the  presence  of  H.RH.  the  Princess  of 
"Wales,  and  desired  she  might  be  cheered,  which  she  was,  three 
times.  *  God  save  the  King '  called  for,  and  excessive  applause  at 
the  lines,  'Confound  their  politics,  frustrate  their  knavish  tricks;' 
and,  after  all,  this  champion  called  for  *  three  cheers  more  for  an 
oppressed  Princess,  who  should  go  to  Court ' — more  cheering.  All 
this  is  lamentable."  Nor  was  this  the  only  victory  obtained  by  the 
luckless  Princess.  It  will  be  recollected  that  on  the  recovery  of  the 
King,  twenty  years  before,  White's  club  gave  a  grand  political  gala, 
and  it  was  determined  to  give  an  entertainment  on  a  scale  of  simi- 
lar magnificence  to  the  sovereigns.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire  was 
induced  to  offer  his  spacious  house  and  gardens  in  Piccadilly  for 
the  festival,  and  many  of  the  fine  old  trees  which  ornamented  his 
grounds  had  actually  been  cut  down.  "But suddenly,  when  the 
committee  was  in  council,  a  message  came  from  a  great  person  to 
the  committee  to  desire  to  know  what  style  of  company  they  meant 
to  ask  to  their  ball,  or  some  clumsy  hint  of  this  sort ;  which  the 
committee  however  understood,  for  they  sent  back  word  that  they 
meant  to  request  the  Regent  himself  to  invite  all  the  royalties  whom 
he  wished  should  be  there,  and  that  they  should  send  a  number  of 
tickets  to  him  for  that  purpose.  But  this  was  not  deemed  secure 
enough  to  exclude  the  obnoxious  individual;  for  some  member,  a 
friend  to  the  Regent  (it  was  said  to  be  Lord  Yarmouth),  made  a 
motion  that  no  member  should  give  away  his  tickets  except  to  his 
relations,  or  that  some  line  of  rank  should  be  drawn,  such  as  that 
no  one  but  peers'  daughters  should  be  invited,  so  as  to  exclude 
canaille  and  higher  rank  likewise.  Upon  this  Lord  Sefton  got  up 
and  said  it  was  easy  to  see  these  confused  proposals  were  meant  to 
exclude  the  Princess  of  Wales;  and  he  observed  that,  as  one  of  the 
members,  every  ticket  he  subscribed  for  was  his  own,  and  every 
one  of  them  he  intended  to  send  to  the  Princess,  to  be  disposed  of 
as  she  pleased.  Fourteen  other  members  said  the  same;  but  as  they 
were  not  the  majority,  and  as  those  who  were  to  pay  for  the  diver- 
sion were  not  to  have  leave  to  do  what  they  pleased  at  it,  they  de- 
termined they  would  give  no  ball  at  all."  This,  no  doubt,  was  the 
origin  of  the  animosity  which  so  long  raged  between  the  Prince  (as 
Regent  and  King)  and  the  objecting  nobleman ;  the  latter,  like  Brum- 
mel,  exercising  his  ready  wit  and  persiflage  on  the  weakness  of  his 
sovereign. 
A  few  days  after  the  scene  at  Drury  Lane,  there  was  to  be  a  com- 


598  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

mand-night  at  Druiy  Lane  Theatre,  and  when  the  Regent's  wife 
sent  for  a  box  she  was  informed  they  were  all  engaged.  It  is  not 
uncharitable  to  presume  that  this  was  prompted  by  tlie  Court.  It 
Was  contrived  that  a  box  should  be  secured,  when  a  letter  arrived 
from  Mr.  Whitbread  advising  her  on  no  account  to  go.  Her  case, 
he  said,  was  coming  on  in  the  House  of  Commons.  * '  You  see,  my 
dear,"  she  said  to  one  of  her  ladies,  "how  I  am  plagued.  My 
friends  torment  me  as  much  as  my  enemies."  Go,  however,  she 
would,  but  Mr.  Whitbread  arrived  and  succeeded  in  dissuading  her. 

Kor  was  her  daughter  treated  more  kindly.  During  all  these 
fgtes  she  w^as  allowed  to  appear  at  only  one  dinner,  but  was  rigor- 
ously excluded  from  even  the  parties  given  by  noblemen  in  honor 
of  the  sovereigns.  Even  for  the  drawing-room  she  was  allotted  a 
garret  at  the  top  of  the  Queen's  house  to  dress  in,  and  it  was  only 
on  the  remonstrances  of  the  surgeons  that  it  was  changed  for  a 
more  suitable  one.  She  was  deeply  wounded  at  the  exclusion  of 
her  mother,  and  hesitated  about  going.  However,  with  her  usual 
spirit,  she  showed  herself  in  the  parks  and  public  drives,  her  smil- 
ing face  winning  all  hearts,  and  the  people  calling  to  her:  "God 
bless  you!  Don't  desert  your  mother!"  Finally  all  these  festivities 
were  brought  to  a  close,  and  the  sovereigns  departed. 

One  result  of  these  meetings  of  the  continental  sovereigns  in 
London  and  Paris  was  the  famous  fantastic  league  known  as  *'  The 
Holy  Alliance,"  engendered  in  the  somewhat  exalte  disposition  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander.  When  it  was  arranged,  the  Regent  was 
invited  to  join.  The  spirit  of  the  engagement  was  wholly  foreign 
to  the  English  Constitution,  as  Lord  Liverpool  pointed  out  to  his 
royal  master,  who  accordingly  put  it  aside  in  the  following  conven- 
tional reply  to  each  of  the  three  members : 


THE  REGENT  TO  THE  SOVEREIGNS. 

*'  Carlton  House,  Oct.  6, 1816. 
"  My  DEAR  Brother  and  Cousin, 

"  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  Majesty's  letter,  to 
gether  with  the  copy  of  the  treaty  between  your  Majesty  and  youi 
high  allies,  signed  at  Paris  on  the  26th  of  September.  As  the  forms 
of  the  British  Constitution  which  I  am  called  upon  to  maintain  in 
the  name  and  in  the  place  of  the  King  my  father,  prevent  me  from 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  599 

acceding  to  the  treaty  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  laid  before  me,  I 
choose  this  way  to  convey  to  the  august  sovereigns  who  have  signed 
it,  my  entire  concurrence  in  the  principles  which  they  have  ex- 
pressed, and  in  the  declaration  which  they  have  made,  that  they 
will  take  the  Divine  precepts  of  the  Christian  religion  as  the  un- 
alterable rule  of  their  conduct  in  all  their  social  and  political  con- 
duct." 


600  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 


CHAPTER   XII. 

1814. 

We  may  now  return  to  the  question  of  the  young  Princess's 
marriage,  the  progress  of  which  had  been  suspended  during  these 
galas. 

A  great  concession,  as  it  was  conceived,  was  now  to  be  made, 
and  two  Articles  were  forwarded  to  her  by  Lord  Liverpool,  to  the 
effect  that  she  was  not  to  leave  the  country  without  permission  of 
the  Regent,  who  was  to  have  power  to  recall  her,  and  that  she 
was  not  to  be  absent  more  than  a  certain  number  of  months  in  the 
year.  She  answered  that  "this  gave  her  no  security  in  case  the 
Regent  and  the  Prince  of  Orange  should  agree.  She  debated  the 
question  formally  with  the  ministers,  and  at  last  Lord  Liverpool 
told  her  bluntly  that  her  wishes  could  not  be  complied  with.  On 
this  she  wrote  to  her  suitor  with  unconcealed  delight  to  tell  him 
that  it  was  all  at  an  end! 

However,  the  matter  was  once  more  renewed.  The  Prince  of 
Orange  appealed  to  his  father,  and  finally  an  Article  was  accepted 
by  both  parties,  to  the  effect  that  she  was  not  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
kingdom  against  her  consent,  or  detained  longer  than  she  choose. 

The  Regent  was  the  bearer  of  this  concession,  and,  accompanied 
by  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  came  to  pay  one  of  his  dreaded  visits, 
threatening  and  cajoling  her.  He  was  greatly  out  of  humor,  and 
tried  to  persuade  her  that  now  the  concession  was  made,  she  must 
give  no  more  trouble  and  of  herself  yield  on  the  point.  This  was 
on  June  6th.  Miss  Knight  also  he  tried  to  bring  round,  protesting 
that  he  had  only  agreed  to  the  marriage  to  please  his  daughter,  and 
dwelling  on  his  own  "parental  affection."  The  old  Queen  then 
proceeded  to  buy  her  trousseau;  and  the  young  Princess  was  told 
that,  as  soon  as  her  sovereign  was  gone,  the  wedding  should  take 
place.  These  proceedings  threw  her  into  intense  alarm  and  anxiety. 
She  seems  also  to  have  been  seriously  ill  with  an  affection  in  her 
knee,  the  pain  of  which  prevented  her  sleeping,  so  that  the  surgeons 
ordered  her  at  once  to  the  sea;  but  no  attention  was  paid  to  them. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  601 

The  Czar  even  had  been  employed,  bringing  with  him  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  begging  of  her  to  see  him,  and  using  all  arguments,  asking 
her,  was  she  going  to  give  up  so  good  a  match — "all  to  be  praised 
by  a  Mr.  Whitbread?"  he  added,  pointing  to  The  Times  newspaper, 
which  was  on  the  table. 

It  seemed  it  was  impossible  to  daunt  the  Prince  of  Orange.  For 
all  this  worry  and  torture  he  was  indirectly  responsible :  and,  for 
a  candidate,  there  was  something  undignified  in  his  behavior.  She 
had  now  consented  to  see  him,  but  their  meetings  did  not  add  to  his 
favor  in  her  eyes.  His  behavior,  too,  did  not  recommend  him.  It 
was  reported  that  he  came  to  her  having  taken  too  much  wine,  and 
was  described  as  having  come  from  some  races  on  the  top  of  a 
stage-coach,  drunk  and  riotous.  His  future  bride  was  heard  to 
declare,  that  "he  was  so  ugly  she  could  not  speak  to  him  without 
turning  away  her  face." 

It  having  now  fastened  on  her  mind  that  if  she  once  left  the 
country  her  mother  would  be  helpless,  she  tried  to  raise  a  new  issue, 
announcing  to  him  that  she  would  not  leave  England;  that  when 
she  had  a  house  of  her  own  it  must  be  opened  to  both  her  parents. 
This  he  could  not  agree  to.  Disputes  arose  on  petty  subjects.  She 
wished  him  to  ride  with  her  in  the  riding-house,  to  which  he  made 
some  objection.  She  made  a  point  of  it;  then,  annoyed  at  her  par- 
tin  acity,  he  broke  away,  and  left  her  to  recover  her  temper. 
Delighted  at  the  pretext,  she  wrote  to  him  that  evening,  June  16th: 

"After  what  has  passed  upon  this  subject  this  morning  between 
us  (which  was  much  too  conclusive  to  require  further  explanation), 
I  must  couoider  our  engagement  from  this  moment  to  be  totally  and 
forever  at  an  end.  I  leave  the  explanation  of  this  affair  to  be  made 
by  you  to  the  Prince  in  whatever  manner  is  most  agreeable  to  you, 
trusting  it  entirely  to  your  honor,  of  which  I  have  never  for  a 
moment  doubted.  I  cannot  conclude  without  expressing  the  sin- 
cere concern  I  feel  in  being  the  cause  of  giving  you  pain." 

At  a  ball  that  night  at  Hertford  House,  he  laughed  with  a  friend 
at  what  he  called  her  "tantrums,"  but  was  gravely  warned  that  it 
was  serious.  On  the  next  morning  her  letter  reached  him.  She 
sent  a  copy  of  it  to  her  mother,  who  was  enchanted  and  flattered  at 
being  made  the  cause  of  the  rupture.  He  did  not  answer  it  at  once, 
but  two  days  later  wrote  that  at  last  he  accepted  the  plain  dec- 
laration so  often  made  to  him, 
20 


602  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV, 

"8  Clifford  Street,  June  18, 1814. 
"My  dear  Charlotte, 

"I  found  the  night  before  last  your  letter,  and  have  lost  no 
time  to  acquaint  my  family  with  its  contents.  But  I  cannot  com- 
ply with  your  wish  by  doing  the  same  with  regard  to  the  Regent, 
finding  it  much  more  natural  that  you  should  do  it  yourself;  and  it 
is,  besides,  much  too  delicate  a  matter  for  me  to  say  anything  to  him 
on  the  subject.  Hoping  that  you  shall  never  feel  any  cause  to 
repent  of  the  step  you  have  taken,  I  remain, 

"  Yours  truly, 

"William." 

The  Princess  laughed  scornfully  at  this  epistle.  "Good  English 
he  writes,"  she  said,  pointing  to  the  last  sentence. 

But  there  was,  in  truth,  another  important  influence  which  had 
its  share  in  this  change.  The  volatile  young  Princess  seems  to  have 
once  more  transferred  her  affections.  In  the  crowd  of  kings  and 
princes  had  arrived  the  Prince  Leopold,  a  young  man  of  two-and- 
twenty,  who  had  struck  her  the  very  first  time  she  saw  him,  when 
she  expressed  her  astonishment  that  a  young  lady  of  her  acquain- 
tance, to  whom  he  was  devoting  himself,  could  be  indifferent  to  the 
attention  of  so  handsome  a  man.*  He  had  brought  a  letter  to  her 
from  the  Duke  of  Brunswick,  and  she  was  so  pleased  with  him  that, 
as  she  told  Stockmar  long  after,  she  spoke  of  him  to  her  aunt,  the 
Duchess  of  York,  saying  that  she  would  like  to  know  him  better, 
but  had  no  opportunity,  as  she  was  excluded  from  all  the  balls;  on 
which  the  Duchess  declared  she  would  give  a  ball  for  her  specially. 
He  was  invited  to  tea  at  "Warwick  House,  when  he  commended 
himself  still  further.  In  the  park  he  would  ride  near  the  carriage 
and  try  to  be  noticed.  He  boldly  allowed  his  aims  to  be  known,  and 
was  adroit  in  his  behavior  to  the  Regent.  He  succeeded  in  offend- 
ing no  one,  and  secured  good-natured  toleration  and  even  good 
wishes  for  his  success  from  all.  After  he  went  away,  the  Regent 
declared  him  to  be  a  most  honorable  young  man,  and  that  he  was 
perfectly  satisfied  with  a  letter  of  explanation  which  he  had  written 
to  him.f 

The  bishop  had  now  been  throwing  out  some  alarming  hints  to 
the  effect  that,  unless  the  Princess  yielded,  some  awful  measures 
would  be  taken.   Then  came  a  lull.   It  was  now  the  morning  of  the 

♦  Lady  Rose  Wefgall,  "Princess  Charlotte,"  p.  183. 
t  Miss  Knight,  '•  Autobiography,"  L  301. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  603 

11th  of  July,  and  it  was  known  that  the  bishop  had  been  closeted  for 
hours  with  the  Regent.  The  poor  girl,  conscious  that  some  mischief 
was  impending,  was  ill  and  nervous,  when,  about  five  o'clock,  a 
message  arrived  that  she  and  her  duenna  were  to  go  over  at  once  to 
Carlton  House.  She  declared  she  was  unequal  to  a  fresh  scene,  and 
Miss  Knight  went  alone.  The  Regent  insisted  his  daughter  should 
come  the  next  day.  Already  it  had  leaked  out  that  she  was  to  be 
removed  to  her  father's  house,  to  a  sort  of  honorable  captivity.  No 
visits  or  letters  were  to  be  received,  and  all  her  servants  and 
friends  were  to  be  dismissed  and  some  creatures  of  the  Regent 
put  about  her.  The  following  day  she  was  again  summoned, 
and  again  declined  to  go.  Towards  six  o'clock  the  Regent  made 
his  appearance,  and  sent  down  for  her.  Now  w^ae  the  supreme 
moment.  She  came  out  from  that  interview  "in  the  greatest 
agony,"  saying  to  Miss  Knight  that  she  had  but  an  instant  to  speak 
to  her,  telling  her  that  the  new  ladies  were  in  the  house,  that  the 
servants  were  dismissed,  that  she  was  to  be  shut  up  and  was  to  see 
no  one  but  his  friends,  and  that  if  she  did  not  go  at  once  the  Prince 
would  come  himself.  Falling  on  her  knees  she  exclaimed  passion- 
ately, "  God  Almighty  grant  me  patience!" 

Miss  Knight,  then  sent  for,  was  told  that  she  was  dismissed — that 
her  room  was  wanted  for  that  very  evening.  The  Regent  added  he 
was  sorry  to  put  a  lady  to  inconvenience.  She  answered  that  her 
father  had  suffered  for  fifty  years,  serving  his  country,  so  she  was 
not  likely  to  mind  a  few  hours'  inconvenience.  On  this  he  said 
there  was  a  room  at  Carlton  House  which  she  might  have  for  a 
night  or  two.     This  she  declined. 

The  young  Princess  was  shut  up  in  her  bedroom  when  the 
bishop  came  and  knocked  violently  at  the  door.  This  she  fancied 
was  her  father  come  to  seize  her,  and  in  fresh  terror  she  fled  away 
by  another  door. 

As  Miss  Knight  came  out  she  met  Miss  Mercer  crying,  who  de- 
clared that  she  could  not  find  the  Princess,  and  that  she  believed 
she  had  fled  from  the  house.     So  it  proved  to  be. 

The  next  day  all  London  was  talking  of  the  elopement,  and  the 
daring  act  of  the  young  girl.  Miss  Mercer  was  at  a  window  that 
looked  into  the  lane  that  led  from  Warwick  House  when  she  heard 
people  declare  that  it  was  the  Princess  that  had  passed  them  down 
the  lane.  The  two  ladies  rushed  to  the  Regent,  and  told  him  that 
the  Princess  had  declared  she  would  go  to  her  mother,  and  before 
they  could  interfere  was  gone.    The  Prince  answered  he  was  glad, 


604  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  /F. 

as  now  people  would  see  what  she  was,  and  on  the  Continent,  when 
it  became  known,  no  one  would  marry  her.  The  bishop  and  Miss 
Mercer  offered  to  go  for  her. 

The  young  Princess  had  rushed  into  the  street,  and,  stopping 
a  hackney-coach,  offered  the  astonished  driver  a  guinea  to  take 
her  to  Connaught  Place.  Lord  Brougham  relates  what  followed. 
He  was  dining  out  when  a  message  was  brought  to  him  beg- 
ging him  to  go  to  the  Princess  of  Wales.  Assuming  this  to  be  one 
of  the  Princess  of  Wales's  humors,  and  being  tired  with  having 
sat  up  the  night  before,  he  sent  word  that  he  was  unable  to  go. 
"The  messenger  brought  back  word  that  I  was  wanted  on  most 
particular  business,  and  that  a  coach  was  waiting  at  the  door  by 
express  commands.  I  was  obliged  to  comply,  and  fell  asleep  as 
soon  as  I  stepped  into  it,  not  awaking  till  it  reached  Connaught 
Place.  I  stumbled  upstairs,  still  half  asleep,  to  the  drawing-room. 
To  my  astonishment,  I  found  both  my  hands  seized  by  the  Princess 
Charlotte.  She  said,  'Oh,  it  is  too  long  to  tell  now,  for  I  have 
ordered  dinner,  and  I  hope  it  will  soon  come  up.'  We  sat  down  to 
dinner,  and  she  was  in  high  spirits,  seeming  to  enjoy  herself  like  a 
bird  set  loose  from  its  cage. 

"  There  came  while  we  were  at  table  various  persons  sent  by  the 
Regent:  the  Chancellor  Eldon,  Bishop  of  Salisbury  (the  tutor); 
Lord  Ellenborough ;  Adam,  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall ; 
and  Leach.  All  anived  one  after  another,  and  as  they  were 
announced  the  Princess  or  her  daugliter  said  what  was  to  be  done 
with  each.  Eldon  being  named,  they  said,  "Oh  no;  let  him  wait 
in  his  carriage,"  which  was,  like  that  of  the  Princess  Charlotte 
and  all  the  others,  a  hackney-coach.  The  Duke  of  Sussex,  not 
having  been  sent  by  the  Regent,  was  brought  upstairs;  and  none  of 
the  others  had  any  communication  with  our  party  except  the  Duke 
of  York,  whom  the  Princess  of  Wales  saw  for  a  few  miuutes  in  the 
room  below. 

"  '  They  may  wear  me  out,'  the  Princess  Charlotte  said,  '  by  ill- 
treatment,  and  may  represent  that  I  have  changed  my  mind  and 
consented.'  We  then  conversed  upon  the  subject  with  the  others, 
and  after  a  long  discussion  on  that  and  her  lesser  grievances,  she 
took  me  aside  and  asked  me  what,  upon  the  whole,  I  advised  her  to 
do.  I  said  at  once,  '  Return  to  Warwick  House  or  Carlton  House, 
and  on  no  account  to  pass  a  night  out  of  her  own  house.'  She  was 
extremely  affected,  and  cried,  asking  if  I  too  refused  to  stand  by 
her.     I  said  quite  the  contrary,  and  that  as  to  the  marriage  I  gave 


THE  LIFE  OF  GBOBQE  IV.  605 

no  opinion,  except  that  she  must  follow  her  own  inclination  entirely, 
but  that  her  returning  home  was  absolutely  necessary;  and  in  this 
all  the  rest  fully  agreed. 

"The  day  now  began-  to  dawn,  and  I  took  her  to  the  window. 
The  election  of  Cochrane  (after  his  expulsion  owing  to  the  sentence 
of  the  court,  which  both  ensured  his  re-election  and  abolished  the 
pillory)  was  to  take  place  that  day.  I  said :  '  Look  there,  madam, 
in  a  few  hours  all  the  streets  and  the  park,  now  empty,  will  be 
crowded  with  tens  of  thousands.  I  have  only  to  take  you  to  that 
window,  and  show  you  to  the  multitude,  and  tell  them  your  griev- 
ances, and  they  will  all  rise  in  your  behalf.'  'And  why  should 
they  not?'  I  think  she  said,  or  some  such  words.  'The  commo- 
tion, '  I  answered,  '  will  be  excessive ;  Carlton  House  will  be  attacked 
— perhaps  pulled  down;  the  soldiers  will  be  ordered  out;  blood  will 
be  shed;  and  if  your  royal  highness  were  to  live  a  hundred  years 
it  never  would  be  forgotten  that  your  running  away  from  your 
father's  house  was  the  cause  of  the  mischief;  and  you  may  depend 
upon  it,  such  is  the  English  people's  horror  of  bloodshed,  you  never 
would  get  over  it.'  She  at  once  felt  the  truth  of  my  assertion,  and 
consented  to  see  her  uncle  Frederic." 

The  night  was  an  exciting  one.  Not  till  two  in  the  morning  was 
she  persuaded  to  yield.  The  heroic  girl  made  a  solemn  protest,  that 
she  was  resolved  not  to  marry  the  Prince  of  Orange.  She  desired  a 
note  to  be  made  of  this  protest,  which  was  duly  signed,  and  six 
copies  were  taken  and  given  to  those  present.  Her  positive  injunc- 
tions  were  laid  on  them,  that  if  ever  the  attempt  to  renew  the  mar- 
riage should  be  made,  it  was  to  be  given  to  the  public.  It  is  amazing 
to  read  the  self-possession  and  decision  of  this  young  creature  in  stay- 
ing an  emergency.  Her  old  enemy  the  Chancellor  had  a  share  in 
compelling  her  to  surrender.  ",When  we  arrived,"  he  says,  "I 
informed  her  that  a  carriage  was  at  the  door,  and  we  would  attend 
her  home.  But  home  she  would  not  go.  She  kicked  and  bounced ; 
but  would  not  go.  Well,  to  do  my  office  as  gently  as  I  could,  I  told 
her  I  was  sorry  for  it,  for  until  she  did  go,  she  would  be  obliged  to 
entertain  us,  as  we  could  not  leave  her.     At  last  she  accompanied 


*  There  were  many  accounts  of  this  strange  dramatic  scene.  Lord  Brougham 
has  been  ridiculed  for  the  share  he  gives  himself  in  this  affair.  His  various 
statements  as  to  his  sitting  down  to  dinner  with  the  Princess;  the  idea  of  such 
important  personages  as  the  Chancellor  and  others  being  kept  waiting  in 
hackney-coaches  outside,  and  above  all  the  melodramatic  speech  at  the  win- 


606  THE  LtFB  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

The  sensation  caused  by  these  proceedings  may  be  imagined. 
From  that  moment  the  young  Princess  became  endeared  to  the  peo- 
ple, for  the  fact  of  a  young  girl  having  to  fly  from  the  house  of 
her  father  was  a  presumption  of  ill-treatment.  Indeed,  what  can  be 
said  of  the  Regent,  who  at  every  step  seemed  to  blunder  afresh!  It 
was  remarked  that  the  behavior  of  the  Princess  of  Wales  showed  an 
unexpected  good  sense,  and  no  one,  it  was  noticed,  was  so  eager  that 
the  Princess  should  leave  the  house  and  go  back  to  her  father's.*  It 
was  natural  that  the  young  girl  should  consider  this  a  desertion  at 
such  a  crisis,  and,  after  casting  her  lot  with  her  mother,  should  resent 
such  cold  welcome.  It  seems  that  from  this  time  a  change  took 
place  in  her  feelings.  An  affectionate  parent  would  have  laid  aside 
the  cautious  warnings  of  "advisers,"  and  have  chivalrously  cast  her 
lot  with  her.  Such  an  element  of  strength  would  have  been  invalu, 
able,  and  the  idea  of  the  Chief  Justice  issuing  his  Habeas  Corpus,  or 
the  officers  of  the  law  arriving  to  drag  the  young  Princess  away,  was 
too  ludicrous  to  be  entertained  a  moment.  A  tumult  would  have 
followed  of  a  most  serious  kind,  and  the  Regent  have  excited  such  a 
storm  of  execration  as  he  could  never  have  surmounted.  But  the 
Princess  of  Wales  at  that  moment  was  busy  with  a  plan  that  con- 
cerned her  own  interest,  and  she  might  have  been  afraid  of  imperil- 
ling it. 

As  the  young  Princess  was  now  to  be  under  a  sort  of  restraint,  it 
was  determined  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  Mr.  Brougham  put  forward 
the  Duke  of  Sussex  as  his  niece's  protector.     Accordingly,  in  the 


dow,  have  been  doubted.  That  his  statements  are  substantially  correct  can 
be  shown.  Lord  Dundonald,  however,  states— at  the  last  page  of  his  memoir 
—that  the  speech  at  the  window  was  made  by  the  Duke  of  Sussex.  But  this 
is  improbable,  as  it  is  exactly  the  topic  that  the  popular  orator  would  have 
urged.  Further,  his  account  was  read  to  the  Duke,  and  accepted.  A  point  is 
made  that  Lord  Cochrane's  election  did  not  take  place  until  some  days  later. 
Lord  Cochrane  himself  says  that  it  took  place  on  that  day,  and  this  is  urged 
as  proof  that  the  scene  was  only  engendered  in  Lord  Brougham's  imagina- 
tion. In  any  case  it  is  evident  that,  as  an  election  was  going  on,  the  nomina- 
tion having  taken  place  on  the  day  before,  and  the  polling  to  come  on  later, 
he  wished  to  impress  on  the  Princess  that  the  neighborhood  was  In  a  state  of 
excitement  which  would  be  inflamed  by  the  incident. 

•  See  also  the  Duke  of  Sussex's  account,  "Memoir  of  Adolphus,"  p.  175. 
We  cannot  accept  the  fanciful  theory  of  "  The  Edinburgh  Review  "  that  all 
felt  that  a  night  passed  under  her  mother's  roof,  whither  "the  Sapios" 
resorted,  etc.,  would  Ixave  been  contamination.  It  was  obviously  felt  that,  if 
she  returned,  the  matter  was  merely  a  visit;  but  if  she  slept  there,  it  became 
a  refuge,  and  the  Rubicon  had  been,  as  it  were,  passed. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  607 

House  of  Lords,  on  July  the  19th,  after  talking  of  his  "agitated 
feelirfgs."  that  Prince  put  questions  to  Lord  Liverpool  as  to  the 
position  of  the  Princess :  whether  she  was  allowed  to  communicate 
with  her  friends  in  writing  or  otherwise ;  was  she  prevented  going 
to  the  sea;  was  she  to  have  an  establishment  suitable  to  her  rank? 
The  minister,  with  visible  reluctance,  rose  to  declare  that  he  declined 
giving  any  answer — that  it  was  unbecoming  to  put  such  questions. 
The  Prince  was  "the  father  of  his  family,"  and  was  "affected  with 
great  tenderness  and  love  towards  his  child,"  had  adopted  measures 
for  her  good,  "agreeably  to  the  duties  which  God,  nature,  and  the 
laws  of  the  country  imposed  upon  him. '  After  this  pretty  picture, 
the  Duke  vindicated  himself  from  any  disrespect,  but  the  Chancellor 
treated  him  in  rather  a  severe  style,  and  gave  him  a  good  lecture  on 
his  behavior.  It  was  said  that  a  sudden  "  fit  of  asthma"  furnished 
him  with  a  convenient  excuse  for  withdrawing  from  the  business. 

He  had  previously  sent  a  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  asking  to  be 
allowed  to  see  his  niece,  and  received  for  an  answer:  "  The  Regent 
has* read  the  letter,  and  has  no  commands."  Mr.  Brougham,  excited 
by  the  contest,  was  prompting  other  friends,  trying  to  stir  up  Lord 
Grey,  the  Princess's  friend,  declaring  that  he  was  sure  she  was 
"game,"  and  would  go  to  the  Tower  if  necessary.  One  of  his 
schemes  was  "to  set  Peter  Plymley  on  them,"  and  if  he  failed,  to  get 
the  Princess  herself  to  ask  him  to  write  in  her  cause.  But  Lord 
Grey  felt  that  such  a  struggle  between  her  relations  carried  on  in 
public  was  unbecoming,  and  likely  to  cause  mischief.  He  and  Lord 
Grenville  strongly  opposed  the  matter  being  renewed. 

Meanwhile  the  young  Princess's  allowances  had  been  formally  cut 
off.  She  was  obliged  to  sell  some  of  her  jewels  to  pay  tradesmen 
distressed  for  their  money,  with  certain  little  pensions  to  the  poor. 
She  was  also  forced  to  admit  one  of  her  ladies  to  sleep  in  the  same 
room  or  in  the  next,  the  door  being  left  open.  All  her  letters  and 
parcels  were  searched.  Her  friends  had  taken  care  to  publish  the 
opinion  of  her  three  physicians,  that  she  ought  to  be  sent  to  the  sea- 
side, a  step  that  caused  "great  anger  "  at  Carlton  House.  Dr.  Baillie 
interrogated  Miss  Knight  in  a  manner  "most  unjustifiable,"  by  order 
of  the  Prince.  She  was  not  allowed  to  go  until  the  end  of  August. 
She  also  was  put  to  the  question  as  to  whether  she  had  set  on  her 
uncle  to  bring  her  case  forward.  Nor  did  the  Regent  want  defenders ; 
his  hired  writers  in  The  Post,  and  others,  presenting  him  as  an 
injured  father.  "Aware  of  this  unnatural,  rebellion,"  wrote  the 
Rev.  Bate  Dudley,  "the  royal  parent,  as  might  be  expected,  became 


608  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

anxious  to  ascertain  the  description  of  persons  b}'-  whom  his  daughtei* 
was  immediately  surrounded,  and  by  means  of  one  of  the  most  pious 
and  virtuous  characters  of  the  land  it  was  discovered  that  many  of 
her  associates  were  persons  possessing  pernicious  sentiments,  alike 
hostile  to  the  peace  of  the  daughter,  the  father,  and  the  country. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  whole  of  the  obnoxious  associates 
were  dismissed  by  order  of  the  Regent."  This  gross  attack  upon 
ladies  who,  at  the  worst,  could  have  been  only  a  little  indiscreet, 
was  characteristic  of  the  press  of  the  day. 

After  all  this  dissatisfaction  and  excitement  it  is  not  surprising 
to  find  that  the  Regent  was  now  in  a  bad  condition  of  health.  He 
had  organized  a  series  of  shows — his  favorite  pastime — to  commem- 
orate the  peace,  and  vast  sums  of  money  had  been  laid  out  on 
these  pageants.  But  his  nerves  were  shaken  by  these  agitations, 
and  by  the  rough  and  hostile  greetings  which  saluted  him  in  public; 
and,  indeed,  it  is  not  often  that  a  prince  is  found  who  is  engaged 
in  a  double  contest  with  a  wife  and  daughter,  both  of  whom  are 
popular.  The  old  Queen  was  credited  with  the  late  proceedings, 
and  was  held  in  such  detestation  by  the  crowd  that  on  coming  from 
a  party  at  Carlton  House  she  was  nearly  mobbed.  "  The  hooting, 
hissing,  and  abuse,"  says  Lord  Grey — "there  was  no  form  of  re- 
proach that  did  not  assail  her  ears — was  more  violent  and  alarming 
than  ever."  Her  son  had  to  send  his  aide-de-camp  to  protect  her; 
but  the  high-spirited  old  Queen  disdainfully  rejected  all  assistance, 
declaring  that  she  had  been  nearly  fifty  years  in  the  country,  and 
had  never  been  so  insulted.  "And  now,"  she  added  grotesquely, 
"  I  be  sphit  upon!"  Her  situation  was  indeed  pitiable — grown  old, 
in  ill-health,  neglected;  her  husband,  her  family  discordant;  she 
must  have  looked  back  with  despair  to  the  old  days — the  walking 
on  the  terrace  at  Windsor  with  her  husband  in  his  blue  uniform, 
surrounded  by  a  dutiful  family,  and  saluted  by  the  respectful  and 
affectionate  homage  of  the  crowd. 

The  shows  consisted  of  galas  in  the  parks,  where  the  Regent  was 
delighted  to  have  an  opportunity  of  erecting  pagodas,  temples,  and 
bridges  of  an  elaborate  kind  made  of  wood,  to  say  nothing  of  ridicu- 
lous "  sea  fights"  between  tiny  craft  on  the  ornamental  water. 

But  now  the  Regent  was  to  receive  an  intimation  of  an  unex- 
pected kind,  which  must  have  rejoiced  him.  The  object  of  his 
dislike  was  about  to  leave  him  in  peace,  disgusted  and  wearied  out 
by  the  recent  mortifications.  The  Princess  of  Wales  sickened  with 
the  long  Ptniggle;  finding,  moreover,  that  her  life  was  passing  away 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  609 

in  wretchedness  and  dulness,  with  no  prospect  of  relief,  determined 
to  quit  the  country.  Knowing  that  this  step  would  be  distasteful 
to  her  regular  Radical  advisers,  she  did  not  consult  them,  but 
invited  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  G,  Leveson;*  and 
employed  the  former  to  draw  up  a  formal  application  to  Lord 
Liverpool  for  permission  to  reside  abroad.  The  ministry  proposed 
to  give  her  £50,000  a  year.  Curious  to  say,  the  discussions  which 
gave  her  the  welcome  annuity  had  brought  out  the  unexpected  fact 
that  regular  articles  of  separation  had  been  signed  in  1809,  which 
settled  on  her  an  allowance  of  £17,000  a  year. 

It  was  odd  to  find  her  friend  Mr.  Whitbread  vehemently  opposing 
the  application,  declaring  that  the  Princess  had  never  asked  for 
any  money,  that  the  sum  seemed  too  much.  As  the  Princess  quit- 
ted England  within  the  month  it  was  not  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  this  sudden  liberality  was  in  view  of  her  departure  from  this 
country,  which  she  had  announced  as  early  as  the  first  week  in 
June.f  On  the  following  day,  worked  on  by  Mr.  Whitbread,  wlio 
almost  compelled  her  to  follow  his  advice,  she  had  written  to 
the  Speaker,  declaring  that  she  was  unwilling  to  "burden  the 
people"  with  so  large  a  sum,  and  that  £35,000  would  be  sufllcient 
for  her  wants.  The  Government  took  no  notice  of  this  proposal 
till  the  8th  of  the  next  month,  when  Lord  Castlereagh  hinted  at  its 
not  being  her  own  act,  and  said  she  herself  had  gladly  accepted  the 
money.  He  added,  rather  contemptuously,  that  he  hoped  capital 
would  not  be  made  out  of  this  attempt  at  self-abnegation.  But  the 
reduced  sum  was  finally  voted. 

An  appeal  to  Mr.  IBrougham  and  Mr.  Whitbread  produced  a 
solemn  warning  from  the  former,  in  which  he  declared  that  abroad 
she  would  be  followed  by  spies,  and  exposed  to  all  dangers  from 
misrepresentations;  whereas  in  England  she  was  safe.  He  told  her 
there  were  designs  for  divorcing  her.  He  enjoined  her  to  stay  only 
a  short  time.  In  fact,  he  made  a  most  remarkable  prophecy  of 
what  actually  was  to  occur;  and  it  does  appear  as  though  he  knew 
enough  of  her  character  and  previous  behavior  to  be  certain  that 
what  he  prophesied  would  follow.  That  she  accepted  it  in  this 
offensive  sense  is  evident  from  the  extraordinary  letter  of  complaint 


*  Brougham's  "Autobiography,"  ii.  258.    Mr.  Grey  Bennett  also  states  this 
interference  of  Canning. 
t  "  Diary  of  Lady  C.  Campbell,"  i.  329. 

26* 


610  THE  LIFE  OP  OEOmE  IV. 

she  wrote  to  Canning,  begging  that  it  should  be  shown  to  Lord 
Liverpool. 

In  the  ministry,  indeed,  she  had  found  this  one  friend,  whose 
devotion  to  her,  even  through  the  later  more  critical  events,  was 
ready  to  stand  the  test  of  real  sacrifices.  Mr.  Jerdan,  who,  from 
his  connection  with  the  newspapers,  seems  to  have  gained  Mr.  Can- 
ning's confidence,  recounts  the  following  odd  scene,  at  which  he 
assisted,  and  which  shows  the  romantic  character  of  the  minister's 
feelings: 

"  On  going  to  Gloucester  Lodge  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  as  cus- 
tomary, I  observed  the  Princess's  carriage  at  the  door;  and  was 
hesitating  whether  I  should  go  in  or  not,  when  Mr.  Canning  led  her 
out  and  handed  her  to  her  seat,  beckoning  me  to  enter  by  another 
passage.  A  glance  informed  me  that  something  of  unusual  interest 
had  taken  place,  for  the  Princess  appeared  flushed  to  crimson,  and 
Mr.  Canning  exceedingly  moved.  I  proceeded  into  the  room,  and 
walking  up  to  the  fireplace,  stood  leaning  my  arm  on  the  chimney- 
piece,  when  the  latter  returned  in  a  state  of  extreme  excitement  and 
agitation,  exclaiming  (in  a  manner  more  resembling  a  stage  effect 
than  a  transaction  in  real  life):  'Take  care,  sir,  what  you  do! 
Your  arm  is  bathing  in  the  tears  of  a  Princess!'  I  immediately 
perceived  that  this  was  the  truth." 

The  Princess  was  determined,  she  said,  to  return  at  once  should 
she  hear  of  ' '  any  alarming  reports."  But  go  she  would.  ' '  Nothing 
can  stop  her,"  wrote  one  of  her  ladies.  This  was  in  truth  the  fixity 
of  purpose  of  a  weak  mind.  The  moment  of  departure  w^as  singu- 
larly ill-chosen.  She  was  deserting  her  daughter,  whose  battle  had 
been  fought  in  her  interest,  and  was  sorely  distressed  at  the  idea, 
and  who  at  the  time  was  writing  eagerly  to  be  allowed  to  see  her. 
And  it  will  be  found  that  this  desertion  effectually  chilled  the  devo- 
tion of  tlie  child.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  this  expedition  was  really 
promoted  by  a  passionate  longing  for  freedom,  and  for  enjoyment 
after  nearly  twenty  years  of  life  under  a  ban.  The  mother  and 
her  child  were  to  have  one  last  interview,  and  never  to  see  each 
other  again. 

On  August  2nd,  the  Princess  of  Wales  arrived  at  Worthing,  ex- 
pecting to  go  on  board  the  Jason  frigate,  which,  however,  had  not 
arrived.  Crowds  assembled  on  the  beach  and  followed  her  as  she 
walked;  and  when  she  went  to  Lancing,  a  couple  of  miles  away, 
the  whole  town  followed.  There  they  saw  her  embark,  attended 
by  Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay,  and  the  boy,  "young  Mr.  Austin."    It 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  611 

is  recorded  that  she  wore  a  dark  pelisse  and  a  "  hussar  cap  "  of 
velvet  and  green  satin,  after  the  Prussian  fashion,  with  a  green 
feather.  A  more  melodramatic  element  was  noted,  viz.  a  myste- 
rious "large,  long  case,  with  these  words  painted  in  white  letters: 
'Her  Royal  Highness  the  Princess  of  Wales,  to  be  always  with 
her.' " 

She  wept  as  the  Jason  frigate  sailed  away.  She  passed  by  the 
Texel  on  her  husband's  birthday;  always  good  in  impulse,  the  poor 
exile-drank  his  health  and  happiness  in  a  bumper.  She  travelled 
under  the  name  of  Countess  of  Wolfenbiittel.  A  curious  story  was 
printed,  which  was  likely  enough  to  have  been  true,  that  during 
the  course  of  her  travels  she  contrived  to  see  Prince  Leopold,  and 
handed  him  a  letter  from  her  daughter.* 

In  this  fashion  she  set  out  on  this  most  fatal — as  it  was  to  prove — 
pilgrimage.     She  had  really  handed  herself  over  to  her  enemies. 

Few  characters  have  been  more  perplexing  than  that  of  the 
Princess  of  Wales.  That  she  was  good-natured,  good-hearted, 
clever,  lively,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  all  was  mixed  with  a 
reckless  gamin  element.  Had  she  been  controlled  by  a  sensible 
man  of  the  world,  she  might  probably  have  lived  a  reputable  ordi- 
nary life.  If  we  only  think  of  what  would  be  the  effect  of  what 
is  called  "taboo"  upon  any  lively  high-spirited  person  of  our 
acquaintance,  with  a  powerful  faction  on  the  watch  to  destroy  her, 
it  will  be  felt  at  once  how  this  hunted  pariah  state  of  life  will 
operate  for  the  worse.  It  seems  analogous  to  the  case  of  the  en- 
larged prisoner  wishing  to  reform  and  live  honestly,  but  harassed 
and  hindered  in  every  effort  by  police  espionage.  The  result  is  a 
life  of  desperate  defiance,  r.nd  of  final  indifference.  Nor  was  her 
life  free  from  pecuniary  cares. 

She  was  often  reduced  to  strange  shifts  for  money,  at  one  time 
trying  to  raise  some  thousands  on  the  lease  of  her  house  at  Black- 
heath,  now  sending  one  of  her  ladies  to  sell  "  two  enormous  unset 
diamonds;"  borrowing  from  friends  and  from  her  bankers — who  at 
last  refused  to  allow  her  to  overdraw  to  a  very  small  amount,  it 
was  believed,  owing  to  instigation.  Great  allowance,  therefore, 
should  be  made  for  the  effect  on  her  character  of  innumerable 
petty  persecutions  of  this  kind. 

Her  best  vindication  is  the  respectable  circle  of  friends  and 
families  she  surrounded  herself  with  for  the  fifteen  or  twenty  years 

*  "Life  of  Princess  Charlotte,"  i.  234. 


612  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  her  life  in  England.  This  circle  was  more  respectable  than  what 
her  consort  affected.  When  Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay  was  taking 
service  with  her,  a  friend,  who  knew  the  Princess,  gave  her  the 
highest  testimony.  Indeed  the  choice  of  two  of  her  ladies  showed 
a  sagacity  on  the  one  side  and  a  faith  and  appreciation  on  the  other 
highly  significant.  These  were  Lady  Anne  Hamilton  and  Lady 
Charlotte  Lindsay,  whose  faithful  service  was  her  best  testimony. 
As  is  well  known,  the  latter  was  one  of  the  brilliant  and  admired 
sisters  who  left  such  an  impression  on  all  who  knew  them,  and 
which  included  Lady  Glenbervie  and  Lady  Sheffield.  The  wit  of 
Lady  C.  Lindsay  had  a  flavor  that  delighted  her  friends,  of  which 
Sir  H.  Holland  gives  a  pleasant  specimen.  "  It  was  of  the  copious 
library  of  Lord  Guildford,"  he  says,  "  that  his  sister,  Lady  C.  Lind- 
say, used  to  say,  and  not  without  some  justification,  '  Frederick's 
library  contains  but  two  sorts  of  books — books  that  cannot  be  read, 
and  books  that  ought  not  to  be  read.'  Her  playful  letters  were 
wrongfully  obtained,  and  wrongfully  used  in  the  Queen's  trial  in 
1821." 

Of  her.  Lord  Houghton,  in  his  pleasing  "Monographs,"  gives 
an  interesting  graphic  sketch,  describing  how,  when  she  said  a 
good  thing,  "her  features  crumpled  into  an  expression  of  irresis- 
tible good-humor."  * 

Her  steady  support  of  her  mistress,  and  her  gallant  bearing  as  a 
witness  during  her  trial,  are  well  known! 

Yet  the  Princess  found  herself  bored  with  the  grave  manners  of 
Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  whom  she  had  dubbed  "  Joan  of  Arc;"  and 
over  whom  indeed  she  used  to  make  merry  with  her  correspondents. 
"  My  dragonne  de  vertu," she  would  write,  "has  been  sick  for  some 
days,  so  I  am  in  the  utmost  danger  of  being  run  away  with  by  some 
of  the  enchanters  who  come  to  relieve  locked-up  princesses.  No 
hopes  of  getting  the  dragomie  married;  no  one  will  venture  to 
espouse  '  Joan  of  Arc. '  Dey  are  all  afraid  of  de  Amazon,  and  I  am 
not  much  surprised." 

♦  "  She  used  to  give  an  amusing  account  of  her  marriage,  which  took  place 
in  the  drawing-room  of  her  father's  house.  The  clergyman  brought  no 
Prayer  Book,  thinking  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  supplying  him  with  one. 
but  no  such  article  was  forthcoming  in  the  house;  and  the  only  way  of  get- 
ting over  the  difficulty  was  to  perform  the  ceremonj*  by  memory.  The  cler- 
gyman, confused  by  the  novelty  of  the  situation,  came  frequently  to  a  dead 
stop,  and  could  only  continue  by  the  fragmentary  reminiscences  of  the  com- 
pany. '  Somehow  or  other,'  said  Lady  Charlotte, '  I  do  not  think  I  was  ever 
rightly  married  at  all.'  "—"Monographs." 


^HE  LIF^  OF  OEOROE  IV.  613 

Lord  Byron  is  well  presented  in  another  of  these  light  sketches : 
"My  better  half,  or  my  worse,  which  you  choose,  has  been  ill,  I 
hear;  but  nothing  to  make  me  hope  or  fear.     Pray  burn  this  piece 

of  high  treason,  my  dear .    Lord  Byron  did  enquire  for  you 

also,  I  must  not  forget  to  mention.  He  was  all  couleur  de  rose  last 
evening,  and  was  very  pleasant;  he  sat  beside  me  at  supper,  and 
we  were  very  merry.  He  is  quite  anoder  man  when  he  is  wid 
people  he  like,  and  who  like  him,  than  he  is  when  he  is  wid  oders 
who  do  not  please  him  so  well.  I  always  tell  him  there  are  two 
Lord  Byrons,  and  when  I  invite  him,  I  say,  '  I  ask  the  agreeable 
Lord,  not  the  disagreeable  one.'  He  take  my  plaisanterie  all  in 
good  part,  and  I  flatter  myself  I  am  rather  a  favorite  with  this 
great  bard."  ,~ 

"  To  tell  you  God:^"  truth,"  she  would  exclaim  in  her  grotesque 
phrase ;  "to  tell  you  God's  truth,  I  have  had  as  many  vexations  as 
most  people,  but  we  must  make  up  vons  mind  to  enjoy  de  good, 
spite  of  de  bad;  and  I  mind  now  de  last  no  more  dan  dat,"  snap- 
ping her  fingers. 

Nor  must  we  omit  noticing  here  a  person  of  mark,  who,  though 
connected  with  her  retinue  but  for  a  year,  achieved  a  high  and 
unique  reputation.  This  was  Dr.  Holland,  later  better  known  as 
Sir  Henry  Holland,  and  son-in-law  of  Sydney  Smith,  one  of  the 
cultivated  courtly  physicians,  whose  gifts  lay  as  much  on  advising 
adroitly  on  critical  matters,  in  entertaining  causerie,  as  in  physic. 
Among  these  eminent  persons  may  be  included  Sir  Henry  Halford, 
confidential  adviser  of  the  Queen  and  Princesses;  Sir  Walter 
Farquhar,  equally  acceptable  to  the  Regent  as  to  the  Princess  of 
Wales;  and  Sir  Henry  Holland.  Sir  William  Knighton,  though 
more  confidentially  employed,  was  of  lower  type,  while  the  Wil- 
lises, Baillies,  Tierneys,  etc.,  were  merely  of  the  average  class.  In 
our  day  this  type  of  Court  physician  is  not  found  existing.  When 
the  Princess  was  preparing  to  leave  England,  Sir  W.  Gell  brought 
her  this  young  physician,  who  was  found  to  have  "a  good  coun- 
tenance and  pleasing  manners,"  and  also  "appeared  clever."  He 
was,  in  truth,  more  than  this,  a  young  man  of  singular  discretion 
and  capacity,  and,  fifty  years  later,  was  enjoying  the  highest 
esteem  in  London  society  for  his  singular  tact  and  charm  of  man- 
ner, as  well  as  for  his  ability  as  a  physician.  He  became  not  only 
the  beau-ideal  of  the  "fashionable  physician,"  but  the  agreeable 
friend  and  talker,  who  had  met  at  some  time  of  his  life  almost 
every  remarkable  personage  of  his  day.     Indeed,  Sir  Henry  Hoi 


614  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

land  and  his  life  are  well-nigh  unique;  and  his  amiable  power  of 
attaching  old  friends,  and  his  facile  charm  of  attracting  new  ones, 
seem  to  have  been  only  rivalled  by  another  man  of  society,  the  late 
Mr.  Ticknor.  He  was  born  in  1788,  and  lived  to  write,  in  his 
eighty-fourth  year,  a  most  interesting  volume  of  "Recollections." 
A  little  before  he  had  made  his  eighth  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic — full  of  the  undiminished  ardor  for  travelling  which  had 
led  him  to  explore  Iceland,  the  East,  and  every  country  where  men 
of  science  offered  attractions;  among  his  patients  he  could  count  no 
less  than  six  prime  ministers,  and  almost  every  statesman  of  note. 
He  had  attended  Ibrahim  Pasha,  and  had  stood  by  the  bed  of  Prin- 
cess Charlotte.  He  was  consulted  in  1819  by  Dr.  Antommarchi, 
then  on  his  way  to  St.  Helena  to  attend  the  first  Napoleon ;  and,  in 
1831,  had  been  hurriedly  summoned  to  Holies  Street,  where  he 
found  Queen  Hortense  "hanging  over  the  bed  of  her  son,"  Louis 
Napoleon,  then  in  a  gastric  fever.  With  the  same  remarkable  man 
he  was  dining  a  few  days  before  the  Boulogne  attempt;  and  on  him 
he  waited  in  his  days  of  dethronement  and  exile  at  Chislehurst.  He 
had  known  Madame  D'Arblay,  Mrs.  Piozzi,  and  Lord  Stowell, 
Wedgewood,  and  Mrs.  Barbauld;  had  seen  Murat  and  King  Joa- 
chim at  the  head  of  his  troops;  had  witnessed  the  bombardment  of 
Cadiz  by  Soult;  was  with  President  Lincoln  when  the  American 
Civil  "War  was  raging;  had  talked  with  Kellerraan,  and  Maria 
Louisa,  and  Pope  Pius  VII. ;  was  intimate  with  all  the  wits  and  lit- 
erary men  of  his  own  and  other  countries;  with  Humboldt,  Sis- 
mondi,  Schlegel,  Pozzo  di  Borgo,  and  Talleyrand;  during  his  long 
life,  in  short,  had  known  all  and  every  one  that  was  worth  knowing. 
Yet  with  these  opportunities  he  enjoined  on  himself  a  rare  discre- 
tion, and  on  principle  registered  nothing  of  what  he  learned,  destroy- 
inge  very  letter  that  he  received.  He  set  out  in  life  with  a  determina- 
tion to  economize  his  pleasures,  to  make  every  hour  of  his  life  avail- 
able by  system.  There  is  something  melancholy  indeed  in  the  tone 
of  intellectual  epicureanism  which  seems  to  have  been  the  highest 
standard  he  set  before  himself.  This  self-restraint  was,  perhaps,  the 
secret  of  his  success;  and  it  is  singularly  displayed  in  his  reserve  as 
to  the  proceedings  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  of  which  he  had  full 
opportunities  of  judging.  He  notes  as  a  curious  coincidence  that, 
on  his  return  to  England  after  leaving  the  Princess's  service,  he  was 
called  upon  to  attend  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  Such  was  this  amiable  and 
interesting  man. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  615 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

1815—1816. 

Thus  delivered  from  the  presence  of  one  he  detested,  the  Regent 
could  scarcely  restrain  his  impatience  to  take  advantage  of  her 
absence,  and  commence  operations  for  ridding  himself  of  her  alto- 
gether, xilmost  at  once  he  pressed  his  Ministers  to  help  him  to  a 
divorce.  That  this  was  seriously  discussed  at  Carlton  House  and 
forced  on  their  consideration,  we  are  assured  by  Mr.  Brougham.* 
With  his  usual  capriciousness,  he  proposed  turning  them  out  and 
substituting  more  compliant  agents. 

The  young  Princess  had  now  at  last  been  sent  to  the  sea — to  Wey- 
mouth— where  she  soon  recovered  her  health  and  spirits  and  began 
to  enjoy  herself  a  little.  Here  she  pursued  her  studies  and  made 
sailing  excursions;  and  many  pleasant  stories  were  told  which 
delighted  the  public  of  her  lively  speeches  and  her  spirit.  The 
exciting  crisis  that  led  to  the  Battle  of  Waterloo  was  now  drawing 
on.  About  a  fortnight  before  that  great  event,  we  obtain  a  single 
glimpse  of  the  poor  outraged  Mrs.  Fitzherbert ;  the  scene  f  was  at  a 
ball  given  by  Lady  Aylesbury.  The  Regent  was  present,  arriving 
at  one  and  remaining  until  two.  She  was  there,  and  dreadfully  over- 
come, for  he  took  no  notice  of  her.  But  now,  the  excitement  con- 
nected with  the  great  decisive  victory  was  to  be  the  one  absorbing 
thought. 

It  is  curious  that  with  this  event  were  to  be  associated  two  highly 
dramatic  scenes,  both  taking  place  at  a  ball,  both  of  which  would  be 
well  worthy  of  the  painter.  That  at  the  Duchess  of  Richmond's 
ball,  at  Brussels,  when  the  Duke  gave  orders  for  the  advance, 
makes  the  pulses  stir. 

No  less  exciting  was  the  night  of  Mrs.  Boehm's  ball  in  St.  James's 
Square,  where  the  Prince  was  when  the  news  of  the  glorious  victory 
reached  London.     On  this  entertainment  no  expense  was  spared. 


*  "  Autobiography,"  ii.  268,  279. 

t  Miss  Knight,  "  Autobiography, '^ii.  67. 


616  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

The  Regent  and  his  royal  brothers  had  been  entertained  to  dinner. 
"  The  first  quadrille  was  being  formed,  and  the  Regent  was  walking 
up  to  the  da'is,  when,"  says  an  eye-witness.  "I  saw  every  one, 
without  the  slightest  sense  of  decorum,  rushing  to  the  windows, 
which  had  been  left  wide  open  because  of  the  excessive  sultriness  of 
the  weather.  The  music  ceased,  and  the  dance  was  stopped,  for 
we  heard  nothing  but  the  vociferous  shouts  of  an  enormous  mob 
who  had  just  entered  the  square,  and  were  running  by  the  side  of  a 
postchaise-and-four,  out  of  whose  windows  were  hanging  three 
French  eagles.  In  a  second  the  door  of  the  carriage  was  flung 
open,  and  without  waiting  for  the  steps  to  be  let  down,  out  sprang 
Henry  Percy — such  a  dusty  figure — with  a  flag  in  each  hand,  push- 
ing aside  every  one  who  happened  to  be  in  his  way,  dashing  upstairs 
into  the  ball-room,  stepping  hastily  up  to  the  Regent,  dropping  on 
one  knee,  laying  the  flags  at  his  feet,  and  pronouncing  the  words : 
'Victory,  sir!  victory!'  The  Prince  Regent,  greatly  overcome, 
went  into  an  adjoining  room  to  read  the  despatches;  after  which  he 
returned,  said  a  few  words  to  his  hostess,  sent  for  his  carriage,  and 
left  the  house.  The  royal  brothers  soon  followed,  and  in  less  than 
twenty  minutes  there  was  not  a  soul  left  in  the  ball-room  but  poor 
dear  Mrs.  Boehm  and  myself.  Even  the  band  had  gone.  The 
splendid  supper  which  had  been  provided  for  our  guests  stood  in 
the  dining-room  untouched.  Ladies  of  the  highest  rank  who  had 
not  ordered  their  carriages  rushed  away  like  maniacs  in  their  mus- 
lins and  satin  shoes  across  the  square,  many  jumping  into  the  first 
hackney  carriage  they  met. "  * 

To  these  may  be  added  some  recollections  of  Lady  Brownlow, 
who  had  joined  Lady  Castlereagh  at  the  ball. 

"The  despatches  were  being  then  read  in  the  next  room  to  the 
Prince  Regent,  and  we  ladies  remained  silent,  too  anxious  to  talk, 
and  longing  to  hear  more.  Lord  Alvanley  was  the  first  gentleman 
wlio  appeared,  and  he  horrified  us  with  the  list  of  names  of  killed 
and  wounded — great  and  distinguished  in  the  campaigns  of  the 
Peninsula,  and  become  almost  household  words.  The  Guards,  he 
said,  had  suffered  severely — my  brother  Ernest  was  in  them,  but 
the  fate  of  a  subaltern  could  not  be  known!    Presently  the  Prince 


*  Ose  of  the  last  survivors  who  witnessed  the  scene  of  this  nif^ht  was  the 
Prince  de  Ligne,  who  died  in  the  year  1880,  and  was  fond  of  recounting  the 
event.  Another  survivor  is  Lord  W.  Lennox,  whose  account  substantially 
agrees  with  the  others. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  617 

came  in,  looking  very  sad,  and  he  said,  witli  mucli  feeling,  words 
to  tliis  effect :  '  It  is  a  glorious  victory,  and  we  must  rejoice  at  it, 
but  the  loss  of  life  has  been  fearful,  and  I  have  lost  many  friends;' 
and  while  he  spoke  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.  He  remained 
but  a  short  time."* 

There  was  now  much  discontent  abroad,  inflamed  by  the  severe 
measures  of  the  Government,  chiefly  prompted  by  Lord  Sidmouth, 
who  found  in  severity  a  supplement  for  his  incapacity.  A  study 
of  the  "Doctor's  "  career  is  invaluable  for  such  as  would  learn  the 
secret  by  which  mediocracy  can  rise.f  The  Regent,  however, 
incurred  the  chief  odium,  and  was  daily  scared  by  the  frequent  and 
alarming  inscriptions  on  the  walls  of  Carlton  House: 

"bread,  or  the  regent's  head!" 

One  morning  a  loaf,  steeped  in  blood,  was  left  on  the  parapet 
of  Carlton  House ;  yet  it  was  stated  that  he  was  opposed  to  the 
Corn  Bill  which  had  excited  this  fury. 

It  was  unfortunate  that  at  a  season  of  distress  and  hardship  the 
question  of  the  Regent's  debts  should  have  once  more  been  brought 
forward.  All  the  galas  and  entertainments  given  to  the  royal  vis- 
itors had  now  to  be  paid  for;  and  the  vigilant  and  hostile  Tierney 
had  discovered  that  a  sum  of  £100,000,  granted  by  Mr.  Perceval  as 
an  "outfit"  on  entering  on  the  Regency,  had  been  diverted  to  pay- 
ing debts,  while  some  new  revelations  as  to  fresh  extravagance 
caused  surprise  and  indignation.:}: 

Lord  Castlereagh  vindicated  the  Regent  on  the  ground  of  the 
extraordinary  expenses  incurred  for  the  entertainment  of  the  sover- 
eigns, and  which,  as  was  reasonable,  should  be  charged  to  the 


*  "A  member  of  Major  Percy's  family,"  according  to  Miss  Wynne,  "says 
that  Lord  Liverpool  brought  Major  Percy  to  Mrs.  Boehm's  ball.  But  in  his 
own  account  Major  Percy  says  he  went  first  to  the  Prince  Regent,  as  he  would 
naturally,  the  despatches  being  addressed  to  him.  But  Miss  Wynne  states 
that  the  despatches  were  first  opened  by  Lord  Liverpool  at  Lord  Hertford's, 
as  she  heard  from  General  Alava." 

t  It  is  characteristic  of  that  statesman  that  he  should  have  assured  his  med- 
ical adviser,  Sir  H.  Holland,  that  the  all  then  critical  and  even  perilous  situa- 
tions of  his  Government  had  never  interfered  with  his  night's  rest ! 

X  During  three  years  it  seems  that  a  sum  of  £160.000  had  been  laid  out  on 
furniture  for  the  insatiable  Carlton  House.  The  year  before  glass  and  china 
had  cost  £12,000;  "  ormolu  "  nearly  £3,000;  and  to  the  silversmith  in  three 
years  was  owing  a  sum  of  no  less  than  £130,0001 


618  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORQF  IV. 

nation.  This  amounted  to  the  large  sum  of  $32^000;  but  he  owned 
that,  on  the  three  years,  after  every  allowance,  there  had  been  an 
expense  of  nearly  £100,000!  The  rest  of  his  defence  was  of  a 
fallacious  kind;  he  admitted  that  the  £100,000  had  been  diverted 
from  the  payment  of  the  debts,  but  then  the  £60,000  a  year  set 
apart  for  clearing  off  the  debts  would  be  the  sooner  at  the  disposal 
of  the  public.  This  would  be  reasonable  in  the  case  of  a  sober  person 
who  was  devoting  his  energies  to  the  task  of  extricating  himself, 
but  was  valueless  when  urged  for  a  spendthrift  not  curtailing  his 
extravagance.  Then  as  to  the  furniture,  which  had  cost  £39,000, 
Lord  Castlereagh  gravely  urged  that  £17,000  of  it  had  gone  for 
furnishing  The  Cottage  at  Windsor.  Though  called  a  cottage,  he 
urged,  because  it  happened  to  be  thatched,  it  was  still  a  very  com- 
fortable residence  for  a  family,  and  the  only  one  the  Prince  could 
make  use  of  when  he  went  to  Windsor.  He  concluded  with  the 
extraordinary  argument  that  the  Prince,  on  entering  on  his  Regency, 
might  have  sold  all  his  own  effects,  and  have  called  on  the  public 
to  fit  him  out  completely  with  plate,  etc. !  This  provoked  bitter  and 
unanswerable  retorts. 

In  this  debate,  too,  it  was  remarkable  that  Mr.  Ponsonby  and 
other  leading  Liberals  did  not  spare  the  Prince.  The  Government, 
however,  defeated  the  attack.  In  a  later  debate  Lord  Castlereagh 
had  to  admit  that  the  amount  of  his  debts  still  left  undischarged 
amounted  to  £339,000!* 

We  now  return  to  the  amiable  young  Princess,  who  had  been 
brought  back  to  Warwick  House,  the  gate  of  which  had  been 
barred  up,  the  only  entrance  being  through  Carlton  House.  She 
was  in  a  very  depressed  state  from  this  imprisonment,  and  her 
nerves  quite  shaken.  Indeed  she  was  in  such  terror  of  her  father, 
that  she  could  hardly  speak  in  his  presence:  a  sort  of  stuttering, 
which  rarely  affected  her  on  other  occasions,  then  coming  on.  It 
was  stated  that  there  was  a  project  of  providing  her  with  yet 
another  Prince  of  Orange,  who  was  to  be  placed  before  her,  "  at  a 
breakfast  given  specially  by  Lord  Liverpool,  and  at  which  the  Queen 
was  to  have  been  present."  She  declined  to  go.  She  could  not 
write  freely  to  her  friends,  and  complained  of  "  tricks  being  played 
with  her  letters."  But  it  was  evident  that  the  advisers  of  her 
mother  had  soothed  this  impulsive  young  creature,  as  indeed  kind- 
ness was  always  likely  to  do.f 

*  Huish,  ii.  234. 

+  "  Her  own  Inclination,"  Miss  Knight  tells  us,  "  was  for  an  alliance  with 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  619 

As  the  year  went  by,  a  hope  of  release  offered.  The  Regent's 
indifference  would  appear  to  have  increased,  and  he  began  to  look 
with  favor  on  the  idea  of  a  new  "candidature,"  that  of  Prince 
Leopold.  That  sagacious  young  Prince,  though  he  had  received 
various  hints  from  the  young  lady  to  return,  had  determined  to 
wait  for  a  fitting  opportunity,  and  being  resolved  not  to  move 
unless  the  Regent  invited  him.  So  that  the  young  Princess  began 
impatiently  to  doubt  whether  he  really  cared  for  her.  In  the 
January  of  1816,  after  she  had  completed  her  twentieth  year,  she 
was  suddenly  sent  for  from  Brighton,  to  go  with  the  Queen  from 
Windsor;  and  was  told  that  there  was  an  agreeable  surprise  in 
store  for  her.  Here  she  found  her  father,  and  the  whole  family 
seems  to  have  been  united  for  this  occasion  only,  and  the  young 
girl,  though  still  unwell,  was  at  last  allowed  a  little  happiness  and 
treated  kindly. 

Prince  Leopold  himself,  when  King  of  the  Belgians,  furnished 
Her  Majesty  with  some  recollections  of  this  period,  as  his  contribu- 
tion to  the  "  Early  Years  of  the  Prince  Consort." 

"It  was  in  January,  1816,  at  Berlin,  that  Prince  Leopold  received 
the  invitation  of  the  Prince  Regent  to  come  to  England.  He  was 
forced  to  wait  for  his  brother's  arrival  from  Vienna,  and  then  left 
in  fearfully  cold  weather  for  Coburg.  He  caught  an  inflammatory 
cold  which  retained  him,  to  his  great  dismay,  at  Coburg,  receiving 
the  most  pressing  letters  from  England  to  hasten  his  arrival.  It 
was  painful  to  be  quite  unable  to  set  out,  and  only  in  February 
could  he  leave  Coburg.  At  Calais  he  was  detained  by  stormy 
weather.  In  London  he  found  Lord  Castlereagh,  with  whom  he 
went  to  Brighton,  to  be  presented  to  the  Prince  Regent,  who  re- 
ceived him  graciously. 

"  The  arrangements  were  soon  made,  and  on  this  occasion  the 
young  Princess  met  with  no  further  difficulties." 

The  Regent  is  said  to  have  proposed  that  £50,000  a  year  should 
be  settled  on  them,  and  he  was  to  have  the  disposal  of  £40,000,  to 
dole  out  as  he  pleased.  The  minister  assured  him  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  bring  such  a  proposition  before  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  handsome  sum  of  £60,000  a  year  was  voted,  with  an  outfit  of 
£60,000,  of  which  £10,000  was  to  be  laid  out  in  jewels,  and  £10,000 


one  of  the  Prussian  Princes,"  and  some  months  elapsed  before  she  gave  up 
this  plan,  which  was  opposed  on  both  sides  of  the  water.—"  Autobiography," 
ii.  85. 


020  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV 

on  clothes.  Of  the  £60,000,  a  sum  of  £10,000  a  year  was  settled  to 
the  Princess's  sole  and  separate  use.  This  liberality  showed  the 
feeling  of  the  country. 

The  marriage  took  place  on  May  the  2nd.  The  happy  pair  at 
first  lived  at  Camelford  House,  Lord  Grenville's  mansion,  close  to 
Park  Lane;  but  soon  Clareraont  House  was  purchased,  the  Parlia- 
ment again  coming  forward  with  a  sum  of  £53,000  for  the  purpose. 
This  they  proposed  to  make  their  home. 

All  this  must  have  offered  disagreeable  reflections  to  the  Regent, 
who  had  received  evidences  of  his  own  unpopularity.  When  the 
happy  pair  attended  Coven t  Garden  Theatre,  to  see  a  farewell  per- 
formance of  Mrs.  Siddons,  the  audience  seized  the  opportunity  to 
apply  the  various  passages  in  Henry  VIII.  to  the  treatment  of  the 
Princess  of  Wales  and  her  daughter — passages,  too,  which  had  a 
very  awkward  appropriateness.  Nor  could  he  have  been  gratified 
by  contrasting  the  effusive  address  in  which  the  City  of  London 
greeted  the  newly-married  pair,  with  the  one  in  which  he  himself 
was  bluntly  reminded  of  the  extravagance  of  his  rule,  the  "enor- 
mous sums  paid  for  unmerited  pensions  and  sinecures,"  "  an  un- 
constitutional and  unnecessary  military  force  in  time  of  peace," 
"overwhelming  taxation,"  "  lavish  expenditure,"  " all  arising  from 
the  inadequate  and  corrupt  state  of  the  representation."  The  ex- 
pressions of  stern  rebuke,  and  "  the  rude  sulkiness  of  manner  with 
which  he  replied  to  it,  were  ungracious  and  unwarrantable.  In 
reading  the  answer,  he  pointed  his  resentment  by  emphasis,  pauses, 
and  frowns;  and  having  concluded  it  he  turned  upon  his  heel, 
without  allowing  those  whom  he  addressed  the  usual  courtesy  of 
kissing  his  hand."  The  Court  of  Common  Council  retaliated  by 
recording  the  answer  with  a  censure  on  the  ministers.  Nor  was 
this  all  in  the  House  of  Commons  Mr.  Brougham  made  an  almost 
ferocious  personal  attack  upon  him,  actually  likening  him  to  a  Sar- 
danapalus,  and  causing  consternation  in  the  Government.  The 
Prime  Minister  wrote  in  agitation  to  the  head  of  the  State,  who  was 
at  Brighton— unwell  it  seemed. 


LORD  LIVERPOOL  TO  SIR  B.  BLOOMFIKLD. 

[Secret.] 

"March  21st,  1816. 
"Under  these  circumstances,  both   Lord  Castlereagh  and 
myself  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
Prince  Regent  should  come  to  town  the  very  first  moment  he  can 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  621 

do  it  without  risk.  The  country  is  indeed  in  a  state  in  wliich  his 
ministers  ought  to  have  the  opportunity  of  daily,  and  even  hourly, 
access  to  him.  Decisions  which  ought  not  to  be  taken  without  his 
Royal  Highness's  concun-ence  must,  at  times  like  these,  often  be 
taken  without  the  possibility  of  the  delay  which  would  arise  in 
consequence  of  a  communication  between  London  and  Brighton. 

"In  addition  to  these  considerations,  the  Lord  Chancellor  has 
directed  a  search  to  be  made,  whether  a  recorder's  report  has  ever 
been  held  out  of  London.  We  can  find  no  instance  of  it,  even  in 
any  period  of  the  King's  illness;  and  the  Chancellor  adds  that  he 
should  be  afraid  to  have  execution  done  upon  the  authority  of  an 
unusual  proceeding. 

"I  must  beg  of  you  to  submit  all  these  observations  to  his  Royal 
Highness's  most  anxious  consideration,  and  I  am  sure  he  will  see 
the  necessity  of  coming  to  town  as  soon  as  he  can  bear  the  motion 
of  a  carriage." 

THE  PRINCE  REGENT  TO   LORD   LIVERPOOL. 

"  Pavilion,  Brighton,  March  24th,  1816. 
*  *  My  dear  Liverpool, 

"  I  will  not  suffer  Arbuthnot  to  return  to  you  without  being 
the  bearer  of  a  line  in  my  own  handwriting,  briefly  to  thank  you 
and  your  colleagues  for  all  your  principles,  and  firm  and  steady 
feelings  towards  me  during  the  present  storm  which  rages,  and 
which  I  both  hope  and  believe,  ere  it  be  very  long,  must  and  will 
subside,  and  you  may  depend  upon  my  most  resolute,  firm,  and 
persevering  support  to  the  very  utmost.  You  have  seen  me  before 
pretty  highly  tried,  and  you  shall  find  me  now,  as  at  all  other 
times,  true  to  the  backbone.  Arbuthnot  will  enter  into  all  other 
matters. 

"Always  most  sincerely  and  affectionately  yours, 

"  George  P.  R." 


022  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XrV. 
1816. 

To  this  uneasy  life  the  menage  at  Claremont — domestic  and  happy 
to  an  extraordinary  degree— offered  a  remarkable  contrast.  It  was 
almost  pastoral  in  its  happiness.  In  this  establishment  was  a  very 
remarkable  man,  the  late  Baron  Stockmar,  whom  the  Prince  was 
fortunate  enough  to  attach  to  him  until  his  death;  a  type,  however, 
that  seems  quite  out  of  keeping  with  English  character  and  habits. 
The  influence  of  a  series  of  Stockmars  at  Court,  however  whole- 
some in  a  moral  point  of  view,  would  too  much  Germanize  it.  The 
reports  of  this  observer  show  that  though  viewing  the  mistress  of 
the  household  with  regard  and  indulgence,  she  hardly  came  up  to 
the  prim  and  precise  German  standard.* 

This  simple  retired  life  affords  one  of  the  most  interesting  pic- 
tures of  a  happy  wedded  hfe  that  could  be  conceived.  All  the 
stories  that  come  down  to  us  are  of  the  one  texture,  exhibiting  her 
unbounded  goodness  of  heart  and  a  tender  charity,  and  colored  by 
an  engaging  bonhomie  that  must  have  been  irresistible.  Now  she  is 
ordering  12,000  yards  of  silk  for  the  furnishing  of  her  house,  for 
the  benefit  of  tlie  distressed  Spitalfields  weavers ;  now  aiding  the 
"suffering  Irish;"  now  visitiug  the  cottages  and  figuring  in  little 
domestic  incidents  with  the  rustics  of  the  neighborhood.  She 
delighted  in  the  place,  busied  herself  with  the  gardens  and  the 
forming  of  the  library,  listened  to  her  old  preceptor's  sermons, 
which  she  preferred  to  those  of  the  local  incumbent.  She  did  not 
seem  to  care  for  tlie  London  gayeties,  and  but  seldom  came  to  town. 
Some  festivities,  however,  drew  them  there,  such  as  the  marriage  of 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  her  old  admirer  and  preiendant,  who  was 
accepted  by  his  cousin,  the  Princess  Mary.  She  was  applied  to  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  the  Queen  and  the  Duchess  of 
Cumberland,  who  was  still  in  disgrace;  but,  no  doubt  acting  under 

•  See  his  ••  Memoirs,"  I.  41,  4«. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV.  623 

the  advice  of  her  prudent  husband,  she  declined  to  interfere. 
Happy  as  was  this  life,  it  was  to  last  but  a  short  time. 

In  the  September  of  this  year  the  Regent  was  taken  dangerously 
ill  at  Hampton  Court.  His  case  was  so  serious  that  his  death  was 
hourly  expected.  But  his  wonderful  constitution  stood  him  in  good 
stead,  and  before  Christmas  he  was  perfectly  restored.  It  was 
wonderful  how  often  he  rallied  from  these  attacks. 

Meanwhile  he  did  not  regain  the  public  favor,  and  made  but  few 
attempts  to  do  so.  Indeed,  he  was  associated  with  a  series  of  op- 
pressive measures.  "When  he  proceeds  to  open  Parliament  in  his 
state  coach  drawn  by  eight  cream-colored  horses,  it  is  significantly 
recorded  that  he  was  followed  by  an  enormous  detachment  of  Horse 
Guards.  Parties  of  the  same  corps  lined  Parliament  Street,  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  order;  and  it  was  remarked  that  they  seemed 
entirely  under  the  direction  of  the  police  of  Westminster.  Every- 
where he  is  received  in  solemn  silence,  or  with  cries  of  disapproba- 
tion. When  he  went  to  church  to  receive  the  Sacrament  he  was 
hissed  and  groaned  at,  both  going  and  coming.  He  was  afraid  of 
going  in  state  through  the  streets  as  he  should  have  done,  but  went 
in  his  private  carriage  through  the  park.  But  the  mob  found  him 
out,  and  clung  to  the  carriage-wheels,  hissing,  and  the  church  (the 
Chapel  Royal)  was  surrounded  by  soldiers. 

About  this  time  (on  July,  1816),  one  of  his  oldest  friends,  and 
one  too  who  had  served  him  at  the  expense  of  reputation  and  inter- 
est— Sheridan — was  allowed  to  die  in  poverty  and  neglect.  This 
event  took  place  on  July  5,  1816.  The  Regent  w^as  under  heavy 
obligations  to  him  for  his  reckless  sacrifice  of  character  and  desertion 
of  friends  to  forward  his  interest,  and  serious  charges  of  utter 
abandonment  and  forgetfulness  have  been  made  by  Mr.  Moore  and 
others.  After  the  failure  at  Stafford,  the  Prince  Regent,  says  his 
biographer,  "offered  to  bring  him  into  Parliament;  but  the  thought 
of  returning  to  that  scene  of  his  triumphs  and  his  freedom,  with 
his  royal  owner's  mark,  as  it  were,  upon  him,  was  more  than  he 
could  bear,  and  he  declined  the  offer.  Indeed,  when  we  consider 
the  public  humiliations  to  which  he  would  have  been  exposed 
between  his  ancient  pledge  to  Whiggism  and  his  attachment  and 
gratitude  to  royalty,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  he  should  have  pre- 
ferred even  the  alternative  of  arrests  and  imprisonments  to  the  risk 
of  bringing  upon  his  political  name  any  further  tarnish  in  such  a 
struggle." 

This  bearing  the"  owner's  mark  "  never  at  any  time  gave  Sheridan 


624  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

compunction.  It  is  hard  to  reconcUe  with  this  well-meant  specula- 
tion of  a  poet  the  fact  that  he  actuall}"  accepted  from  the  Prince  a 
large  sum  of  money  to  be  used  in  finding  a  seat,  and  instead  of  so 
using  it,  as  it  was  to  be  expected,  devoted  it  to  another  purpose, 
and  Mr.  Croker,  who  was  intimate  with  the  King,  declares  that 
Sheridan's  plea,  that  "he  had  permission  from  the  lender  to  do  so," 
is,  he  is  sorry  to  say,  entirely  without  foundation.  It  was  noticed, 
indeed,  he  said,  that  he  avoided  every  opportunity  o*  approaching 
the  Regent.*  In  his  last  stage  of  decay  and  illness,  Mr.  Vaughan, 
known  as  "Hat  Vaughan,"  sent  to  say  that  he  was  entrusted  by  a 
mutual  friend  with  a  small  sum  of  money,  about  £200  and  more, 
for  immediate  comforts.  It  was  returned  by  the  family.  Mr. 
Vaughan  always  gave  out  that  this  came  from  a  royal  hand.  ' '  But, " 
says  Mr.  Moore,  "  this  is  hardly  credible;"  nor  can  he  "suppose  it 
possible  that  so  scanty  and  reluctant  a  benefaction  was  the  sole 
mark  of  attention  accorded  by  a  'gracious  Prince  and  master,'  to 
the  last  death-bed  wants  of  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and  faith- 
ful servants  that  royalty  ever  yet  raised  or  ruined  b}'-  its  smiles." 

"The  whole  truth  of  this  story"  (says  Mr.  Croker)  "has  never  as 
yet  been  told.  The  fact  is,  that  Mr.  Taylor  Vaughan  was  requested, 
in  the  first  instance,  to  be  the  bearer  of  £500  from  Carlton  House 
to  Savile  Row.  He  refused,  saying  that  any  such  sum  was  alto- 
gether needless  for  the  only  purpose  which  any  rational  friend  of 
Sheridan's  could  have  in  view  at  the  moment,  and  he  ultimately 
was  persuaded  with  difficulty  to  take  even  £200.  How  much  of 
that  sum  he  actually  carried  to  Savile  Row  is  uncertain — the  busi- 
ness was  left  entirely  to  his  discretion ;  but  that  he  did  carry  a  con- 
siderable part  of  it  thither,  and  that  that  part,  whatever  it  might  be, 
was  accepted  there,  on  the  instant,  is  certain.  Some  time  elapsed 
before  Mr.  Vaughan  returned  to  Colonel  MacMahon  with  his  £200, 
and  told  how  the  money  had  at  first  been  received — how  he  had  wit- 
nessed with  his  own  eyes  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  application  of 
that  money — and  how  suspicions  and  pride  having  been  afterwards 
awakened,  money  had  by  some  means  or  other  been  raised  by  the 
family,  and  the  debt  that  actually  had  been  incurred  extinguished 
by  a  repayment  into  his  hands." 

This  has  been  made  a  party  question  to  help  the  indictment  of 
behaving  treacherously  to  the  Whigs.     But  the  Regent  seems  to 


*  The  details  are  given  in  an  evidently  inspired  article  in  '*  The  Westminster 
Review." 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  IV.  625 

have  met  with  ungenerous  treatment  in  this  instance,  also,  from  his 
old  friends. 

The  untimely  fate,  too,  of  another  political  character  may  be  noted 
here — one  of  the  champions  of  the  Princess  of  Wales — thus  deprived 
by  violent  means  of  two  useful  friends.  The  death  of  Mr.  Whit- 
bread  by  his  own  hand  caused  the  deepest  sorrow  and  contrition. 
By  friends  and  opponents  he  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem.  His 
pleasant  turning  aside  of  the  ill-mannered  question  of  a  county 
member,  "were  they  to  listen  to  such  things  from  a  brewer  of  bad 
beer?"  and  which,  in  the  case  of  another  less  good-humored,  might 
have  led  to  serious  confusion,  is  admirable:  "  I  rise,  sir,  as  a  trades- 
man, to  protest  against  the  imputation  on  the  article  which  I  sell!" 
For  three  weeks  he  had  not  slept. 

In  January,  1817,  the  Regent  opened  Parliament  in  person,  and 
delivered  a  speech  announcing  fresh  measures  of  severity,  "with 
quiet  spirit,"  as  it  appeared  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House.*  It  has 
been  declared  that  on  going  to  the  House  he  had  noticed  the  gath- 
ering  mob,  who,  though  silent,  regarded  him  with  sinister  looks; 
and  that  this  so  unnerved  him  that  he  gave  his  speech  in  weak  and 
faltering  tones.  But  on  his  return  he  was  greeted  with  abuse  and 
violence.  Stones  were  thrown  at  the  carriage.  The  plate-glass 
window  was  found  to  be  perforated  in  two  places,  and  Lord  James 
Murray,  who  was  seated  beside  the  Regent,  declared  his  opinion 
that  the  holes  must  have  been  "made  by  an  air-gun,"  This  theory 
was  received  incredulously,  as  the  two  holes  entailed  the  necessity 
of  two  such  weapons.  However,  a  message  was  sent  to  both 
Houses,  declaring  the  existence  of  certain  mysterious  conspiracies. 
Lords  Castlereagh  and  Sidmouth  once  more  appeared  in  their  re- 
spective Houses,  each  with  "  a  sealed  green  bag,"  announced  to  be 
filled  with  papers  of  the  most  alarming  kind.  Then  followed  sus- 
pension of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  the  reign  of  spies  and  in- 
formers set  in,  with  the  Castles,  the  Olivers,  and  Edmundes,  and 
such  beings. 

The  Regent's  life,  therefore,  could  not  have  been  one  of  peace,- 
and,  indeed,  a  more  judicious  and  popular  ruler  would  have  found 
his  position  one  of  painful  difficulty.  However,  he  consoled  liini 
self  with  festivities  down  at  Brighton,  and  by  the  characteristic 
trait  of  changing  his  birthday,  which  was  in  future  to  be  celebrated 
on  St.  George's  Day,  instead  of  on  the  12th  of  August.     It  also 

*  "  Lloyd,  "  Li^e  and  Times  of  George  IV.,"  Ui.  144. 
%7 


626  TEE  LIFE  OF  OEOBQE  IV. 

occurred  to  him  that  the  Queen's  birthday  might  be  celebrafed  with 
some  state,  and  by  way  of  earning  a  little  public  favor  and  gratify- 
ing his  own  sumptuous  tastes,  he  required  that  all  should  attend  the 
Court  in  dresses  of  English  manufacture.  "His  Royal  Highness 
ordered  all  his  state  and  household  officers  to  wear  costly  dresses  of 
home  fabrication,  and  those  dresses  were  directed  to  be  made  into 
three  classes  of  uniform,  according  to  the  respective  ranks  of  those 
officers.  The  first  class  consisted  of  suits  for  the  Lord  Chamber- 
lain, the  Lord  Steward,  and  the  Groom  of  the  Stole.  The  coats 
were  of  dark  purple,  with  crimson  velvet  collars,  richly  ornamented 
all  over  with  gold.  Not  only  those  persons  who  were  immediately 
under  the  command  of  the  Prince  Regent  complied  with  this  laud- 
able direction  of  wearing  British  dresses,  but  great  part  of  the  no- 
bility and  gentry. 

This  matter  of  dress  suggests  another  era  in  our  Regent's  career, 
namely,  his  adoption  of  the  pleasant  recreation  of  yachting.  His 
vessel.  The  Bayal  George,  was  at  Brighton,  and  on  Monday,  Sep- 
tember 8th,  1817,  he  commenced  a  series  of  excursions,  accompa- 
nied by  his  friends  Nagle  and  Campbell,  Lord  W.  Gordon,  Sir  W. 
Keppel,  and  Captain  Paget.  Accompanied  by  a  squadron  of  war- 
ships he  sailed  out,  when,  we  are  told,  "  the  ships  went  through  all 
the  manoeuvres  of  an  engagement.  At  night  the  vessels  stood  out 
to  sea,  and  the  next  morning  were  off  Dieppe;  where,  communica- 
tion being  had,  the  yacht  and  squadron  crossed  the  Channel  again, 
and  reached  Brighton  on  Saturday,  when  the  Prince  landed.  On 
disembarking  the  Prince  presented  Captain  Paget  with  a  most  ele- 
gant snuffbox,  in  testimony  of  his  high  gratification  and  esteem. 
So  great,  indeed,  was  the  pleasure  that  his  RoyaL  Highness  felt, 
that  among  other  gracious  intimations  of  attachment  to  the  naval 
service,  he  said  that  if  he  should  land  at  any  other  place  than  Brighton 
he  would  wear  the  full-dress  uniform  of  an  admiral,  and  which  he 
should  continue  to  wear  at  his  levees,  alternately  with  the  military 
dress.  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  the  present  Marquis  of  Hert- 
ford, then  Earl  of  Yarmouth,  laid  a  wager  with  Sir  Edward  Nagle, 
that  the  Prince  would  not  sleep  one  night  at  sea.  By  way  of  punish- 
ing him,  the  Prince  remained  out  three  or  four  nights.  The  terms 
were  £100  for  every  night.  Lord  Yarmouth  complained  that  he 
had  not  been  fairly  dealt  with,  and  that  the  Prince  ought  not  to 
have  been  made  acquainted  with  the  bet." 

The  Regent's  connection  with  the  exiled  House  of  Stuart,  slight 
as  it  is,  is  interesting  and  becomingly  gracious.    It  is  well  known  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  627 

on  its  becoming  known  to  the  good  King  George  III.  that  Cardinal 
York  had  been  despoiled  of  everything  by  the  French,  he  conferred 
on  him  a  pension  of  £4000  a  year,  which  was  paid  until  his  death. 
When  the  cardinal  died,  it  was  found  that  by  his  will  he  had  be- 
queathed to  the  Prince  Regent  various  jewels,  including  the  star 
and  jewels  of  the  garter  of  James  II.,  which  had  belonged  to  Charles 
I.,  and  which  many  years  later  the  King  presented  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington;  also  a  handsome  ring  said  to  be  used  by  the  kings  of 
Scotland  on  being  crowned.  The  cardinal,  who  died  in  1807,  al- 
lowed the  Countess  of  Albany  a  pension  of  £800  a  year,  which 
George  III.  doubled  and  continued  until  her  death.  He  left  behind 
him  also  a  great  store  of  family  papers  of  much  interest.  A  por- 
tion of  these  were  seen  by  Sir  J.  Hippesley  about  1794-5,  and,  as 
we  learn  from  an  interesting  article  in  "  The»  Quarterly  Re- 
view," he  "wrote  to  Mr.  Burke,  and  by  him  the  matter  was  brought 
under  the  notice  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  (George  IV.).  His  Royal 
Highness  took  great  interest  in  the  papers,  and  authorized  Sir  John 
to  treat  for  their  purchase.  This  was  effected  in  1798,  in  consider- 
ation of  an  annuity  of  £50  to  one  Waters. 

"Another  mass  of  papers,  of  which  the  larger  portion  consisted 
of  correspondence  and  documents  regarding  the  rebellions  of  1715 
and  1745,  belonged  to  Cardinal  York,  and  remained  after  his  death 
in  the  hands  of  his  executor,  Monsignor  Angelo  Cesarini.  There 
happened  in  1812  to  be  at  Rome  one  Robert  Watson,  who  had  been 
compromised  in  London,  first  as  private  secretar}^  to  Lord  George 
Gordon.  He  purchased  these  papers  for  about  20  guineas,  and  fitted 
up  a  room  to  receive  them,  there  being  several  cart-loads. " 

Rome  at  that  time,  says  another  account,  was  full  of  English,  and 
the  imprudent  collector  could  not  help  boasting  to  them  of  his  pur- 
chase, and  inviting  them  secretly  to  come  and  admire  his  treasure. 
The  late  Duchess  of  Devonshire  having  expressed  a  strong  desire  to 
see  the  collection,  an  evening  was  fixed  for  the  gratification  of  her 
curiosity.  A  few  select  friends  only  were  invited  to  examme  the 
papers.  In  this  number  unfortunately  happened  to  be  thre  cardinal- 
secretary,  wht)  had  been  named  one  of  the  executors  to  the  will  of 
the  late  Cardinal  York,  and  whose  secretary,  the  Abbe  Lupl,  had, 
unknown  to  him,  privately  disposed  of  these  papers  to  Dr.  Walker, 
without  being  aware  of  their  value,  for  the  trifling  sum  of  300 
crowns.  The  evening  was  spent  in  discussing  the  manuscripts ;  the 
cardinal  contented  himself  with  a  cursory  examination,  and  made 


628  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

no  comments  on  the  subject  which  could  lead  the  company  to  sup- 
pose that  he  felt  any  particular  interest  about  them. 

On  the  following  morning,  Dr.  Walker's  apartment  was  invested 
by  a  detachment  of  the  Papal  Carabiniers,  and  an  agent  of  the  po- 
lice placed  a  seal  on  all  his  papers,  while  two  sentinels  were  left  to 
keep  guard  at  his  door  during  the  rest  of  the  day.  The  result  was, 
that  the  doctor  was  deprived  of  his  manuscripts ;  he  received  back 
his  purchase  money,  and  when  he  exclaimed  against  the  injustice  of 
this  proceeding,  he  was  told  he  might  apply  to  the  King  of  Eng- 
land, who  was  the  rightful  heir,  and  to  whom  they  had  been  for- 
warded by  the  cardinal's  orders. 

This  occurred  in  1818.  In  1816  Lord  Castlereagh,  explaining  to 
the  House  that  the  cardinal  had  bequeathed  the  ornaments  to  the 
Regent  in  token-of  gratitude  for  the  kindness  shown  him,  added  that 
a  request  had  been  made  by  the  executors  that  the  Prince  would 
join  them  in  erecting  a  monument.  The  Regent  accordingly  agreed, 
and  the  result  is  the  poetical  memorial — Canova's  masterpiece  in 
St.  Peter's.* 


*  In  this  interesting  episode  may  be  added  a  curious  story  recorded  by  Miss 
Wynne.  "  August,  1844.— From  Angharad  Lloyd  I  have  heard  a  story  which 
is  worth  recording.  Her  sister,  Helen  Lloyd,  was  (through  the  interest  of 
Lady  Crewe,  I  believe)  governess  to  the  younger  daughters  of  the  Duke  of 
Clarence.  He,  as  was  his  custom,  lived  with  her  on  terms  of  familiar  intimacy 
and  friendship  from  the  time  of  her  first  presentation  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
He  had  expressed  a  strong  preference  for  his  second  name  of  Henry,  which 
he  liked  much  better  than  that  of  William.  The  day  after  the  death  of 
George  IV.,  Miss  Helen  Llo5d  met  the  King  at  the  house  of  Lady  Sophia  Syd- 
ney; she  asked  him  familiarly  whether  he  was  to  be  proclaimed  as  King  Wil- 
liam  or  as  King  Henry.  '  Helen  Lloyd,'  he  repUed,  '  that  question  has  been 
discussed  in  the  Privy  Council,  and  it  has  been  decided  in  favor  of  King  Wil- 
liam.' He  added,  that  the  decision  had  been  mainly  influenced  by  the  idea  of 
an  old  prophecy  of  which  he  had  never  heard  before,  nor  had  he  anj'  evidence 
that  it  had  ever  been  made.  The  drift  of  the  prophecy  was,  that  as  Henry 
VIII.  had  '  pulled  down  monks  and  cells,  Henry  IX  would  pull  down  bishops 
and  bells.'" 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  629 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1817. 

Through  all  these  distractions  the  Regent  had  one  settled  object 
in  view — that  of  releasing  himself  from  his  wife.  Almost  from  the 
date  of  her  departure  rumors  concerning  that  indiscreet  lady  period- 
ically reached  England — strange  stories  of  levity  and  questionable 
adventures,  which  must  have  gladdened  her  enemies.  Already  let- 
ters from  private  persons  were  reporting  eccentricities,  and  even  her 
own  attendants  were  beginning  to  look  gi-ave. 

She  had  gone  to  Brunswick,  taking  with  her  a  suite  composed  of 
Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay  and  Lady  Elizabeth  Forbes,  as  maids  of 
honor;  Sir  William  Gell,  Messrs.  Keppel  Craven,  and  St.  Leger,  as 
chamberlains;  Captain  Hesse,  as  equerry;  Dr.  Holland,  as  physi- 
cian; with  Siccard,  as  major  domo.  These  were  all  persons  of 
position  and  respectability.  The  boy  "Wilkin"  was  also  with  the 
party. 

Sir  W.  Gell,  a  man  of  extraordinary  gifts,  was  of  a  type  that  now 
seems  nearly  extinct,  in  whom,  as  the  author  of  "Monographs" 
says,  are  combined  "the  pleasant  play  of  intellect  on  trivial  subjects 
with  sound  scholastic  knowledge."  This  feeling  arises  as  we  peruse 
/lis  letters,  "glowing  with  fun  and  rampant  with  nonsense,"  full  of 
wit  and  a  delightful  persiflage.  Even  in  his  old  age  his  letters  to 
Lady  Blessington  reveal  a  charming  buoyancy.  When  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Queen,  however,  he  could  not  resist  sarcastic  sketchings 
of  her  foibles,  to  which  she  left  him  too  many  ridiculous  openings ; 
but  on  the  main  point,  when  her  interest  was  at  stake,  he  was 
stanch.  Mr.  Keppel  Craven — also  an  antiquary — had  the  same 
lively  vein,  and  took  the  same  sarcastic  view  of  his  mistress. 

She  first  repaired  to  Brunswick  to  see  her  brother,  to  whom  she 
imprudently  lent  a  sum  of  £15,000  on  a  bond,  which  she  afterwards 
attempted  to  enforce  in  an  English  court,  but  where  it  was  received 
with  suspicion,  and  treated  as  a  forgery. 

Dr.  Holland  was  always  reticent  on  the  subject  of  the  journey, 
merely  giving  an  outline  of  the  route  and  a  sketch  of  the  persons 


630  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT, 

and  places  they  visited.  Even  their  setting  out  had  a  grotesque  air: 
"  An  old  London  and  Dover  mail  coach  had  been  purchased  for  the 
conveyance  of  some  of  the  servants  and  baggage  of  the  Princess. 
It  was  a  whimsical  sight  this  coach  offered  when  scaling  the  Sim- 
plon,  with  all  the  old  English  designations  still  upon  its  panels. 
Arrived  at  Naples,  King  Joachim  admired  and  purchased  it;  but 
his  dethronement  soon  afterwards  ended  also  the  career  of  the 
Dover  mail  in  Italy." 

There  was  much  that  was  dramatic  in  the  scenes  they  witnessed. 
AVrites  one  observer:  "What  was  my  horror  when  I  beheld  the 
poor  Princess  enter,  dressed  en  Venus,  or  rather  not  dressed  further 
than  the  waist.  I  was,  as  she  used  to  say  herself,  "all  over  shock." 
A  more  injudicious  choice  of  costume  could  not  be  adopted;  and 
when  she  began  to  waltz,  the  terrm  motus  was  dreadful.  Waltz  she 
did,  however,  the  wiiole  night  with  pertinacious  obstinacy;  and 
amongst  others  w^hom  she  honored  with  her  hand  upon  this  occa- 
sion was  Sismondi.  These  two  large  figures  turning  round  together 
were  quite  miraculous.  As  I  really  entertained  a  friendship  for  the 
Princess,  I  was  unfeignedly  grieved  to  see  her  make  herself  so  ut- 
terly ridiculous." 

Already  one  of  her  suite  began  to  have  forebodings.  "As  to  her 
mode  of  proceeding  (as  I  am  really  her  friend),  it  distressed  me 
greatly.  She  was  dressed  most  injudiciously.  The  natives  were, 
as  she  would  have  expressed  it,  'all  over  shock.'  The  suite  who 
travel  with  her  declare  openly  they  fear  they  shall  not  be  able  to  go 
on  with  her;  not  so  much  from  wrong  doings  as  from  ridiculous 
ones.  When  the  party  were  at  Berne,  the  ci-devant  Empress  Marie 
Louise  was  there,  and  invited  the  whole  party  to  dinner.  Accord- 
ingly they  went,  and  were  received  in  great  state.  To  sum  up  the 
whole  of  that  extraordinary  meeting,  the  Princess  and  Marie  Louise 
fiang  a  duet  together!  The  Princess  seems  satisfied  with  nothing, 
and  has  a  spirit  of  restlessness  in  her  which  belongs  to  the  unhappy 
and  unprincipled.  Whilst  she  sojourned  at  Geneva,  letters  came  to 
her  Koyal  Highness,  recommending  her,  in  the  strongest  terms,  not 
to  go  to  Naples.  On  that  occasion  Maria  Louisa's  manner,"  says 
Dr.  Holland,  "was  quiet  and  pleasing,  without  any  other  marked 
character.  Of  the  great  captive  then  at  Elba  not  a  syllable,  as  far 
as  I  know,  was  uttered — a  silence  which  told  far  more  than  any 
speech  could  have  done." 

These  scenes  show  her  to  be,  as  she  will  be  found  all  through  her 
travels,  foolish  and  reckless,  and,  like  Yorick,  "without  one  ounce 


THS  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  631 

of  ballast."  She  then  passed  on  to  Rome,  where  she  was  presented 
to  the  Pope,  and  by  October  was  at  Milan.  Of  Naples  at  this  time 
her  physician  gives  the  following  dramatic  picture : 

"We  reached  Naples  early  in  November,  King  Joachim  meeting 
the  Princess  at  Aversa,  and  bringing  her  to  his  capital  with  much 
military  show.  Policy  blended  itself  here  with  the  love  of  pomp 
and  display  innate  in  his  temperament.  It  was  a  time  of  continu- 
ous f§te  and  revelry — of  balls,  masquerades,  and  operas;  of  levees, 
processions,  and  military  reviews;  of  boar-hunts  and  fishing  par- 
ties, and  numerous  other  festivities  by  land  and  sea.  In  all  these 
Murat  himself  was  the  conspicuous  figure,  and  well  pleased  to  be 
so.  Tall  and  masculine  in  person;  his  features  well  formed,  but 
expressing  little  beyond  good  nature  and  a  rude  energy  and  con- 
sciousness of  physical  power ;  his  black  hair  flowing  in  curls  over 
his  shoulders;  his  hat  gorgeous  with  plumes ;  his  whole  dress  car- 
rying an  air  of  masquerade.  This  was  the  general  aspect  of  the 
man. 

' '  His  queen,  the  sister  of  Napoleon,  required  and  deserved  more 
study.  Under  her  fine  and  feminine  features  la}^  a  depth  of  thought, 
at  this  time,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  verging  upon  melancholy. 

"At  a  ball  there  was  a  sudden  and  staitling  wind-up.  Every- 
thing went  on  according  to  the  wonted  fashion  of  such  festivities 
until  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  King  and  Queen,  with  the  principal 
persons  of  their  Court,  being  at  that  moment  engaged  in  the  figures 
of  an  English  country  dance.  Count  Mosburg,  our  host,  was  sud- 
denly summoned  out  of  the  room.  He  speedily  returned,  went  up 
to  the  King,  and  whispered  intelligence  to  him,  which  he  instantly 
communicated  in  similar  way  to  the  Queen.  They  both  disap- 
peared from  the  dance,  and  the  assembly  itself  was  at  once  dis- 
solved, each  guest  carrying  away  some  dim  surmise  of  what  had 
happened.  The  intelligence,  in  fact,  was  the  escape  of  Napoleon 
from  Elba." 

At  this  place  the  Princess  was  beginning  to  feel  the  effects  of  her 
lavish  outlay,  having  already  spent  £4,000  on  the  journey.  Within 
fourteen  months  she  was  deserted  by  her  English  suite  on  various 
excuses,  some,  no  doubt,  genuine;  but  the  fact  had  a  damaging  ef- 
fect in  England.  She  complained  of.  this  treatment  of  her,  saying 
they  were  "perfect  tyrants,  and  not  suited  to  do  the  honors  of  an 
English  Court."  Lady  E.  Forbes  "desired  to  see  her  sister  in 
England;"  Mr.  Craven  had  to  go  and  "see  his  mother,"  the  Mar- 
gravine; Sir  W.  Gell  urged  his  gout;  and  Captain  Hesse  wished  to 


632  THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV. 

join  his  regiment.  The  Princess  then  pressed  Mr.  St.  Leger  to  be 
her  chamberlain,  but  he  pleaded  ill-health ;  and  she  offered  places 
to  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  and  his  wife,  who  refused.  Indeed,  all  be- 
gan to  see  that  it  was  a  service  of  danger  to  stay  with  her,  and  that 
her  indiscretion  would  be  likely  to  compromise  them.  Already  it 
was  known  that  spies  were  watching  her,  and  this  system  operated 
on  her  mind,  and  was  magnified  by  her,  which  almost  seemed  a  be- 
ginning of  lunacy.  Yet  it  will  be  seen  that  a  woman  in  such  a  sit- 
uation, deserted  and  spied  on,  might  grow  reckless;  and,  despairing 
of  protection,  defiantly  furnish  her  enemies  with  real  ground  for 
their  attack.* 

After  the  escape  of  Napoleon,  she  had  been  hurrying  through 
Italy,  and  went  on  board  an  English  man  of-war,  commanded  by 
Captain  Pechell.  Of  the  espionage  there  could  be  no  doubt.  At 
one  time  a  Mr.  Quentin  arrived  at  Naples,  and  gave  as  an  excuse 
that  "he  had  come  to  buy  horses  for  the  Regent."  A  more  scanda- 
lous discovery,  however,  w^as  made  in  reference  to  Baron  Ompteda, 
the  Hanoverian  minister,  who  had  been  tampering  with  her  ser- 
vant?. He  succeeded  with  a  German  named  Crede,  who  afterwards 
confessed  to  the  fact.  The  baron,  however,  was  ordered  away  from 
the  town  by  the  police. 

Thus  abandoned  by  the  English,  she  naturally  fell  into  the  hands 
of  foreigners  and  adventurers.  And,  within  a  short  time,  we  find 
the  notorious  and  "  bewhiskered "  Bartolomeo  Bergami  installed. 
It  is  something  in  her  favor  that  this  unlucky  influence  was  not  that 
of  an  individual  but  of  a  whole  family,  consisting  of  Bergami  him- 
self; his  sister,  the  "Countess  01di;"one  Louis  Bergami,  major 
domo;  and  Vallotti  Bergami,  comptroller.  The  head  of  the  house 
was  soon  promoted  to  be  chamberlain,  being  solemnly  invested  with 
a  gold  badge,  and  allowed  to  dine  with  his  royal  mistress.  These 
creatures  flattered  her  weaknesses,  imparted  the  sympathy  which 
she  wanted,  and,  being  adroit  Italians,  kept  her  in  their  hands. 

Now  followed  the  singular  travels  to  Jerusalem,  where  she 
founded  an  "Order  of  St.  Caroline,"!  of  which  she  made  the 


♦  Most  of  the  details  are  from  Lady  O.  Campbell's  well-known  diary.  They 
may  be  relied  on,  though  assailed  by  Mr.  Croker  and  others,  and  have  been 
confirmed  in  their  accuracy  by  the  *'  Memoirs  of  Lord  Brougham,"  and  other 
writers. 

t  The  diploma  of  this  Order,  conferred  upon  Lieut.  Hownham,  surely  be- 
tokens something  like  lunacy: 

"  By  this  present  (given  at  Jerusalem,  12th  July,  1816)  subscribed  by  her  own 


tHE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  633 

Chamberlain  Grand  Master,  the  adoption  of  a  child  of  his,  and  her 
attempt  to  get  him  received  on  a  proper  footing  on  board  the  Clo- 
rinda,  during  her  second  voyage.  These  seem  the  follies  of  a  wo- 
man a  little  disturbed  in  her  brain. 

The  cavalcade,  which  a  traveller  encountered  on  his  road,  was  of 
a  grotesque  kind,  and  did  not  promise  well:  "At  a  small  place 
called  Borgo  St.  Domino,  three  days'  journey  from  hence,  what  was 
my  surprise  to  come  up  to  a  whole  rabble  rout  belonging  to  the 
Princess  of  Wales.  This  consisted  of  twenty-four  persons  in  all. 
There  were  seven  piebald  horses,  and  two  little  cream-colored  po- 
nies; and  two  very  fine  horses  that  drew  a  chariot,  which  was  en- 
tirely covered  up.  They  were  evidently  a  low  set  of  people.  Many 
of  the  women  were  dressed  up  like  itinerant  show  players,  and  al- 
together looked  quite  unfit  to  be  her  attendants.  I  did  not  see  any 
person  that  I  mistook  for  a  gentleman;  but  my  maids  told  me  that 
they  saw  several  men  dressed  in  uniforms  and  swords,  who  looked 
like  pages." 

She  now  took  up  her  residence  in  a  villa,  called  Villa  d'Este,  and 
began  to  sign  herself  Caroline  d'Este. 

"  There  was  difete  champetre  at  the  Villa  d'Este  a  short  time  ago," 
writes  the  lively  Gell,  "of  which  I  dare  say  you  have  heard  all  the 
particulars.  Mrs.  Thompson,"  so  he  styled  the  Princess,  "must 
have  looked  divine  as  a  Druidical  priestess,  which  was  the  charac- 
ter '  we  '  assumed !  and  Le  Comte  Alexander  Hector  von  der  Otto 
figured  charmingly  as  a  god,  to  whom  all  the  priests  and  priestesses 
did  homage.  Willikin  was  the  victim  offered  to  his  Druidical  maj- 
esty. The  Count  Alexander  generally  wears  the  insignia  of  the 
Most  Holy  Order  of  Saint  Caroline,  which  consists  of  a  cross  and  a 
heart  tied  together  with  a  true  lover's  knot,  and  the  English  royal 
motto  encirclmg  the  badge:  '  Eoni  soit  qui  mal  y pense.'  How  far 
these  words  are  applicable  to  the  case  I  cannot  say;  far  be  it  from 
me  not  to  take  them  in  the  sense  they  are  intended  to  convey. 

"  '  We '  go  constantly  on  the  lake  in  '  our '  barge,  and  are  seren- 


hand,  her  Royal  Highness  institutes  and  creates  a  new  Order,  to  recompense 
her  faithful  knights  who  have  had  the  honor  of  accompanying  her  pilgrim- 
ages to  the  Holy  Land, 

"2nd.  That  Colonel  B.  Bergami,  Baron  of  Fi-acina,  Knight  of  Malta,  and  of 
the  Holy  Sepulchre,  shall  be  Grand  Master  of  this  Order;  and  his  children, 
males  as  well  as  females,  shall  succeed  him,  and  shall  have  the  honor  to  weai 
the  same  Order  from  generation,  forever." 

"Billy  Austin  "  received  the  same  privilege. 

27* 


634  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

aded,  and  are,  as  we  say,  very  happy;  but  of  that  I  have  my  doubts. 
To  be  serious,  I  am  truly  sorry  for  Mrs.  Thompson." 

Her  proceedings,  however,  on  board  the  two  men-of-war  in  which 
she  had  taken  passage  at  various  times  were  really  what  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis.  Captain  Briggs,  of  the  Leviathan,  and  Captain 
Pechell,  of  the  Clorinda,  reported  what  they  saw.* 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  the  Regent 
calling  his  counsellors  to  his  aid  to  consider  the  situation. 

THE  PRINCE  REGENT  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

"  Brighton,  Pavilion,  April  2nd,  1817. 

•*Mt  DEAR  Friend, 

"When  last  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  you  left  me 
not  without  the  hope  that  I  might  possibly  see  you  here  for  a  day 
or  two,  your  old  friend  Smith  having  given  up  his  house  in  the 
country:  but  now  something  has  occurred  and  has  reached  me, 
which  presses  much  upon  my  mind,  which  I  am  extremely  desirous 
of  imparting  to  you,  and  of  having  a  most  confidential  conversation 
with  you  upon;  wherefore  I  must  and  do  most  earnestly  desire  of 
you  to  come  here  the  earliest  day  that  you  can  possibly  do  so;  and 
when  you  may  find  it  least  inconvenient  either  to  your  business  or 
yourself.  Always,  my  dear  Lord, 

"  Your  very  affectionate  Friend, 

"George  P.  R 

"P.S. — I  will  be  much  obliged  to  you,  if  you  will  send  me  a  line 
by  return  of  post,  to  say  when  I  may  expect  you." 

THE   SAME. 

"  PaviUon,  Brighton,  April  18th,  1817. 
"My  dear  Lord, 

"I  have  just  received  your  note  conveying  the  melancholy 
tidings  of  the  death  of  that  most  excellent  and  worthy  man.  Sir  A'. 
Thompson,  and  whose  loss  is  certainly  a  very  severe  blow  to  the 
Bench,  however  great  may  be  the  abilities  of  that  person  who  will 
have  to  succeed  him  in  the  high  oflftce  which  he  filled  with  so  much 
respectability  and  eminence.  Any  recommendation  from  you,  you 
may  be  certain,  my  dear  friend,  ever  will  and  must  meet  with  my 


♦  Captain  Pechell  entreated  her  Majesty,  that  if  she  condescended  to  come 
on  board  his  ship,  she  would  spare  him  the  disgrace  of  sitting  at  table  with  a 
menial  servant. 


TH^  life  of  aEOEGE  IV.  635 

entire  concuitetice  and  approbation,  and  therefore  I  authorize  you 
to  acquaint  Mr.  Baron  Richards,  as  soon  as  you  may  choose  to  do 
so,  of  your  having  received  my  sanction  to  his  nomination  upon  the 
present  vacancy.  Believe  me  always, 

"  Yery  affectionately  yours, 

''George  P.  R" 

THE  SAME. 

"  Carlton  House,  May  2nd,  1817. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

' '  I  have  only  just  now  received  your  note,  and  which  I  lose 
not  a  moment  in  replying  to.  In  a  former  answer  of  mine  to  you, 
upon  a  similar  application,  I  already  assured  you  that  any  recom- 
mendation proceeding  from  you  could  hardly  ever  fail  of  meeting 
with  my  fullest  approbation  and  sanction,  and  I  am  therefore  par- 
ticularly happy,  upon  this  occasion  also,  to  afford  you  a  further 
proof  of  my  highest  esteem  and  most  affectionate  regard,  in  signi- 
fying to  you  my  thorough  acquiescence  in  the  arrangement  you 
have  proposed,  of  placing  Mr.  Attorney-General,  Sir  William  Gar- 
row,  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  in  succession  to  the  present  Lord 
Chief  Baron,  Sir  Richard  Richards.  After  having  said  thus  much, 
I  cannot  resist  adding  one  short  word  more,  and  which  is  this — ex- 
pressing my  earnest  desire  and  hope  to  you  that  you  will  suffer  as 
little  time  as  possible  further  to  elapse  before  you  nominate  the  At. 
torney-General's  successor  (which,  I  trust,  will  be  our  present  most 
admirable  Solicitor-General),  and  if  so,  his  successor  also;  for  I  am 
sure  that  if  there  is  much,  or  indeed  even  any,  delay  in  these  nomiua- 
tions,  after  the  appointment  of  Sir  William  Garrow  is  known  to 
the  public,  there  will  be  no  end  or  measurement  to  the  plague  you 
and  I  shall  both  of  us  experience  from  the  various  applications  we 
shall  receive,  arising  out  of  the  numberless  (and,  in  most  instances) 
most  extravagant  and  absurd  pretensions  of  different  individuals. 
Forgive  me  also,  my  dear  friend,  if  I  add  and  bring  to  your  recol- 
lection (and  I  can  hardly  do  so  without  its  forcing  at  the  same  time 
a  smile  on  my  countenance),  that  a  snail's  gallop  is  but  a  bad  thing, 
and  a  very  poor  pace  at  best,  in  most  of  the  occurrences  of  life,  and 
I  am  sure  that  you  would  particularly  find  it  such  in  the  present. 
*'  I  remain,  my  dear  Lord,  always 

"  Your  very  affectionate  Friend, 

* '  George  P.  R. 

"P.S.~I  shall  expect  to  see  you  as  usual  on  Sunday  morning." 


636  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

Enough  had  now  been  done  to  attract  attention  at  home,  whither 
we  shall  now  turn  our  eyes  to  notice  a  gathering  at  Brighton,  to 
which  all  tlie  members  of  the  royal  family  were  bidden.  The  town 
was  pleased  and  rather  puzzled  at  this  descent,  which  was  believed 
to  be  connected  with  the  nefarious  steps  that  were  being  planned 
against  the  Princess,*  and  to  lay  before  the  family,  in  council,  what 
description  of  person  she  was.  Connected,  no  doubt,  with  the 
same  matter  were  certain  letters,  written  in  the  favorite  style  of  the 
Regent,  and  addressed  to  the  Chancellor.  These  consultations 
boded  ill  for  the  Princess,  and,  it  is  stated,  were  prompted  chiefly 
by  the  reports  sent  home  by  Captain  Pechell  to  the  Admiralty. 

*  Some  servants  of  one  of  her  attendants  met  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's 
servants  at  Brussels,  and  reported  strange  tales  of  her  behavior.  These  the 
Duke  carried  to  London,  and  it  is  said  that  Lord  Charles  Stuart  was  despatched 
to  Milan  to  inquire. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV.  637 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

1817. 

Amid  all  these  ominous  portents  and  gatherings  of  enemies  one 
remained  faithful — her  true-hearted  daughter.  She  was  much  dis- 
tressed at  her  mother's  behavior,  but  they  could  not  turn  her 
against  her.  She  was  now  on  the  eve  of  her  confinement,  and,  as 
it  proved,  on  the  eve  of  her  death,  and  almost  her  last  act  was  to 
write  the  following  to  Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay: 

"  The  only  person  now  remaining  with  my  mother,  and  who,  I 
trust,  will  take  courage  and  continue  with  her,  is  Dr.  Holland, 
who,  I  believe,  from  everything  I  have  heard  of  him,  is  a  most 
respectable  and  respected  character.  I  have  it  not  in  my  power 
at  present  to  repay  any  services  shown  the  Princess  of  Wales,  but 
if  I  ever  have,  those  who  remain  steadfast  to  her  shall  not  be  for- 
gotten by  me,  though  I  fear  sensible  people  like  him  never  depend 
much  on  any  promises  from  any  one,  still  less  from  a  royal  person  , 
so  I  refrain  from  making  professions  of  gratitude,  but  1  do  not  feel 
them  the  less  towards  all  those  who  show  her  kindness. 

"  I  have  not  heard  from  my  mother  for  a  long  time.  If  you  can 
give  me  any  intelligence  of  her,  I  should  be  much  obliged  to  you 
to  do  so.  I  am  daily  expecting  to  be  confined,  so  you  may  im- 
agine I  am  not  very  comfortable.     If  ever  you  think  of  me,  dear 

,   do  not  imagine  that  I  am  only    a  princess,   but  remember 

me,  with  Leopold's  kind  compliments,  as  your  sincere  friend, 

•*  Charlotte  Pss.  of  S.  Coburg." 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  excellent  and  agreeable  Holland  had 
been  already  compelled  to  leave  her. 

The  sad  event  which  may  be  said  to  have  affected  the  English 
nation  more  genuinely  than  any  modern  event  was  now  impending. 
Knowing  that  the  people  of  London  wished  to  see  more  of  her, 
the  young  Princess  now  determined  to  come  to  town,  and  Marl 


638  V3^  tlFE  OF  OEOROE  It. 

borough  House  was  to  have  been  her  residence.  She  was  full  of 
happiness  and  enjojTiient,  looking  forward  to  more. 

Some  were  anxious  that  she  should  come  to  town  for  "the 
event,"  but  she  preferred  to  stay  at  Claremont.  Physicians  were 
engaged — Sir  Richard  Croft  and  Dr.  Baillie;  both  men  of  emi- 
nence. The  former  was  a  well-known  fashionable  accoucheur,  and 
his  brother,  Sir  Herbert  Croft,  had  assisted  Johnson  in  his  "Lives 
of  the  Poets,"  and  written  a  strange  book  on  Miss  Ray's  murder — 
"  Love  and  Madness."  These  advisers  came  to  stay  at  Claremont; 
but  the  accouchement  was  delayed  beyond  the  time  anticipated,  so 
that  they  were  detained  in  the  house  over  three  weeks,  during 
which  the  amiable  young  Princess  was  as  agreeable  and  pleasant  as 
possible.  It  was  noted  that  at  times  a  strain  of  serious  presenti- 
ment came  over  her.*  Mr.  Wilberf orce  heard  that  she  said  a  few  days 
before  the  event:  "Certainly  I  am  the  happiest  woman  in  tlie 
world.  I  have  not  a  wish  ungratified.  Surely  this  is  too  much 
life  to  last." 

On  November  4th  expresses  were  hastily  despatched  for  the  vari- 
ous great  officers  of  state,  and  before  night  a  crowd  of  bishops  and 
ministers  had  arrived.  The  crisis  seems  to  have  been  unexpectedly 
prolonged,  and  Croft,  a  nervous  man,  grew  flurried.  It  was  pro- 
longed nearly  the  whole  of  the  night  and  during  the  next  day,  the 
physician  not  interfering  or  aiding;  until,  at  nine  o'clock  on  the 
5th,  it  was  announced  that  the  Princess  "  had  been  delivered  of  a 
still-born  infant  and  was  going  on  favorably."  f  When  she  was  told 
of  this  result  she  took  it  calmly  enough,  but  a  crisis  lasting  fifty 
hours  was  considered  a  serious  and  exhausting  one.  Stockmar 
shall  tell  the  rest. 

"Baillie  sent  to  say  that  he  wished  I  would  see  ihe  Princess. 
I  hesitated,  but  at  last  I  went  with  him.  She  was  in  a  state  of 
great  suffering  and  disquiet  from  spasms  in  the  chest  and  difficulty 
in  breathing,  tossed  about  incessantly  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
speaking  now  to  Baillie,  now  to  Croft.  Baillie  said  to  her,  '  Here 
comes  an  old  friend  of  yours.*    She  stretched  out  her  left  hand 


♦  Prince  Leopold  had  shown  a  praiseworthy  eagerness  on  the  subject  of 
the  baptism  of  his  child,  which  he  wished  should  be  performed  at  once.  Lord 
Liverpool,  however,  in  an  official  strain,  pointed  out  to  him  that  it  was  against 
precedents. 

t  Lord  Eldon  says  that  Baillie  thought  so  seriously  of  the  situation  that  he 
declined  signing  the  bulletin  "  favorably.'*  But  his  name  is  attached  to  all  the 
bulletins. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  639 

feagerly  to  me,  and  pressed  mine  twice  vehemently.  I  felt  her 
pulse,  which  was  very  quick;  the  beats  now  full,  now  weak,  now 
intermittent.  Baillie  kept  giving  her  wine  constantly.  She  said  to 
me,  '  They  have  made  me  tipsy.'  For  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
I  went  in  and  out  of  the  room,  then  the  rattle  in  the  throat  began. 
I  had  just  left  the  room  when  she  called  out  loudly,  '  Stocky ! 
Stocky!'  I  went  back;  she  was  quieter,  but  the  rattle  continued. 
She  turned  more  than  once  over  on  her  face,  drew  her  legs  up,  and 
her  hands  grew  cold.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  November 
6th,  1817 — therefore  about  five  hours  after  the  birth  of  the  child — 
she  was  no  more."  * 

The  shock  of  this  intelligence  may  be  conceived.  The  first  duty 
was  to  communicate  it  to  her  father.  The  Regent  was  at  this  time 
down  at  his  favorite,  Lord  Hertford's,  in  Suffolk,  for  a  week's 
shooting,  where  he  had  received  a  letter  from  the  physician  saying 
"that  his  daughter's  recovery  would  be  slow."  He  left  suddenly 
and  travelled  all  night. 

"The  Prince  Regent  arrived  at  Carlton  House,"  Lord  Bathurst 
wrote  to  Lord  Liverpool,  "  at  a  little  before  four  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing, setting  off  as  soon  as  he  received  the  account  that  Dr.  Sims 
had  been  sent  for.  He  had  missed  the  two  last  messengers.  On 
finding  that  the  Regent  had  arrived,  I  went  with  the  Duke  of  York 
to  Carlton  House  a  little  before  seven,  and  having  waked  Sir  Ben- 
jamin Bloomfield,  we  desired  his  royal  highness  should  be  immedi- 
ately waked,  and  informed  that  we  were  waiting.  On  going  up  he 
asked  most  anxiously  how  things  were  going  on.  I  told  him  at 
once  that  her  royal  highness  had  been  seized  in  an  alarming  man- 
ner at  half-past  twelve  at  night;  aYid,  after  a  short  pause,  added 
that  it  was  over  at  half-past  two.  He  struck  his  two  hands  on  his 
forehead,  and  bowed  down,  without  saying  a  word,  for  a  minute. 
He  then  held  out  his  hand  to  me,  and  calling  his  brother,  threw 
himself  into  his  arms.  He  has  really  behaved  in  a  most  becoming 
manner." 

He  was  so  terribly  affected,  indeed,  that  he  had  to  be  cupped. 
But  his  feelings,  for  he  had  much  sensibility,  must  have  been 
mingled  with  some  self-reproach  for  the  many  weary  hours  of  tor- 


*  It  will  be  noted  that  Stockmar  is  guarded  in  his  account,  and  "  hesitated," 
he  says,  "to  come  to  the  Princess."  The  truth  was,  as  I  have  heard  from  a 
person  to  whom  he  related  it,  that  he  earnestly  warned  the  physicians  that 
the  Princess  was  sinking,  and  had  at  last  been  repelled  by  Croft,  "Are  you  or 
I,  sir,  in  authority  here?" 


640  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOME  IV, 

ture  and  misery  he  had  inflicted  on  the  amiable  young  creature 
now  lying  dead.  His  first  step  to  relieve  these  feelings  was  to  offer 
the  afflicted  husband  "an  immediate  asylum"  at  Carlton  House, 
but  his  son-in-law  naturally  preferred  his  solitude.  The  Regent 
found  comfort  in  a  long  audience  with  Lord  Sidmouth  discussing 
the  pomp  and  preparations  necessary  for  the  funeral.  He,  later, 
set  off  to  join  his  mother  and  family  and  share  their  grief.* 

All  over  the  kingdom  the  effect  was  prodigious;  many  now  can 
recall  the  profound  grief,  the  universal  wearing  of  the  deepest 
black,  the  sermons  in  the  churches,  and  the  fresh  tide  of  unpopu- 
larity that  overw^helmed  the  luckless  Regent.  Strange  ridiculous 
rumors  of  foul  play  got  abroad,  founded  on  the  neglect  with  which 
a  young  creature  had  been  treated,  not  one  of  the  numerous  royal 
matrons  being  with  her.  But  this,  it  is  probable,  was  owing  to 
her  own  desire,  and  the  result  of  her  rather  self-willed  independ- 
ence. "  The  Regent  being  away,  and  all  the  females  of  the  family," 
Mr.  Brougham  said,  "  gives  great  dissatisfaction."  It  was  consid- 
ered that  her  case  had  been  mismanaged,  and  the  hapless  Croft  was 
overwhelmed  with  attacks.  It  seems  that  some  of  his  distinguished 
patients  wrote  to  the  physician  declining  his  further  services.  The 
mind  of  the  wretched  manf  at  last  gave  way  under  the  persecution, 
and  he  destroyed  himself. 

There  was  another  person  to  whom  it  was  proper  that  some 
pains  should  be  taken  to  break  the  news — viz.  the  absent  mother. 
Tlie  Regent  and  his  ministers  on  such  an  occasion  resolved  to 
ignore  her,  and  an  undignified  mode  of  shirking  the  difficulty  was 
resolved  upon.  And  Lord  Liverpool  wrote  to  Prince  Leopold's 
equerry  that  he  should  undertake  the  task,  as  "  some  inconvenience 
might  arise  to  the  Regent  after  all  that  has  passed,  in  renewing  any 


*  He  narrowly  escaped  a  "screed  of  doctrine"  from  Mr.  Wilberforce;  but 
the  poor  widower  was  not  so  fortunate.  "  I  thought  in  the  night  of  writing  a 
letter  to  the  Prince  Regent,  hoping  to  find  his  heart  accessible,  and  put  down 
some  notes  for  it,  but  this  day  scarcely  spent  so  profitably  as  Sundays  should 
be.  Sent  off  a  suitable  letter  with  my  Practical  View  to  Prince  of  Coburgh. 
May  Qod  prosper  it." 

t  "  He  was  in  a  state  of  great  agitation,"  says  Lord  Sidmouth,  "  such  as  I 

never  before  witnessed." "  He  was  observed  to  be  in  a  state  of  fever  and 

excitement,  so  that  he  often  lost  all  command  of  himself.  Early  in  February 
he  spent  the  night  in  the  house  of  a  lady,  in  order  to  attend  her  sister,  the 
wife  of  a  clergyman,  in  her  confinement.  As  this  was  protracted,  he  became 
quite  beside  himself,  and  exclaimed,  '  If  you  are  anxious,  what  must  I  be?' 
During  the  night  he  shot  himself  with  a  pistol,  which  he  found  In  the  room  he 
occupied.    The  clergyman's  wife  was  safely  confined."— Stockmar,  1,  TO. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  641 

channel  of  communication  of  this  nature."  On  the  other  hand,  it 
might  give  umbrage  if  no  notice  whatever  was  taken  of  her  royal 
highness  after  such  a  calamity.  Such  a  communication  from  the 
husband  to  the  mother,  on  the  death  of  the  child,  would  appear 
liable  to  no  objection,  and  subject  to  no  inconvenience.  She  was 
stated  to  have  fainted  on  receiving  it.  In  her  odd  English  she 
wrote  to  Lady  C.  Campbell,  on  December  the  3rd:  "I  have  not 
only  to  lament  an  ever-beloved  child,  but  one  most  warmly  attached 
friend,  and  the  only  one  I  have  had  in  England !  But  she  is  only 
gone  before.  I  have  her  not  losset,  and  I  now  trust  we  shall  soon 
meet  in  a  much  better  world  than  the  present  one. "  Her  style 
of  mourning  was  characteristic.  "To  my  infinite  surprise,  "as  a 
visitor  describes  her,  "  her  royal  highness  wrote,  and  desired  me  to 
wait  upon  her  yesterday,  which  I  did  accordingly,  and  found  her 
looking  very  well,  but  dressed  in  the  oddest  mourning  I  ever  saw; 
a  white  gown,  with  bright  lilac  ribbons  in  a  black  crape  cap!"  But 
the  poor  soul  might  well  become  reckless  now,  for  this  was  a  fatal 
blow  to  her  fortunes.  She  had  lost  not  merely  her  only  friend,  but 
the  only  stake  she  had  left.  She  had  nothing  now  to  offer  to  parti- 
sans, who  might  favor  the  mother  for  the  sake  of  the  daughter. 
Even  those  who  were  well  disposed  felt  that  she  was  now  a  ready 
prey  to  her  enemies. 

"Grey  and  I,"  says  Lord  Brougham  with  great  sagacity,  "in 
discussing  the  event,  took  somewhat  different  views.  He  held  that 
death  had  mercifully  saved  Princess  Charlotte  from  what  would 
have  been,  to  her,  the  fearful  consequences  of  the  disgraceful  pro- 
ceedings against  her  mother.  I,  on  the  other  hand,  felt  persuaded 
that,  had  she  lived,  the  proceedings  of  1820  never  would  have  seen 
the  light.  Even  against  her,  standing  alone,  George  IV.  would 
scarcely  have  ventured  to  have  instituted  them;  but  against  her, 
supported  by  Leopold,  he  would  have  found  such  a  course  im- 
possible. For  Leopold,  of  all  men  I  have  ever  known,  possessed 
every  quality  to  ensure  success  against  such  a  man  as  George  IV., 
and  even  against  such  ministers  as  had  weakly,  if  not  dishonestly, 
done  his  bidding  in  1820."    This  view  commends  itself. 

A  more  serious  view  of  the  situation  was  that  there  were  now 
only  heirs-presumptive  to  the  throne.  The  Duke  of  York  was 
without  children;  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  had  a  son;  the  other 
royal  brothers  next  in  the  succession  were  unmarried.  With  the 
new  year  the  matter  was  seriously  taken  in  hand  in  a  thoroughly 
comprehensive  fashion,  and  three  of  the  royal  brethren  had  selected 


64^  THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XVn 

1819 

It  may  now  be  found  interesting  to  consider  the  Regenfs  family. 
All  through  his  career  the  figures  of  these  personages  stand  out  con- 
spicuously; and  at  certain  great  solemnities  he  would  appear 
attended  by  his  six  brothers  and  often  by  his  sisters.  Some,  at  least, 
were  men  of  marked  character,  but  for  the  most  part  with  a  certain 
eccentricity,  w^hich  they  shared  with  the  Regent.  In  the  case  of  the 
Dukes  of  Clarence  and  Cumberland  this  weakness  seemed  at  times 
to  be  borrowed  from  that  of  their  hapless  father.  The  Duke  of 
Kent  was  an  amiable,  if  not  feeble,  being,  who  suffered  all  his 
life  from  grievances  for  which  he  had  not  weight  of  character  to 
obtain  redress.  The  Duke  of  Sussex  was  chietly  remarkable  for  his 
attachment  to  his  Scotch  fancy  dress,  and  for  taking  the  chair  at 
charity  dinners,  and  for  his  library,  in  which  he  gathered  a  vast 
number  of  rare  Bibles,  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  scarcely  con- 
sidered. The  majority  of  the  brothers  were  perpetually  before  the 
public — their  debts,  escapades,  and  quarrels  periodically  engaging 
attention.  It  has  been  shown  what  a  romance  marked  the  youthful 
days  of  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  then  Prince  Edward.  The  heroine  of 
that  romance  lived  till  1830;  when  he  contracted  another  private 
marriage  with  a  subject.*  This  lady's  position  has  been  recognized, 
and  she  was  created  Duchess  of  Inverness  in  the  present  reign.  His 
son  by  the  first  lady,  Sir  Augustus  D'Este,  gave  King  William  much 
trouble  owing  to  claims  for  recognition,  while  his  sister.  Mademoi- 
selle D'Este,  espoused  the  late  Lord  Truro.  It  is  to  the  credit  of 
the  Duke  of  Sussex  that  he  always  maintained  a  manly  indepen- 
dence, and  did  not  scruple  taking  part  with  Queen  Caroline  and 


*  Cecilia-LBBtltIa  Underwood,  married  May  14,  1815,  Sir  George  Buggin, 
Knight,  of  Great  Cumberland  Place,  who  died  April  2,  1825.  She  was  daugh- 
ter of  Arthur  Saunders,  second  Earl  of  Arran,  K.P.,  by  Elizabeth,  his  third 
wife,  daughter  of  Richard  Underwood,  Esq.,  of  Dublin,  assumed  the  surname 
and  arms  of  Underwood,  Marcli  2,  18»4,  and  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  April 
10, 1840. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOUGE  tV.  643 

the  Princess  Charlotte  against  his  royal  brothers.  Mr.  Adolphus, 
who  was  in  his  company  a  good  deal,  gives  a  pleasing  sketch  of 
him  in  his  velvet  cap,  with  his  meerschaum  pipe,  and  indulging  in 
gossip. 

In  the  Duke  of  York,  after  all  his  defects,  excesses,  and  scandals, 
is  left  a  measure  of  worth  and  excellence  which  redeems  much. 
When  almost  a  youth  he  had  commanded  armies  in  the  field.  He 
had  administered  the  affairs  of  the  English  army  at  home  with  a 
certain  credit,  setting  aside,  of  course,  the  Clarke  scandal.  He 
had  shown  courage  and  spirit,  according  to  the  world's  canons,  in 
fighting  a  duel.  He  was  a  good  speaker,  and  in  the  later  days  was 
to  do  good  service  to  the  anti-Catholic  party.  Since  his  restoration 
to  the  command  of  the  army,  he  had  for  some  years  ceased  to  attract 
attention  by  anything  that  could  give  public  offence.  Now  indeed  of 
an  age  when  excesses  and  frivolities  excite  pity  and  contempt,  he 
began  to  show  his  better  qualities  and  even  virtues — among  which 
was  the  all-redeeming  one  of  never  forsaking  a  friend — with  an  unfail- 
ing good  nature  and  good  feeling  rare  in  princes.  He  had  also 
begun  to  devote  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  oflSce  with  a  praiseworthy 
energy  and  ability  which  before  his  death  left  substantial  results. 
Unfortunately,  however,  these  merits  were  counterbalanced  by  a 
love  of  jovial  society  and  a  fatal  passion  for  play,  while  the  excite- 
ment of  sitting  up  late  was  carried  to  a  reckless  regard  for  his  health. 
This  and  other  old  extravagances  had  plunged  him  in  debts  beyond 
all  hope  of  extrication,  leading  on  occasions  to  painful  pressure  of 
embarrassment  and  processes  to  which  vulgar  beings  are  exposed. 
Mr.  Greville,  his  friend  and  the  manager  of  his  racing  establish- 
ment, describes  some  of  these  scenes  with  much  particularity, 
sketching  his  hospitalities  at  Oatlands,  and  its  eccentric  hostess. 
Of  a  Saturday  it  was  difficult  to  procure  chaises  at  the  White  Horse 
Cellar,  so  many  guests  were  going  down  from  the  clubs — the  host 
himself  only  staying  from  Saturday  till  Monday.  After  dinner,  the 
Duke  would  sit  down  to  his  favorite  whist,  whence  he  would  never 
rise  "so  long  as  he  found  any  one  ready  to  play  with  him.  "During 
the  latter  two  or  three  years  of  his  life,  from  some  dropsical  affection, 
he  got  into  the  habit  of  sleeping  in  a  chair,  which  really  gave  him 
no  repose  and  added  to  his  ailments.  Mr.  Greville  gives  the  follow- 
ing character  of  him,  w^orthy  of  one  of  Sir  Fretful  Plagiary's 

"d d  good-natured  friends:"  "He  is  not  clever,  but  he  has  a 

justness  of  understanding  to  avoid  the  errors  into  which  most  of  his 
brothers  have  fallen.     He  is  the  only  one  of  the  Princes  who  has 


644  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  feelings  of  an  English  gentleman ;  his  amiable  disposition  and 
excellent  temper  have  conciliated  for  him  the  esteem  and  regard  of 
men  of  all  parties,  and  he  has  endeared  himself  to  his  friends  by  the 
Warmth  and  steadiness  of  his  attachments,  and  from  the  implicit 
confidence  they  all  have  in  his  truth,  straightforwardness,  and  sin- 
cerity. He  delights  in  the  society  of  men  of  the  world,  and  in  a 
life  of  gayety  and  pleasure.  He  is  very  easily  amused,  and  par- 
ticularly with  jokes  full  of  coarseness  and  indelicacy;  the  men  with 
whom  he  lives  most  are  tres-polissons,  and  la  polissonnerie  is  the  ton 
of  his  society."  Such  is  the  view  of  a  man  of  the  world  and  of  a 
man  of  pleasure.  The  meaning  of  the  whole  is,  in  the  eyes  of  more 
exact  judges,  that  the  Duke  might  be  considered  a  good-natured 
voluptuary.  If,  however,  we  add  another  element,  that  he  set  up 
as  champion  of  religion  and  the  Church  with  a  devotional  oncHon, 
an  unpleasing  element  is  introduced,  or  at  least  a  strange  instance  of 
self-delusion.  Much,  however,  is  redeemed  by  one  touch :  that  he 
never  would  abuse  an  absent  or  a  fallen  friend,  nor  bear  to  hear  him 
abused.  With  those  who  had  offended  him,  he  was  always  glad  to 
be  reconciled — a  strange  contrast  to  his  eldest  brother,  who  seemed 
to  cherish  rancor.  It  was  also  a  peculiar  quality  in  the  Duke,  as  we 
have  seen,  that  he  never  was  known  to  desert  an  old  friend. 

Some  significant  stories,  illustrating  this  regard  of  his  friends  for 
the  Duke,  as  well  as  the  relations  of  the  royal  family  to  each  other, 
are  recorded  by  Mr.  Raikes.  "Many  years  ago,  Berkeley  Craven 
and  myself  were  sitting  late  after  dinner  at  Brookes's,  when  the 
waiter  came  in  and  said  that  St.  James's  Palace  was  on  fire.  The 
Dukes  of  Cumberland,  Cambridge,  and  Gloucester  were  running 
about  in  every  direction  encouraging  the  firemen,  and  were  very 
conspicuous.  I  then  remarked  to  Berkeley  what  a  pity  it  was  that 
the  Duke  of  York,  who  lived  in  the  Stable  Yard,  should  not  have 
been  apprised  of  it,  and  thus  be  the  only  one  of  the  royal  family 
absent.  We  got  into  a  hackney-coach,  and  drove  to immedi- 
ately. It  was  some  time  before  we  could  get  admittance;  but  on 
giving  in  our  names  the  message  was  carried  up,  and  in  five  minutes 
the  Duke,  evidently  much  alarmed,  received  us,  asking  what  the 
devil  could  have  brought  us  there?  On  stating  the  case,  he  entered 
immediately  into  our  feelings;  said  he  should  never  forget  the  obli- 
gation, and  no  other  conveyance  being  at  hand,  got  into  the  coach, 
and  in  half  an  hour  afterwards  was  seen  more  prominent  than  any- 
one else  in  extinguishing  the  flames."  A  little  trait  creditable  to  all 
concerned. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  645 

The  Duchess  seems  to  have  been  truly  eccentric.  Her  curious 
taste  was  for  keeping  pets,  whose  graves  were  duly  marked  by 
tablets  in  enormous  numbers.  In  an  amusing  passage,  Mr.  RaikcK 
speaks  of  the  ' '  adroitness  and  tact  with  w^hich  she  so  successfully 
avoided  any  collision  with  the  cabals  and  iracasseries  which  for  so 
many  years  unfortunately  ruled  in  various  branches  of  the  royal 
family ;"  and  her  tact  was  attested  by  the  fact  that  all  the  men  of 
her  "set "  had  the  highest  regard  for  her,  and  sent  her  little  presents 
on  anniversaries.  This  singular  Princess  died  in  1820.  Her  letter  to 
one  of  these  friends.  Lord  Lauderdale,  written  a  few  days  before 
her  death,  has  all  the  intrepidness  of  the  "woman  of  the  world,"  or, 
as  the  dandy  would  say,  tres-grande  da^ne. 

"MoN  CHER  Lord  L., 

"Je  fais  mes  paquets,  je  m'em  vais  incessamment.     Soyez 
toujours  persuade  de  Tamitie  que  je  vous  porte. 

"Yotre  affectionnee  Amie, 

"F." 

"Among  her  own  household,"  says  a  contemporary  account, 
' '  not  a  servant  w^as  married  without  having  a  house  furnished  by 
her."    Every  charity  in  the  neighborhood  was  provided  for. 

Besides  this,  she  had  a  long  list  of  infirm  pensioners,  of  both 
sexes,  in  London,  who  received  regular  allowances,  some  five, 
others  ten,  and  some  even  twenty  pounds  a  year.  Nor  let  it  be  for- 
gotten, that  in  all  these  exercises  of  humanity,  the  Duchess  met 
with  the  full  and  cheerful  concurrence  of  her  royal  consort,  who 
was  pleased,  at  her  demise,  to  direct  that  all  her  charities  should  be 
regulaily  continued. 

To  dogs  the  Duchess  was  remarkably  attached;  and  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  see  her  in  the  park  surrounded  by  thirty  or  forty 
of  these  animals  of  various  sorts,  as  English  lapdogs,  Dutch  pugs, 
and  French  barbettes.  "Their  respective  litters  were  taken  great 
care  of,  and  the  j^oung  ones  not  unfrequently  boarded  out,  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  cottagers." 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland  has  been  described  by  Mr.  Greville 
with  a  pitiless  minuteness.  His  own  brother  gave  him  the  character 
of  delighting  in  setting  husband  and  wife,  lovers,  brothers  and  sis- 
ters, parents  and  children,  by  the  ears.  His  singular  quarrel  with 
Lord  and  Lady  Lyndhurst  is  well  known,  and  an  excellent  specimen 
of  his  temper.     Strange  mysterious  stories  were  circulated,  and  the 


646  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

well-known  midnight  onslaught  of  the  valet,  Sellis,  was  always 
associated  by  the  public  with  some  tale  of  mystery  beyond. 

The  eccentricities  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence  are  more  familiar. 
His  extraordinary  attachments,  his  sea  manners  and  rough  phrases, 
made  him  a  most  singular  person.  For  a  period  of  nearly  forty 
years  his  course  was  steadily  marked  by  strange  and  eccentric 
behavior,  like  that  recorded  by  Miss  Burney  at  the  time  of  the 
King's  first  seizure.  Such,  too,  are  his  attachments;  his  freaks 
as  Lord  High  Admiral,  described  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  as 
"  more  expensive  and  foolish  than  in  any  way  serviceable,"  and  his 
early  doings  as  King,  described  by  Mr,  Greville.  Tlie  wonder  was 
that  such  oddity  did  not  break  down  the  feeble  barrier  that  divided 
it  from  madness.  He  was  fond  of  offering  his  hand  to  young 
ladies,  as  he  did  in  1818  to  Miss  Wykeham,  who  accepted  him. 
"The  Prince,"  we  are  told,  "accompanied  by  the  Duchess  of  Glou- 
cester, went  to  Windsor  to  inform  the  Queen  of  this  happy  event, 
who  was  of  course  outrageous.  The  Council  have  sat  twice  upon 
the  business;  and  it  is  determined,  as  I  understand,  to  oppose 
it.  You  may  imagine  the  bustle  it  creates  in  the  royal  concerns. 
The  Drawing  Room,  on  Sunday,  was  put  off;  on  Monday  it  was 
resumed.  My  own  private  belief  is,  that  the  Prince  has  been 
encouraging  the  Duke  of  Clarence  to  it,  at  Brighton,  and  now  turns 
short  round  upon  him,  as  is  usual,  finding  it  so  highly  objectionable. 
They  talked,  scolded,  and  threatened  him  out  of  his  love-match." 
This  large  family  of  Princes  and  Princesses,  their  debts  and 
increased  allowances,  were  destined  to  be  a  serious  drain  on  the 
resources  of  the  country.* 

The  Princesses  were  all  excellent,  "well-brought-up"  ladies. 
One  of  Gainsborough's  most  pleasing  pictures  represents  three  of 
them  walking  in  the  "Mall,"  with  the  crowd  promenadiug,  and,  as 
may  be  conceived  of  such  a  painter,  they  are  portrayed  as  elegant. 


*  From  a  return  made  in  the  reign  of  George  the  Fourth,  we  find  under  the 
head  of  "  Pensions  to  the  Royal  Family  "  the  following  sums:  To  the  Duke  of 
Clarence,  £82,500;  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  £27,000;  to  the  Duke  of  Sus- 
sex, £21.000;  to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  £27,000;  to  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
£14,000;  to  the  Princess  Sophia  of  Gloucester,  £7,000;  to  the  Duchess  of 
Gloucester,  £14,000;  to  the  Princess  Elizabeth  of  Hesse-Homburg,  £14,000;  to 
the  Princess  Augusta,  £13,000;  to  the  Princess  Sophia,  £13,000;  to  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  £12,000;  to  the  Duchess  of  Clarence,  £6,000;  and  to  the  Prince  of  Co- 
burg,  £50,000.  Besides  which,  a  sum  of  £171,000  had  been  distributed  as  pres" 
ents  among  the  royal  family  out  of  the  "  droits." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  647 

graceful  young  women.  They  were  brought  up  strictly  under 
Madama  La  Fite,  and  there  are  still  preserved  many  of  their  child- 
ish letters,  written  in  the  French  tongue,  and  addressed  to  their 
gouvernante.  One  of  these,  of  a  penitential  character,  and  written 
by  the  Princess  Augusta  when  about  ten  years  old,  will  be  found 
interesting: 

"Une  pauvre  mechante,  nommee  Auguste  Sophie,  qui  est 
extremement  fachee  de  la  sotte  mani^re  dont  elle  s'est  conduite 
envers  sa  bonne  amie  Madame  de  La  Fite,  la  prie  d'excuser  son 
espi^glerie,  et  ayant  examine  avec  attention  sa  conduite  si  sotte  et  si 
imprudente,  elle  est  frappee  de  cette  mechante,  et  prie  tr^s  humble- 
ment  sa  bonne  Madame  de  La  Fite  d'oublier  ses  sottises  et  de  la 
croire  sa  toujours  fidelle  amie, 

"Auguste  Sophie."* 

But  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  afterwards  Landgravine  of  Hesse- 
Homburg,  seems  to  have  been  a  person  of  character,  and  was  gener- 
ally employed  by  her  mother  to  write  for  her  to  the  Chancellor  and 
other  officials.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the  Prince  of  Wales,  on 
entering  on  the  regency,  announced  as  part  of  his  programme  a 
generous  increase — from  the  nation — to  his  sister's  allowances.  The 
following  familiar  letter  shows  with  what  fluttering  eagerness  the 
family  turned  towards  him  who  was  to  be  now  virtually  the  new 
King: 

PRINCESS  ELIZABETH  TO  THE  DUKE  OP   CLARENCE. 

"March  25th,  1812. 
"A  thousand  thanks  for  your  most  kind  and  entertaining  letter, 
which  amused  us  all  not  a  little.  My  mother  desires  me  to  say  on 
Saturday  the  man  who  is  to  take  care  of  the  Jerusalem  ponies  will 
be  with  you,  and  will  stay  till  you  order  him  back  with  the  curls. 
Your  very  affectionate  manner  of  expressing  yourself  on  our  busi- 
ness is  most  kind  and  like  yourself.  We  only  feel  hurt  that  we 
should  have  been  the  innocent  cause  of  anything  being  brought  for- 
ward that  must  have  been  unpleasant  to  the  P.  R.  It  only  makes 
us  feel  more  strongly  how  much  we  owe  him;  and  his  whole  con- 
duct has  been  so  delicate,  so  angelic,  and  so  like  himself,  that  I  can- 
not say  how  penetrated  I  am  with  it.     Was  I  to  go  on,  I  should 

*  Brit.  Mus.  Add.  MSS. 


648  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

never  end,  and  having  an  abominable  pen,  I  will  not  take  up  more 
of  your  precious  time."* 

The  Princess  Sophia  survived  until  the  year  1848.  Her  brother, 
the  King  of  Hanover,  outlived  her  by  three  years,  and  was  the  last 
survivor  of  tlie  generation.  The  Prince's  favorite  sister  was  Char- 
lotte, Princess  Royal,  married  to  the  Duke  (later  King)  of  Wurtem- 
burg.  Her  well-known  resolute  behavior  to  Napoleon,  under  try- 
ing circumstances,  helped  to  save  her  husband's  kingdom,  and  won 
the  praise  of  the  despot  himself.  She  exhibited  as  much  tact  as 
resolution,  f 

The  Duke  of  Kent,  an  amiable  suffering  prince,  was  treated  with 
much  harshness  by  his  father.  Sunk  in  debt,  he  was  at  one  time 
so  indiscreet  as  to  print  a  pamphlet,  in  which  were  set  out  his  com- 
plaints.* Yet  he  seems  to  have  been  fairly  provided  for,  being 
colonel  of  a  regiment  at  an  early  age.  Governor  of  Gibraltar — 
whence  he  was  recalled,  owing  to  unpopularity  from  repressing 
abuses — Commander-in-Chief  of  the  English  forces  in  America,  and 
finally  Field -Marshal.  His  debts  amounted  in  1807  to  the  large  sum 
of  £108,000,  owing,  as  he  maintained,  to  his  having  received  no 
allowance  for  his  various  "outfits."  From  that  time  he  was  always 
clamoring,  or  piteously  appealing,  for  assistance  to  the  Government; 
and  a  pamphlet  was  printed,  if  not  published,  declaring  his  griev- 
ances to  the  public,  about  the  same  time  that  the  Duke  of  Sussex, 
who  had  his  own  hardships,  was  also  consulting  with  Romilly  on 
printing  7iis  grievances.  The  poor  Duke  of  Kent,  who  had  given 
bonds  to  his  creditors  which  for  many  years  he  honorably  acquitted, 
became  at  last  so  pressed  for  money  that,  when  the  time  of  the  birth 
of  an  expected  heir  to  the  throne  drew  near,  he  had  to  appeal  to  a 
friend  for  cash  to  enable  him  to  carry  out  his  cherished  and  becom- 
ing wish  that  the  future  occupant  of  the  throne  should  be  bom  on 
English  soil 4 

No  one,  however,  seemed  to  be  much  interested  in  his  case.  The 
fact  was,  the  Duke  had  not  been  badly  treated  by  the  country. 
Besides  his  various  appointments,  he  had  received  £12,000  a  year, 
afterwards  increased  to  £16,000;  £26,000  was  given  him  by  Mr.  Pitt 


•  Brit.  Mus.  Add.  MSS. 

+  Miss  Wynne  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  this  Princess  in  her  old  age,  in 
which  is  included  a  detailed  account  of  her  mode  of  dealing  with  the  con- 
queror. 

:;  The  letter  is  in  Lord  Houghton's  collection. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  649 

for  payment  of  his  debts,  out  of  "Admiralty  droits,"  and  on  his 
marriage  £6000  a  year  was  settled  on  him  and  his  wife.  But  noth- 
ing seemed  to  help  him,  and  we  find  him  at  last  petitioning  Parlia- 
ment to  allow  him  to  dispose  of  his  estate  and  effects  by  lottery. 
Always  in  opposition  he  could  not  expect  assistance.  Imitating  the 
example  of  his  eldest  brother,  he  broke  up  his  establishment,  and 
retired  to  a  modest  house  at  Sidmouth,  where  her  present  Majesty, 
then  an  infant,  had  a  narrow  escape  from  a  rustic  shooting  spar- 
rows.    The  shot  actually  broke  the  window  of  the  nursery. 

The  marriages  of  the  royal  brothers  had  now  been  arranged,  and 
were  to  inaugurate  some  very  disagreeable  discussions  on  the  allow- 
ances the  nation  was  to  make  to  them.  There  was  something 
amusing  in  this  sudden  ardor  to  secure  the  chance  of  presenting 
heirs  to  the  crown.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  contracted  to  the 
Princess  Augusta  of  Hesse,  the  Duke  of  Clarence  to  Princess  Ade- 
laide of  Saxe  Meningen,  and  the  Duke  of  Kent  to  Princess  Victoria 
of  Leiningen.  Two  years  before  Princess  Mary  had  been  married 
to  her  cousin,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  while  Princess  Elizabeth 
now  chose  the  ungainly  Prince  of  Homburg,  or  "  Humbug,"  as  he 
was  called.  This,  with  Princess  Charlotte's  marriage,  and  that  of 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland  to  Princess  Salmos,  made  up  no  less  than 
seven  royal  marriages  within  a  short  period ;  and  no  wonder  the 
English  public  was  in  surly  humor  when  these  personages  came 
asking  for  handsome  provision.  When  £10,000  a  year  was  proposed 
for  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Clarence,  the  House  of  Commons 
promptly  reduced  the  sum  to  £6000,  on  which  the  sailor  Duke 
formally  announced,  through  Lord  Castlereagh,  that  he  had  broken 
off  the  match.  By  pressure  the  House  was  induced  to  give  way  to 
his  wishes.  Six  thousands  pounds  a  year  each  was  then  granted  to 
the  others,  save  in  the  instance  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who, 
in  the  most  pointed,  mortifying  way,  was  actually  refused  any  pro- 
vision whatever;  a  jointure,  however,  being  given  to  bis  wife. 

At  last,  on  July  11th,  the  two  marriages  took  place  in  the  draw 
ing-room  at  Kew,  as  the  Queen  was  too  feeble  to  go  out.  Thero 
was  something  pathetic  in  this  her  last  appearance,  for  she  was  now 
actually  dying,  and  she  showed  her  undaunted  spirit,  determined 
to  go  through  every  ceremony  to  the  end.  In  November  her  long 
and  troubled  life  came  to  a  close.  It  is  gratifying  to  record  that 
her  eldest  son  was  remarked  for  his  assiduous  care  and  anxiety  to 
alleviate  her  sufferings. 

In  the  interval,  however,  he  attracted  public  attention  by  an  ab 
28 


650  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

surd  exhibition  at  table,  where  he  entertained  the  foreign  ministers 
by  singing  some  jovial  songs,  to  which  they  listened  with  due 
gravity. 

Indeed,  many  stories  of  this  grotesque  kind  were  beginning  to  get 
abroad.  As  he  was  now  nearly  sixty  years,  a  little  sobriety  and 
seriousness  might  have  been  expected.  However,  the  healthy  pas- 
time of  yachting,  which  he  had  lately  begun  to  follow,  gave 
evidence  of  a  better  taste.  The  following  year  he  had  intended 
visiting  the  Isle  of  Wight  for  the  regatta  given  by  "The  Sailing 
Club  Society ;"  but  the  death  of  the  Queen  was  expected,  and  he 
could  not  in  decency  leave  town.  "All  the  Princes,"  Mr.  Greville 
writes,  "were  delaying  their  departure,  expecting  and  looking  out 
for  the  plunder  to  arise  from  the  Queen's  death."  The  dying  lady 
must  have  felt  strange  memories  coming  back  on  her  of  that  long 
life,  the  last  twenty  years  of  which,  at  least,  were  charged  with 
more  troubles  and  sorrows  than  seemed  likely  to  fall  to  the  lot  of 
one  of  her  ordinary  subjects.  It  was,  indeed,  a  sad  life  to  review: 
a  husband  afflicted  with  incurable  madness;  a  son  waging  war  with 
his  parents,  and  the  cause  of  his  father's  malady ;  other  children 
bringing  discredit  on  their  name  and  family;  a  loved  daughter  and 
grand-daughter  cut  off  in  a  sad  and  sudden  way;  a  daughter-in-law 
associated  with  scandals  not  yet  ripe,  indeed  but  part  ripening; 
marriages  made  in  defiance  of  her  wishes;  debts  and  borrowings; 
such  had  been  the  afflictions  of  her  middle  and  old  age.  She  died 
in  her  chair,  as  her  son,  the  Duke  of  York,  was  later  to  die,  on 
November  17th,  1818. 

The  loss  of  this  parent,  however,  furnished  the  Regent  with  an 
opportunity  for  exercising  his  darling  taste.  Buckingham  House, 
long  known  as  the  "Queen's  House," had  become  now  his  own — 
an  ancient,  old-fashioned,  and  dilapidated  pile  of  red  brick,  and 
much  in  the  condition  of  Carlton  House  when  it  came  into  his 
hands.  But  these  were  actual  advantages — "great  capabilities," 
as  Mr.  Brown  used  to  say — opportunities  for  alteration,  rebuilding, 
and  adornment.  Carlton  House  was  scarcely  to  his  mind,  though 
recently  he  had  assembled  a  cabinet  of  virtuosi  and  architects  to 
debate  new  improvements,  and  "add  a  new  wing."  How  much 
better  to  begin  afresh  on  the  old  pile ;  and  accordingly  he  proposed 
to  set  to  work  on  the  palace ;  the  public  furnishing  money  for  the 
necessary  alterations.*    It  had  been  seen  what  a  fascination  the 

♦  Mr.  Herries,  in  his  memoir  of  his  father,  mentions  a  formal  resolve  of  the 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  651 

costly  pastime  of  building  had  for  the  Prince  all  through  his  life. 
This  folly  involved  him  in  distress  and  discredit,  but  it  must  be 
owned  that  London  owes  to  him  the  patronage  of  the  magnificent 
wholesale  projects  which  laid  out  the  long  line  of  handsome  streets 
that  stretch  from  Carlton  House  Terrace  up  Waterloo  Place,  Regent 
Street,  to  Langhani  Place,  terminated  by  the  handsome  Regent's 
Park.  It  has  been  told  how  bold  and  imperial  was  the  scheme. 
The  inspirer  of  the  whole  was  Nash,  the  architect,  who  introduced 
the  "stucco  palaces"  and  the  ambitious  style  of  terrace  found  in 
the  Regent's  Park;  which,  indeed,  offer  a  great  variety  of  treat- 
ment. After  all  objections,  the  new  quarter  remains  a  creditable 
and  even  imposing  work  of  an  architectural  pretension;  and  it  will 
be  noted  what  variety  was  obtained  by  breaking  the  line  of  houses 
into  distinct  groups  or  blocks.  Within  living  memory  a  fine  piazza 
ran  on  both  sides  of  the  Quadrant,  which  was  removed  in  deference 
to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  shopkeepers.  Her  Majesty's 
Theatre  was  newly  fronted,  in  the  same  taste,  by  the  architect,  and 
with  fine  effect.  The  architect  was  accused  of  having  bought 
ground  at  a  low  price,  and  at  his  own  official  valuation,  from  the 
commissioners,  which  he  disposed  of  for  building  purposes  at  about 
three  times  the  price.*  The  patronage  of  the  King,  who  was  all 
through  his  friend,  brought  him  valuable  assistance  and  fortune.f 

Yet  within  a  few  years,  with  a  curious  capriciousness,  the  King 
was  willing  to  sacrifice  the  palace,  for  which  this  costly  scheme  had 
been  originally  designed,  and  cheerfully  consented  that  Carlton 
House  should  be  pulled  down.  On  the  Queen's  death  he  proposed, 
as  we  have  seen,  "removing  to  Buckingham  House,"  which  led  to 
an  extraordinary  suggestion  on  the  part  of  the  Premier,  Lord  Liver- 
pool, though  accompanied  by  a  lecture.  He  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
submit  his  opinion  that,  "  however  desirable  some  addition  to  the 
Queen's  palace  may  be  (with  a  view  to  his  Royal  Highness  holding 
Drawing  Rooms),  it  would  not  be  felt  by  the  public  to  be  indis- 
pensably necessary;  and  could  but  think,  therefore,  that  in  the 

King  "never  to  build  a  palace."  But  he  preferred  "  restoration,"  and  those 
at  Windsor,  Carlton,  and  Buckingham  cost  far  more. 

*  The  architect,  however,  was  acquitted  of  having  thus  turned  his  opportu- 
nities to  undue  profit,  though  the  transaction  was  brought  before  the  House 
of  Commons. 

+  Augustus  at  Rome  was  for  building  renowned, 
And  of  marble  he  left  what  of  brick  he  had  found'i 
But  is  not  our  Nash,  too,  a  very  great  master? 
He  finds  us  all  bricks  and  he  leaves  us  all  plaster.— G.  R.  1825. 


652  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

present  circumstances  of  the  country  such  addition  would  better 
be  deferred.  The  only  measure  which  could  be  resorted  to  would 
be  to  sell  or  to  lease  the  site  on  which  St.  James's  Palace  now 
stands.  Lord  Liverpool  would  not  be  acting  fairly  by  his  Royal 
Highness  if  he  did  not  endeavor  to  impress  upon  him  that  any 
measure  of  this  sort  would  be  viewed  with  particular  jealousy,  and 
if  it  could  be  carried  through  the  House  of  Commons,  it  would  be 
only  on  the  ground  that  the  Treasury  were  to  be  strictly  responsible 
for  the  extent  of  the  undertaking  (not  exceeding  the  amount  of  the 
sum  raised  by  the  means  above  mentioned),  and  for  the  execution 
in  detail  of  the  intended  improvement." 

On  the  death  of  the  Queen  the  family  met  to  settle  about  her 
property,  and  the  four  young  Princesses  were  to  receive  the 
"golden  heaps,"  to  the  great  disappointment  of  the  Princes,  "par- 
ticularly Clarence,"  says  Mr.  Fremantle,  "who  fully  expected 
something."* 

It  had  been  well  had  there  been  merely  question  of  a  division  of 
her  personalty,  but  she  had  left  behind  her  a  vacant  office,  namely, 
the  guardianship  of  the  King.  It  was  the  fate  of  the  royal  family 
always  to  exhibit  a  certain  eagerness  for  such  offices  that  excited 
public  notice.  It  was  perhaps  natural  that  the  Duke  of  York,  her 
second  son,  should  succeed  as  "Custos;"  but,  considering  that  the 
late  King's  expenses  were  defrayed  out  of  his  own  allowance,  it 
was  urged  that  £10,000  a  year  was  an  immense  sum  to  allow  for 
the  expenses  of  an  occasional  visit  to  Windsor,  "to  look  at  his 
Majesty."  Indeed  the  outcry  was  so  strong  that  the  Duke  at  last 
proposed  to  his  brother  to  undertake  the  office  gratis,  or  for  the 
mere  expenses  out  of  pocket.  The  latter,  with  that  caustic  shrewd- 
ness which  marked  him  in  such  matters,  said,  "  So,  sir,  you  would 
be  popular  at  our  expense!"  \ 

During  these  discussions,  a  piece  of  national  extravagance  was 
revealed  which  seems  surprising  to  our  more  economical  times, 
namely,  that  presents  in  the  shape  of  snuffboxes,  etc.,  had  been 
made  to  the  foreign  ministers  to  the  amount  of  £22,000! 

Not  so  well  known,  or  perhaps  recollected,  is  the  circumstance 
that  previous  to  the  birth  of  the  Princess  Victoria  there  had  been 


♦  "  Regency,"  II.  291. 

f'The  royal  Duke's  only  duty  to  his  afflicted  father,"  said  Mr.  Tiemey, 
"  would  be  to  go  from  London  or  Oatlands  to  Windsor  once  or  twice  a  week, 
and  it  was  modestly  proposed  that  he  should  be  allowed  £10,000  a  year  for 
the  hire  of  post  horses!  The  real  expense,"  he  added,  "  would  not  be  more 
than  £200." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  653 

another  Princess  in  the  line  of  succession,  who,  had  she  lived, 
would  have  excluded  her  present  Majesty.  This  was  the  daughter 
of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  Princess  Charlotte,  born  on  March  1, 
1819,  but  who  lived  only  a  few  hours.  The  Princess  Victoria,  born 
on  May  24, 1819,  then  came  into  the  direct  succession,  but  was  dis- 
placed by  another  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  Princess 
Elizabeth,  born  in  December,  1820,  who  lived  only  three  months. 
Her  death  restored  the  Princess  Victoria  to  the  chance  of  succeed- 
ing to  the  throne. 

This  event — the  birth  of  the  future  Queen  of  England — seems  to 
have  been  considered  but  of  slight  importance,  probably  on  account 
of  the  poor  estimation  in  which  the  Duke  was  held:  or  being  per- 
haps considered  certain  that  the  Duke  of  York  would  inherit,  and 
that  the  recently  married  Dukes  would  have  children,  the  Duke  of 
Kent  being  only  the  King's  fourth  son.  The  christening  of  the 
Princess  Victoria  took  place  on  June  24th,  in  the  grand  saloon  of 
Kensington  Palace,  in  presence  of  the  Regent,  the  Duke  of  York, 
and  the  Princes  and  Princesses.  She  received  the  names  of  Alex- 
andra Victoria;  the  first  in  compliment  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
who  had  been  selected  as  godfather. 

The  ferment  in  the  public  mind  continuing,  taking  the  shape  of 
vast  disorderly  assemblages,  and  which  culminated  in  the  well- 
known  Pcterloo  riots,  helped  to  rally  to  the  Regent  the  support  of 
men  of  position  and  politicians  opposed  to  his  Government.  We 
find  the  Grenvilles  and  Buckinghams  renewing  their  old  adhesion, 
just  as  the  Duke  of  Portland  and  other  Whigs  had  done  a  genera- 
tion before,  through  apprehensions  of  the  excesses  of  the  French 
Revolution.  The  result  was  crowded  and  brilliant  levees,  which 
the  Regent  now  held  at  Buckingham  House  for  the  first  time,  and 
it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  this  general  adhesion  was  inter- 
preted as  a  sign  of  popularity. 

At  last  the  time  approached  when  the  good  old  King  was  to  lay 
down  his  weary  life.  After  reaching  the  age  of  eighty-two,  and 
reigning  sixty  years,  the  last  ten  of  which  had  been  a  living  death — 
blind,  as  well  as  insane — on  January  the  29th  he  closed  his  unhappy 
course.  Only  a  week  before,  his  son,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  was  car- 
ried off  by  a  feverish  cold,  which  terminated  a  life  that  seems  to 
have  been  one  long  course  of  anxieties  and  struggles.  The  aged 
King  breathed  his  last  attended  by  his  favorite  son,  the  Duke  of 
York;  but  his  eldest  was  not  able,  from  ill -health,  to  be  with  him. 
Thus,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine,  King  George  IV.  ascended  the 
(Tlirone. 


654  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV, 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1811—1820. 

At  this  point,  when  the  Regency  has  come  to  a  close,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  take  a  review  of  the  glories  for  which  the  old 
"Regency  Days"  were  celebrated— its  dandies  and  other  person- 
ages, its  triumphs  of  dress,  and,  above  all,  the  peculiar  fashion  of 
manners  and  entertainments  which  it  introduced,  with  a  person  at 
the  head  of  affairs  of  special  taste  in  this  direction,  eager  to  inspire 
changes  in  modes  and  costumes.  As  we  recall  these  glories,  one 
name  rises  to  our  lips  as  the  very  incarnation  of  dandyism,  not 
merely  in  the  superficial  externals  of  dandyism,  but  in  its  character 
— that  of  George  Brummell,  of  whose  course  I  shall  give  a  sketch. 

The  career  of  this  personage  is  not  uninstructive,  or  without  a 
wholesome  moral,  for  those  who  are  called  votaries  of  fashion;  for 
a  more  terrible  finale  to  incurable  selfishness  and  heartlessness  is  not 
to  be  found  "in  the  books."  When  he  was  onl}^  sixteen,  he  was 
given  a  commission  in  the  well-known  "Tenth"  (the  Prince  of 
Wales's);  but  when  it  was  first  ordered  to  Manchester,  the  shock 
proved  too  much  for  Mr.  Brummell,  who  retired.  He  became  the 
friend  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  owing  to  his  amusing  and  caustic 
style  of  conversation.  He  took  the  lead  in  questions  of  dress.  The 
Prince  would  drive  to  his  house  in  Chesterfield  Street  of  a  morning, 
sit  there  long,  and  then  propose  that  his  host  should  give  him  a  lit- 
tle dinner,  when  the  night  was  prolonged  into  an  orgie. 

His  father  was  wealthy,  a  man  of  business  to  Lord  Liverpool, 
and  it  is  stated  he  gave  each  of  his  children  nearly  £30,000.  Tho 
details  associated  with  his  dandyism  become  sickening  from  tlicir 
triviality  and  childishness.  We  are  told  that  this  eminent  arbiter 
required  two  different  artists  to  make  his  gloves,  one  Ijeing  appoint- 
ed to  provide  "thumbs,"  the  other  the  fingers  and  hand,  on  the 
ground  that  a  particular  "cut"  was  necessary  for  each.  The  valot 
carrying  down  the  load  of  crushed  neckerchiefs,  which  the  beau 
had  not  succeeded  in  squeezing  with  his  chin  down  into  the  proper 
folds,  and  carelessly  described  as  "  our  failures,"  is  an  old  well-worn 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  666 

legend,  but  trustwortby.  "He  believed  that  with  strict  economy- 
dressing  might  be  done  on  eight  hundred  a  year."  He  always  went 
home  after  the  opera  to  change  his  cravat  for  succeeding  parties. 
Like  Count  d'Orsay,  a  later  dandy,  he  carried  about  with  him  an 
enormous  chest,  containing  every  appliance  for  the  toilet;  the 
dishes,  bottles,  etc. ,  being  of  silver.  The  use  of  these  costly  articles 
he  justified  on  the  ground  "  that  it  was  impossible  to  spit  in  earthen- 
ware." Another  of  his  pleasant,  insolent  speeches  was  to  a  friend 
inviting  his  criticism  or  admiration  of  his  new  coat:  "My  dear 
,  do  you  call  that  thing  a  coat?" 

There  was  a  flavor  in  his  wit,  too,  whether  he  wrote  or  spoke, 
that  was  quite  distinct  and  piquant;  something  of  a  Voltairean 
heartlessness  and  finish.  A  good  specimen  is  his  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion :  Had  he  heard  anything  as  to  how  a  newly-married  pair,  at 
whose  wedding  he  had  assisted  a  week  before,  were  getting  on? 
"No,  no;  but  I  believe  they  are  still  living  together."  Another 
speech  of  his  is  excellent,  referring  to  a  beginner  who  had  been 
recommended  to  his  patronage.  "Really,  I  did  my  best  for  the 
young  man.  I  once  gave  him  my  arm  all  the  way  from  White's 
to  Watier's  " — i.e.  from  St.  James's  Street  to  Bruton  Street. 

It  is  well  known  that  a  serious  quarrel  broke  up  the  intimacy 
between  the  Prince  and  the  dandy ;  and  a  sort  of  dramatic  point  is 
given  to  the  incident,  owing  to  a  happy  repartee  of  the  Prince's. 
This,  like  so  many  mock  pearls  of  history,  has  been  seized  on  by 
the  public,  who  will  not  part  with  it,  and  prefer  it  to  the  real  stone. 

The  real  cause  of  this  quarrel  was  no  doubt  disgust  and  jealousy, 
the  Prince  probably  resenting  his  independent  airs.  There  was  a 
corpulent  gentleman  who  used  to  ride  a  roan  cob  in  the  Park  as 
the  Prince  himself  did,  and  Mr.  Brummell,  in  a  free  and  easy  strain, 
got  into  the  habit  of  speaking  to  his  friends  of  the  Prince  as  ' '  Our 
Ben."  This  indiscreet  jest  was,  of  course,  repeated,  and  the 
"Adonis  of  Fify"  did  not  relish  such  familiarity.  There  are  a 
good  many  versions  of  the  story.  In  one  the  beau  was  represented 
as  being  so  familiar  as  to  say,  "George,  ring  the  bell!"  the  Prince 
complying  with  the  request  and  ordering  "Mr.  Brummell's  car- 
riage;" on  which  the  intimacy  of  years  ended,  and  was  succeeded 
by  an  internecine  Avar.  It  may  be  said  on  the  best  evidence  that 
this  anecdote  is  exaggerated.  Mr.  Raikes,  who  knew  him  very  inti- 
mately, declares  that  Brummell  always  denied  the  story.  Captain 
Jesse,  the  writer  of  a  curious  account  of  the  beau,  now  so  exceed- 
ingly scarce  as  to  be  worth  guineas,  also  says  that  Brummell  denied 


656  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

it,  but  that  the  incident  occurred;  the  hero  being  a  young  nephew  of 
the  well-known  Captain  Payne,  who  had  taken  too  much  wine  and 
grew  familiar.    The  Prince  rang  the  bell  for  the  servants,  and  said, 
"Put  that  drunken  boy  to  bed."    Lord  William  Lennox,  also  well 
acquainted  with  Brummell,  says  that  he  also  denied  the  truth  of  the 
story  to  him.     This  alone  might  show  how  doubtful  the  authority 
of  the  tale  is;  but  Captain  Gronow,  an  ex-dandy,  actually  learned 
what  took  place  from  a  guest  who  was  present  at  the  Prince's  din- 
ner-table: "Brummell  was  asked  one  night  at  White's  to  take  a  hand 
at  whist,  when  he  won  from  George  Harley  Drummond  £20,000. 
This  circumstance  having  been  related  by  the  Duke  of  York  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  beau  was  again  invited  to  Carlton  House.    At 
the  commencement  of  the  dinner,  matters  went  off  smoothly;  but 
Brummell,  in  his  joy  at  finding  himself  with  his  old  friend,  became 
excited,  and  drank  too  much  wine.     His  Royal  Highness — who 
wanted  to  pay  off  Brummell  for  an  insult  he  had  received  at  Lady 
Cholmondeley's  ball,  when  the  beau,  turning  towards  the  Prince, 
said  to  Lady  Worcester,  'Who  is  your  fat  friend?' — had  invited 
him  to  dinner  merely  out  of  a  desire  for  revenge.     The  Prince, 
therefore,  pretended  to  be  affronted  with  Brummell's  hilarity,  and 
said  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  who  was  present,  '  I  think 
we  had  better  order  Mr.  Brummell's  carriage  before  he  gets  drunk.' 
Whereupon  he  rang  the  bell,  and  Brummell  left  the  royal  presence.  • 

The  speech,  "Who  is  your  fat  friend?"  Mr.  Raikes  says  was 
uttered  to.  Jack  Lee  in  the  street;  while  yet  another  account  de- 
scribes the  dandies — Alvanley,  Brummell,  Pierrepont,  and  Sir  H. 
Mildmay — giving  a  ball  at  the  Hanover  Square  Rooms,  to  which 
the  Prince  at  the  last  minute  had  invited  himself.  The  four  re- 
ceived him  at  the  door  with  wax  lights,  the  Prince  greeting  each, 
until  he  came  to  Brummell,  whom  he  looked  at  as  if  he  did  not  know 
him,  and  "cut."  Then  it  was  that  the  discarded  beau  made  the 
remark  to  Lord  Alvanley.  But  there  is  a  better  and  more  accurate 
version  of  the  story  supplied  to  me  by  Lord  Houghton,  in  which 
the  scene  and  characters  are  a  little  changed. 

"The  tradition  of  his  impertinence  rests  on  certain  stories  which 
are  often  told  without  the  circumstances  that  explain  or  excuse 
them.  An  example  of  this  may  be  given  in  one,  which,  as  it  is 
usually  related,  is  simply  insolence  without  humor,  but  which,  as 
it  really  occurred,  is  not  without  its  vindication.  Mr.  Brummell 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  tlie  {die  given  by  the  three  most  fash- 
ionable clubs  to  tin-  alliiMl  >m\  i  reigns  in  1815.    The  scene  was  Bur- 


WHO  S    YOUR    FAT    FRIEND  ? 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  657 

lington  House,  or  rather  the  garden  behind  it,  where  a  monster 
marquee  was  erected.  Tlie  committee  lined  the  passage  through 
the  house,  and  each  royal  personage  as  he  passed  shook  hands  with 
the  members  alternately  from  side  to  side.  Mr.  Brummell  was 
standing  opposite  Sir  Henry  Mildmay,  with  whom  the  Regent  shook 
hands,  and  instead  of  taking  him  in  his  natural  turn,  passed  him 
over  and  saluted  the  next  opposite  member,  thus  presenting  the  re- 
verse of  his  portly  figure  to  Mr.  Brummell,  who,  leaning  over  it, 
said  to  Sir  Henry  in  a  loud  aside,  '  Henry,  who  is  our  fat  friend? ' 

"  Considering  the  old  intimacy,  indeed,  as  far  as  the  difference  of 
state  permitted,  the  friendship  between  Prince  and  playfellow,  this 
was  felt  at  the  time  to  be  rather  a  witty  retort  to  a  provocation  than 
an  unmannerly  insult.  In  the  same  sense,  the  anecdote  of  Brum- 
mell telling  the  Prince  to  ring  the  bell  is  very  much  altered  by  the 
circumstance  that  the  Prince  was  sitting  on  a  sofa  close  to  it,  so 
that  the  speech  of  the  familiar  guest  was  rather  uncourtly  than  un- 
gentlemanlike." 

Later  he  took  the  matter  up  with  a  sort  of  jocular  tone,  as  when 
the  Prince  was  getting  out  of  his  carriage  in  Pall  Mall,  to  visit  a 
picture-gallery,  and  the  sentries  presented  arms,  Brummell,  who 
happened  to  be  passing,  affected  to  accept  the  salute  as  to  himself, 
took  off  his  hat  graciously,  keeping  his  back  to  the  carriage.  Those 
who  stood  by  noted  the  Prince's  angry  look  as  he  passed. 

"I  was  standing,"  runs  another  story,  "near  the  stove  of  the 
lower  waiting-room,  talking  to  several  persons,  of  whom  one  is  now 
alive.  The  Prince  of  Wales,  who  always  came  out  rather  before 
the  performance  concluded,  was  also  standing  there,  and  waiting 
for  his  carriage,  which  used  to  drive  up  what  was  then  Market 
Lane,  now  the  Opera  Arcade.  Presently,  Brummell  came  out, 
talking  eagerly  to  some  friends,  and,  not  seeing  the  Prince  or  his 
party,  he  took  up  a  position  near  the  check-taker's  bar.  As  the 
crowd  flowed  out,  Brummell  was  gradually  pressed  backwards, 
until  he  was  all  but  driven  against  the  Regent,  who  distinctly  saw 
him,  but  who  of  course  would  not  move.  In  order  to  stop  him, 
therefore,  and  prevent  actual  collision,  one  of  the  Prince's  suite 
tapped  him  on  the  back,  when  Brummell  immediately  turned  sharply 
round,  and  saw  that  there  was  not  much  more  than  a  foot  between 
his  nose  and  the  Prince  of  Wales's.  I  watched  him  with  intense 
curiosity,  and  observed  that  his  countenance  did  not  change  in  the 
slightest  degree,  nor  did  his  head  move;  they  looked  straight  into 
each  other's  eyes;    the  Prince  evidently  amazed  and  annoyed- 

28* 


658  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT. 

Brummell,  however,  did  not  quail,  or  show  the  least  embarrassment. 
He  receded  quite  quietly,  and  backed  slowly  step  by  step  till  the 
crowd  closed  between  them,  never  once  taking  his  eyes  off  those  of 
the  Prince." 

At  Watier's  club,  where  gaming  prevailed  to  an  extravagant 
degree,  he  reigned  supreme.  He  was  particularly  noted  for  his 
snuffboxes — a  mania  of  the  time — costly  jewelled  and  enamelled 
and  be-miniatured  boxes  being  displayed  and  given  as  presents. 

"At  this  place  he"  (Mr.  Raikes  says)  "was  the  supreme  dictator, 
'the  perpetual  president,'  lajdng  down  the  law  in  dress,  in  man- 
ners, and  in  those  magnificent  snuffboxes  for  which  there  was  a 
rage;  he  fomented  the  excesses,  ridiculed  the  scruples,  patronized 
the  novices,  and  exercised  paramount  dominion  over  all.  He  had 
great  success  at  Macao,  winning  in  two  or  three  years  a  large  sura, 
which  went  no  one  knew  how.  I  remember  him  coming  in  one 
night  after  the  opera  to  Watier's  and  finding  the  Macao  table  full, 
one  place  at  which  was  occupied  by  Tom  Sheridan,  who  was  not 
in  the  habit  of  playing,  but  having  dined  freely  had  dropped  into 
the  club,  and  was  trying  to  catch  the  smiles  of  fortune  by  risking  a 
few  pounds  which  he  could  ill  afford  to  lose.  Brummell  proposed 
to  him  to  give  up  his  place  and  go  shares  in  his  deal;  and  adding  to 
the  £10  in  counters  which  Tom  had  before  him  £200  for  himself, 
took  the  cards.  He  dealt  with  his  usual  success,  and  in  less  than 
ten  minutes  won  £1500.  He  then  stopped,  made  a  fair  division, 
and  giving  £750  to  Sheridan,  said  to  him:  '  There,  Tom,  go  home, 
and  give  your  wife  and  brats  a  supper,  and  neyer  play  again.'  " 

At  a  dinner  given  on  the  reopening  of  Watier's  club  in  Picca- 
dilly, Brummell  and  the  late  Duke  of  Beaufort,  then  Marquis  of 
Worcester,  were  present.  Leaning  back  in  his  chair,  Brummell 
thus  addressed  the  waiter:  "Is  Lord  Worcester  here?"  (he  was 
seated  within  two  of  him).  ' '  Yes,  sir,"  was  the  answer.  "  Tell  his 
lordship,"  continued  Brummell,  "  I  shall  be  happy  to  drink  a  glass 
of  wine  with  him."  "Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  servant.  "Tell  him 
I  drink  his  health."  This  was  to  avoid  turning  his  head.  After 
the  proper  interval,  Brummell  inquired:  "Is  his  lordship  ready?" 
"  Yes,  sir."     "  Then  tell  him  I  drink  his  health  1"  * 

The  scene  now  changes  to  Calais.     Even  to  this  hour  the  little 


*  Lord  Houghton,  who  has  furnished  us  with  this  version  and  with  many 
other  details,  to  the  advantage  of  the  work,  was  well  acquainted  with  Brum- 
mell, and  often  visited  him  on  passing  through  Calais. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OBORGE  IV.  669 

town  is  scarcely  altered,  and  suggests  ideas  of  a  hideous  monotony- 
should  fate  compel  one  to  be  imprisoned  there.  But  how  almost 
dramatic  is  the  terrible  character  of  the  change  for  the  elegant  man 
of  fashion — in  a  night  become  a  runaway  exile,  destined  to  be 
hunted  by  French  bailiffs  instead  of  English  ones ;  to  be  immured 
in  a  squalid  noisome  French  gaol  with  felons ;  and  die  in  a  mad- 
house, a  painful,  odious,  and  unregretted  object !  The  house  where 
he  lived  is  still,  or  was  till  lately,  shown  in  the  Rue  Royale,  or 
Leveux,  close  to  the  old  Dessein's  Hotel,  which  Sterne  made  famous. 
In  1816  he  astounded  Mr.  Raikes,  who  was  meeting  him  at  every 
party,  by  confiding  to  him  that  his  situation  was  utterly  desperate, 
and  that  he  was  flying  that  night  to  France.  He  appeared  at  the 
opera,  then  flung  himself  into  a  carriage-and-four,  and,  travelling 
all  night  to  Dover,  was  landed  in  Calais  on  the  following  day. 
True  to  his  selfish  instincts,  and  without  money  beyond  what  he 
could  borrow,  he  set  up  in  this  miserable  place  as  the  man  of  fashion 
and  luxury. 

In  a  curious  little  book  on  Calais,  written  in  1852,  it  is  stated  that 
there  were  then  several  exiles  in  the  place  who  recalled  Mr.  Brum- 
mell  as  he  used  to  appear,  unfailing  as  the  town-hall  clock,  for  his 
regular  promenade  on  the  Place.  A  triste  spot  enough,  on  which 
every  little  street  determines — the  little  harbor,  the  forts,  the  walls, 
all  make  it  like  a  sort  of  yard.  Yet  in  those  days  it  was  more  like 
what  Boulogne  is  now,  for  it  was  crowded  with  emigrants.  Brum- 
mell  soon  left  Dessein's  and  quartered  himself  on  a  Mr.  Leleux, 
whose  rooms  he  made  quite  elegant  with  his  charming  and  costly 
china,  snuffboxes,  bijouterie,  mostly  purchased  out  of  borrowings 
from  faithful  friends  who  passed  through,  and  who  never  failed  to 
see  him  and  give  him  a  dinner.  His  debts  in  the  town  soon  mounted 
to  nearly  a  thousand  pounds.  When  his  old  patron  became  King, 
he  fancied,  not  unnaturally,  that  the  past  might  be  forgotten. 
"  Will  his  resentments,"  he  wrote  to  the  same  friend,  "  still  attach 
themselves  to  his  crown?  An  indulgent  amnesty  of  former  pecca- 
dilloes should  be  the  primary  grace  influencing  newly-throned  sov- 
ereignty— at  least,  towards  those  who  were  once  distinguished  by 
his  more  intimate  protection.  From  my  experience,  however,  of 
the  personage  in  question,  I  must  doubt  any  favorable  relaxation 
of  those  stubborn  prejudices.  1  cannot  decamp  a  second  time," 
etc. 

We  may  pursue  this  dismal  story  to  the  end,  anticipating  events 
by  many  years.     The  King,  just  returned  from  Ireland,  lost  no 


660  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  17. 

time  in  planning  another  expedition,  and  had  hardly  rested  from 
the  fatigues  of  his  journey  when  he  started  for  Hanover.  On  the 
22nd  of  September,  1821,  he  sailed  from  Ramsgate,  and  after  a 
rough  passage,  reached  Calais.  That  little  town  was  en  fete,  the 
inhabitants,  native  and  foreign,  in  prodigious  agitation.  To  none 
did  this  arrival,  however,  bring  more  excitement  than  to  the  broken- 
down  bankrupt  man  of  fashion,  the  King's  former  favorite  and  com- 
panion, whose  hopes  were  raised.  He  had  gone  out  to  take  his 
accustomed  walk  in  an  opposite  direction,  and  was  returning  to  his 
lodgings  at  the  very  moment  that  his  former  patron,  accompanied 
by  the  French  ambassador,  was  proceeding  in  a  close  carriage  to  the 
hotel.  "I  w^as  standing  at  my  shop-door,"  said  his  landlord,  "and 
saw  Mr.  Brummell  trying  to  make  his  way  across  the  street  to  my 
house,  but  the  crowd  was  so  great  that  he  could  not  succeed,  and 
he  was  therefore  obliged  to  remain  on  the  opposite  side.  All  hats 
were  taken  off  as  the  carriage  approached,  and  when  it  was  close  to 
the  door  I  heard  the  King  say  in  a  loud  voice,  '  Good  God!  Brum- 
mell ! '  The  latter,  who  was  uncovered  at  the  time,  now  crossed 
over  as  pale  as  death,  entered  the  house  by  the  private  door,  and 
retired  to  his  room  without  addressing  me.  A  sumptuous  dinner 
was  given  in  the  evening  at  Dessein's,  and  SelSgue,  Brummell's 
valet,  who  was  a  cJief  in  his  way,  attended  to  make  the  punch ;  he 
took  with  him  also,  by  his  master's  orders,  some  excellent  mara- 
schino, a  liqueur  to  which  he  remembered  the  King  was  extremely 
partial,  though  cannelle  was,  I  believe,  his  favorite  dram.  In  the 
afternoon  it  was  observed  his  Majesty  was  not  in  his  usual  spirits , 
was  this  occasioned  by  his  recognition  of  the  morning,  and  to  the 
uncertainty  whether  Brummell  would  make  his  appearance  or  not? 
Chi  lo  8a?  he  never  came;  the  maraschino  at  dinner  diminished 
any  unpleasant  feeling — if  it  ever  did  exist — that  the  dread  of 
such  a  contretemps  might  have  created,  and  the  evening  passed  off 
admirably. " 

The  next  morning  all  the  King's  suite,  excepting  Bloomfield, 
called  upon  liim.  It  is  stated  that  they  pressed  him  to  request  an 
audience,  but  that  he  refused.  He,  however,  wrote  his  name  in  the 
visitors'  book  at  the  hotel.  At  all  events  the  King  quitted  Calais 
without  seeing  him,  as  his  Majesty  was  heard  to  remark  in  the 
courtyard  at  Dessein's.  The  poor  beau  had  by  this  time  abated  all 
that  haughtiness  and  independence,  and  would  have  been  as  eager 
to  secure  a  pecuniary  souvenir  from  his  Majesty  as  from  his  own 
friends.     His  sending  his  maraschino  and  some  of  his  favorite  snuff 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

were  so  many  reminders.  It  seems  likely  that  the  King  shrank 
from  the  inconvenience  of  reconciliation  with  a  man  in  such  decay, 
and  sent  him — so  it  was  rumored — a  banknote  for  £100,  with  a  con- 
temptuous remark  that  that  was,  he  supposed,  what  was  desired. 
The  King,  however,  and  he  never  met  again. 

Friends  at  home  were  now  exerting  themselves.  Something,  it 
was  felt,  "must  be  done  for  Brummell."  No  less  a  personage  than 
the  Duke  of  York,  always  good-natured  and  ready  to  do  a  kind 
thing,  procured  for  the  beau  the  consulship  at  Caen.  He  was  a 
favorite  with  the  Duchess,  who  no  doubt  aided  his  cause.  After 
many  difficulties  he  was  enabled  to  get  away,  and  establishing  him- 
self at  his  new  scene  of  action,  was  treated  with  great  consideration, 
and  flourished  away  as  the  leader  of  ton  and  manners  in  a  provin- 
cial town.  Before  this,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  told  Mr,  Grreville, 
in  1829,  "that  Lord  Aberdeen  hesitated;  that  he  had  offered  to  take 
all  the  responsibility  on  himself ;  that  he  had  in  Dudley's  time  pro- 
posed it  to  him  (Dudley),  who  had  objected,  and  at  last  owned  he 
was  afraid  the  King  might  not  like  it,  on  which  he  had  spoken  to 
the  King,  who  had  made  objections,  abusing  Brummell,  said  he  was 
a  damned  fellow,  and  had  behaved  very  ill  to  him — (the  old  story, 
always  himself — moi,  moi,  moi) — but  after  having  let  him  run  out 
his  tether  of  abuse,  he  had  at  last  extracted  his  consent ;  neverthe- 
less, Dudley  did  not  give  him  the  appointment  The  Duke  said  he 
had  no  acquaintance  with  Brummell." 

And  now  we  come  to  what  seems  to  have  always  been  held  a 
mystery,  and  which  is  yet  held  intelligible — his  abrupt  resignation 
of  his  consulship  at  Caen.  It  seemed,  indeed,  like  madness  that  this 
professional  mendicant  should  throw  up  his  only  chance  of  support. 
He  wrote  to  Lord  Palmerston  to  say  that  the  place  was  a  sinecure; 
there  was  nothing  to  do,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  abolished.  Lord 
Palmerston  reluctantly  accepted  the  suggestion.  There  was  a  cry, 
he  said,  for  retrenchment,  and  what  could  he  do?  Abolished  ac- 
cordingly it  was,  and  the  infatuated  man  left  penniless.  Four  hun- 
dred a  year  was  no  indifferent  provision;  his  Calais  debts  ought  to 
have  been  discharged  out  of  it  in  three  or  four  years.  What  then 
was  the  motive  of  this  mysterious  act?  It  can  only  be  set  down  to 
the  curious  temper  of  this  most  selfish  of  beings.  He  was  deeply  in 
debt  at  Caen,  and  had  been  drawing  on  his  old  creditor  at  Calais, 
anticipating  his  income,  even  after  its  mortgage,  until  no  more 
could  be  obtained.  He  was  already  using  as  lever  to  extract  money 
from  this  person  that  "it  was  his  interest"  to  advance  money,  as, 


662  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

if  he  were  forced  to  forfeit  his  position  owing  to  not  being  able  to 
pay  butcher,  baker,  etc. ,  the  security  would  be  lost.  We  -may  sup- 
pose that  he  saw  no  reason  for  performing  the  duties  of  an  office  the 
whole  emoluments  of  which  were  to  go  to  a  greedy  creditor,  whom 
in  a  moment  of  pique  he  determined  thus  to  punish.  His  own  story 
is  that  he  sent  in  his  resignation  with  a  view  to  obtain  something 
better  at  Havre  or  elsewhere.  After  taking  this  step,  the  royal  arms 
being  removed  from  over  his  door,  it  was  all  over  with  this  unfor- 
tunate. The  Calais  creditor  was  not  slow  to  punish  such  treatment. 
One  morning,  in  1835,  he  was  arrested  at  his  suit  and  dragged  off 
to  the  dreadful  gaol  of  the  place.  The  part  of  the  transaction  that 
most  affected  him  was  his  having  to  dress  before  the  gem  d'armes. 
His  sufferings  in  this  terrible  place  may  be  conceived;  but  he  con- 
trived to  have  his  essences,  dressing-case,  and  two  quarts  of  milk 
daily  to  mix  in  his  bath !  However,  he  had  a  useful  agent  named 
Armstrong,  one  of  those  Englishmen  who  sell,  and  do  everything — 
and  this  person,  seeing  that  the  prisoner  had  valuable  friends  in 
England,  determined  to  work  this  vein  thoroughly,  and  set  off  to 
wait  on  the  Alvanleys,  Worcesters,  and  other  dandies.  Large  sums 
were  given  by  those  who  had  given  largely  before.  King  William 
contributed  £100,  and  Lord  Palmerston  added  £200  from  the  public 
purse.  So  successful  was  the  expedition  that  all  his  debts  were 
compounded  for,  and  a  promise  of  a  sort  of  annuity  obtained  from 
Mr.  C.  Greville,  Lord  Sefton,  and  others.  It  was  remarkable,  as  a 
good  test  of  character,  that  to  those  who  exerted  themselves  to  relieve 
his  sufferings  in  prison  he  showed  himself  careless  and  indifferent, 
as  resenting  an  obligation  associated  with  so  humiliating  a  passage 
in  his  career.  He  wa.s  now  enjoying  about  £130  a  year.  He  was 
soon  in  difficulties  again,  oddly  enough  on  the  score  of  his  boot- 
varnish,  at  five  francs  a  bottle,  brought  from  Paris  specially.  But 
soon  significant  changes  began  to  be  noted  in  the  beau.  He  gave  up 
not  merely  white  cravats,  but  washing,  and  became  notorious  for 
the  neglect  of  his  appearance. 

Nothing  is  more  pitiable  than  the  story  of  his  steady  settled  de- 
cadence into  idiotcy.  The  scene  of  his  sitting  in  his  lonely  room 
and  having  ghostly  visitors  announced,  though  somewhat  elabo- 
rated for  dramatic  purposes,  has,  no  doubt,  foundation.  In  1838 
his  condition  had  become  truly  deplorable  from  dotage  and  help- 
lessness: no  one  was  inclined  to  take  charge  of  the  outcast  English- 
man. At  last  he  found  a  refuge  in  the  asylum  Bon  Sauveur, where 
kindly  nuns  soothed  the  last  hours  of  the  miserable  old  creature. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROB  IV.  663 

The  clergyman  who  attended  him  tried  m  vain  to  draw  his  mind  to 
consider  his  soul,  and,  rather  unreasonably,  inveighs  bitterly 
against  this  indifference  in  an  imbecile.  "I  never,"  he  says, "in 
the  course  of  my  attendance  upon  the  sick,  aged,  and  dying,  came 
in  contact  with  so  painful  an  exhibition  of  human  vanity  and  ap- 
parent ignorance,  until  a  few  years  before  he  died,  when,  in  reply 
to  my  repeated  entreaties  that  he  would  try  and  pray,  he  said,  "  I 
do  try;'  but  he  added  something  which  made  me  doubt  whether  he 
understood  me."  A  good  nun  who  came  later  takes  a  kindly 
woman's  view.  "On  the  eveniag  of  his  death,"  she  says,  "I  ob- 
served him  assume  an  appearance  of  intense  anxiety  and  fear,  and 
he  fixed  his  eyes  upon  me  with  an  expression  of  entreaty,  raising 
his  hands  towards  me  as  he  lay  in  the  bed,  and  as  though  asking 
for  assistance  {ayant  Vair  dHmplorer  que  je  menne  a  son  secours),  but 
saying  nothing.  Upon  this,  I  requested  him  to  repeat  after  me  the 
acte  de  contrition.  He  immediately  consented,  and  repeated  after 
me  in  an  earnest  manner  that  form  of  prayer.  He  then  became 
more  composed,  and  laid  his  head  down  on  one  side;  but  this  tran- 
quillity was  interrupted  about  an  hour  after  by  his  turning  himself 
over  and  uttering  a  cry,  at  the  same  time  appearing  to  be  in  pain ; 
he  soon,  however,  turned  himself  back,  with  his  face  laid  on  the 
pillow  towards  the  wall,  so  as  to  be  hidden  from  us  who  were  on 
the  other  side;  after  this  he  never  moved,  dying  imperceptibly." 
It  was  a  quarter  past  nine  in  the  evening  of  the  30th  of  March,  1840. 
Such  was  the  fate  of  Brummell ! 

Another  dandy  of  influence  who  survived  the  Regency,  its 
pleasures,  his  royal  master  and  companion,  and  lived  to  be  nearly 
eighty  years  old,  was  Lord  Yarmouth,  afterwards  Marquess  of 
Hertford,  who  was  fortunate  enough  to  carry  off  the  young  heiress, 
Miss  Fagniani,  and  well  known  among  his  friends  as  "Red  Her- 
rings."* 


*  This  system  of  nicknames  was  continued  to  a  later  generation.  Thus  we 
find  "  Kangaroo  "  Cook,  a  colonel  of  that  name,  who  had  some  adventure,  or 
story  of  an  adventure,  with  a  kangaroo.  Mr.  Frederick  Byng,  universally 
known  as  "  Poodle  "  Byng,  whom  Lord  Melbourne,  when  seats  were  being 
allotted  in  a  carriage,  declared  that  "  Byng  was  to  go  under  the  carriage,  of 
course."  "Ball"  Townshend;  "  Bacchus "  Lascelles;  "Teapot"  Crawfurd, 
and  "  Skirmish  "  Bligh;  "  Punch  "  Greville,  or  "  the  Gruncher,"  was  the  sobri- 
quet of  the  writer  of  the  well-known  "Memoirs;"  Sir  Francis  Burdett  was 
"Old  Glory;"  Lord  Allen  was  "King"  Allen;  and  Matthew  Lewis,  "Monk 
liBwis. "    There  was  also  ' '  Tippoo ' '  Smith. 


664  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

About  the  dandy  of  the  Regency  there  was  a  certain  politeness, 
accompanied  by  unbounded  selfishness,  extravagance,  and  general 
recklessness.  They  were  "bloods"  as  well  as  dandies;  of  a  dif- 
ferent stamp  to  the  effeminate  macaronis.  The  "  saloon  "  being  an 
essential  ingredient  in  theatrical  amusements,  described  so  minutely 
in  the  adventures  of  "  Tom  and  Jerry,"  it  will  be  understood  that 
refinement  of  bearing  or  manners  was  scarcely  in  vogue.  Mr. 
Boaden  notes  that  even  the  behavior  of  gentlemen  in  the  boxes  had 
grown  boorish;  loud  talking,  hectoring,  quarrels,  and  putting  the 
feet  up  on  the  seats,  being  among  the  customs  and  habits  of  men  of 
fashion.* 

There  was  a  great  improvement  of  tone,  however,  in  the  later 
generation  of  Alvanleys,  Brummells,  Worcesters,  Grevilles,  and 
others;  as,  indeed,  the  Duchess  of  York  assured  the  latter  gentle- 
man: "  There  was  more  heart,  restraint,  and  good-nature." 

One  of  the  chief  leading  dandies  was  Lord  Allen — known  as 
"King"  Allen— to  whom  the  remark  was  attributed  that  "the 
English  could  make  nothing  well  but  a  kitchen  poker,"  and  who 
could  not  live  a  day  out  of  Pall  Mall  or  the  Bond  Street  lounge. 
Being  obliged  to  go  to  a  watering-place,  he  lost  his  sleep  and  pined 
to  return,  until  his  friend.  Lord  Alvanley,  good-naturedly  engaged 
a  hackney-coachman  to  drive  up  and  down  of  nights  past  his 
lodgings,  with  a  man  to  call  the  hours  like  a  London  watchman. 
Lord  Fife  was  another  of  these  veteran  "bucks,"  who  distinguished 
himself  in  his  old  age  by  expending  £80,000  on  a  dancer.  He  was, 
however,  to  be  one  of  the  few  whom  George  IV.  was  to  regard  with 
affection.  "Ball"  Hughes  is  remembered  by  many  now  alive — 
being  known  as  "Golden  Ball" — a  good  dresser,  with  £40,000 
a  year,  a  spendthrift,  a  gambler,  so  eager  for  Ihc  excitement  de- 
pendent on  chance  that  he  would  stake  immense  sums  on  "pitch 
and  toss,"  and  play  battledore  and  shuttlecock  the  whole  night 
long  for  a  match.  He  distinguished  himself  by  a  ridiculous  mar- 
riage with  a  figurante.  As  a  pendant  we  find  Mr.  Haynes — better 
known  as  "Peagreen"  Haynes — against  whom  the  well-known 
Miss  Foote  brought  an  action  for  breach  of  promise. 

Lord  Alvanley  was  another  of  the  dandies  whose  wit  and  humor 
were  excellent  and  racy.    He  was  always  ready  with  a  pleasant  or 


*  In  the  prints  of  the  day  we  see  such  representations  as  an  English  fireside, 
where  the  men  stand  up  with  their  backs  to  the  fire,  their  hands  in  their 
breeches-pockets,  or  snoring  on  the  gofa,  the  ladies  looking  on. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  665 

biting  retort.  To  him  was  attributed  tlie  reply  to  tlie  original  Gun- 
ter,  who  was  complaining  of  his  horse  being  "  too  hct  to  hold  " — 
"Ice  him  then,  Gunter" — the  credit  of  which,  however,  has  been 
given  to  one  of  the  royal  dukes.  His  pleasant  saying  to  the  hack- 
ney-coach after  the  duel  ("for  bringing  me  back  ")  is  well  known. 
He  was  much  distinguished  as  an  epicure,  wishing  to  have  the  best 
of  everything.  His  dinners  "  were  considered  perfect,"  and  his 
standing  direction  to  his  cook  was  to  have  "  an  apricot  tart  "  every 
day.  Indeed,  he  would  say  that  a  neck  of  venison  (with  some 
other  plat)  and  an  apricot  tart  was  "a  dinner  fit  for  an  emperor." 
Strange  credentials  these  for  the  grateful  memory  of  posterity. 
At  country  houses,  where  his  jocund  face  was  always  foremost  at 
the  hunt,  he  was  but  an  inconvenient  if  not  dangerous  guest,  from 
his  practice  of  putting  out  his  candle  by  flinging  the  bolster  at  it, 
or  thrusting  it  under  his  pillow. 

This  generation  also  included  such  strange  men  as  Dr.  Parr  and 
Porson;  and,  of  another  degree,  Dr.  Kitchener,  the  "gastronome." 
The  first,  "a  very  dungeon"  of  learning,  is  a  remarkable  figure, 
with  his  eternal  pipe,  his  blunt  sarcastic  speeches, vigorous  politics, 
and  unshaken  independence.  Porson  equally  united  Greek  and 
eccentricity.  We  find  Dr.  Parr  at  the  Prince's  table ;  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly to  the  latter's  credit,  that  he  should  have  thus  invariably 
drawn  to  himself,  from  curiosity  or  taste,  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
period,  whatever  w^as  intellectual  or  intelligent  in  the  kingdom. 
In  no  instance  had  evil  company  and  low  tastes  done  more  mis- 
chief; but  these  influences  had  never  succeeded  in  stifling  his  in- 
stincts, and  the  love  of  wine  was  cultivated  and  intellectual. 

Many  of  these  persons  made  reputations  and  earned  their  names 
by  some  ridiculous  freak  or  wager.  "  Walking  "  Stewart  seems  to 
have  walked  to  Edinburgh  to  hear  the  lectures  of  his  namesake. 
Dugald  Stewart;  while  "  Jerusalem  "  Whaley  had  agreed  that  "  lie 
would  play  ball "  against  the  walls  of  that  city.  At  this  time  also 
flourished  Beckford,  with  his  "Arabian  Nights'"  projects  of  vast 
towers  and  halls,  and  which  he  was  suffered  to  attempt  to  realize  to 
the  public  wonder  and  admiration,  instead  of  contempt  or  laugh- 
ter. The  mysterious  privacy  and  inalienability  that  he  affected,  the 
rumors  of  strange  rites  and  practices  within  his  high  walls,  the  fall- 
ing in  of  the  Babel-like  tower  he  was  rearing;  his  strange  clever 
romance,  "Vathek,"  his  freaks — all  these  tales  were  repeated,  and 
caused  the  deepest  interest  and  curiosity.  Even  that  eccentric  and 
manoeuvring  lady  of  quality,  the  Duchess  of  Gordon,  it  was  re- 


666  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ported,  eager  to  secure  the  millionnaire  for  one  of  her  daughters, 
had  succeeded  in  getting  within  the  gates,  but  could  not  see  the 
lord  of  the  castle. 

Even  the  toleration  extended  to  such  public  jokers  as  Theodore 
Hook  was  remarkable;  and  the  relish  with  which  his  well-known 
"  Berners  St.  Hoax  "  was  enjoyed  was  significant  of  the  time. 

The  Princess  of  Wales  encouraged  games  of  romps  at  Blackheath 
and  other  places.  Much  of  this  taste  was  indeed  owing  to  the  jovial 
Prince,  who  led  society,  and  who  dearly  loved  a  joke  and  practi- 
cal joking,  as  well  as  a  good  story.  Any  one  with  social  gifts, 
and  endowed  with  a  love  of  frolic,  and  a  power  of  saying  good 
things,  was  certain  to  find  his  way  to  the  table  at  Carlton  House. 
There,  too,  he  could  retain  his  place,  so  long  as  his  powers  re- 
mained unflagging. 

Accompanying  all  this  buffoonery  and  jesting,  a  spirit  of  wit  and 
even  sagacity  was  cultivated.  Many  of  the  sayings  and  repartees 
circulated  have  really  high  merit  for  their  readiness  and  brilliancy, 
and  it  has  been  already  noted  what  lively  spirited  letters  they  were 
capable  of  writing.  "Verses  of  society,"  full  of  happily-turned 
compliments  and  pleasant  allusions,  or  lively  epigrams,  were  a  part 
of  their  accomplishments.  Indeed,  a  long  list  could  be  made  of 
agreeable  occasional  poems,  written  by  these  men  of  fashion,  in- 
cluding * '  The  Waltz, "  by  Lord  Byron ;  '  *  The  Pursuits  of  Fashion, " 
"The  Art  of  Poking  the  Fire,"  "  Conversation,"  and  many  other 
productions.  Good  songs,  plays,  essays,  and  stories  came  abun- 
dantly from  this  agreeable  coterie. 

A  turn  for  epigram  was  one  of  the  features  of  the  day,  and  led, 
of  course,  to  much  ill-nature.  A  fair  specimen  is  Lord  Byron's 
attack  on  Rogers.    They  began : 

Nose  and  chin  to  shame  a  knocker, 
Wrinkles  that  would  puzzle  Cocker, 

The  poet  of  Memory  was  himself  as  unsparing  of  others,  and  wrote 
of  an  acquaintance : 

They  say  that  Ward's  no  heart,  but  I  deny  It 
He  has  a  heart  and  gets  his  speeches  by  it. 

Physical  infirmities  or  blemishes  were  "fair  game."    A  wit  said 

to  a  courtier  with  long  legs  and  a  long  sword:  "My  dear ,  I 

cannot  see  whether  you  have  three  swords  or  three  legs."    Sir 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  667 

Lumley  SkeflSngton,  a  decayed  old  fop  overtaken  by  debts  and 
difficulties,  and  restored  to  society  on  being  extricated  from  prison, 
old  and  broken  down  and  discredited,  was  greeted  by  the  lively 
Alvanley  as  a  new  edition  "illustrated  by  cuts."  Lord  Byron  also 
condescended  to  ridicule  him : 

Still  Skefiangton  and  Goose  divide  the  prize, 
And  sure  great  Skefiflngton  must  claim  our  praise 
For  skirtless  coats  and  skeletons  of  plays. 

Lord  Carhampton,  the  old  opponent  of  Wilkes,  survived  till  the 
year  1825,  one  of  the  "hardest  livers"  of  his  time.  When  he  was 
lying  hopelessly  ill  in  Berkeley  Square,  some  parasite  brought  news 
of  his  condition,  or  that  he  was  dead,  to  the  King,  then  sitting  at 
the  head  of  a  convivial  party  at  Carlton  House.  The  story  went  that 
the  Regent  at  once  bestowed  his  regiment  of  Carabineers  on  a  guest 
who  was  at  table.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  spirit  and  good-humor 
of  these  men  of  pleasure,  that  the  other  should  have  sent  a  pleasant 
message  to  beg  that  the  Prince  would  dispose  of  any  other  regiment 
but  that  one,  and  that  he  might  rest  assured  that  he  would  receive 
the  earliest  information  of  a  probable  vacancy  from  himself. 

When  Captain  Gronow  visited .  Lord  Petersham,  whom  he  found 
employed  in  making  a  particular  sort  of  blacking  which  ' '  he  said 
would  eventually  supersede  every  other,"  the  room  was  like  a  shop: 
all  round  the  walls  were  shelves  with  canisters  of  rare  teas,  of  which 
this  nobleman  had  made  a  choice  collection;  on  other  shelves  were 
canisters  of  rare  snuffs,  with  apparatus  for  mixing  and  moistening. 
The  mixtures  which  he  devised  used  to  be  well  known  to  tobacconists. 
He  had  also  made  a  collection  of  costly  canes.  He  devised  a  par- 
ticular kind  of  great-coat,  with  a  cape,  which  used  to  bear  his  name, 
and  adopted  a  particular  pattern  for  his  liveries.  His  snuffboxes 
were  remarkable,  and  he  would  say  affectedly,  when  one  of  his 
Sevres  articles  was  praised:  "Yes,  a  nice  summer  box,  but  wouldn't 
do  for  winter  wear."  All  his  servants  wore  a  particular  brown- 
colored  livery,  and  his  carriages  were  painted  of  the  same  color, 
which  his  friends  reported  was  owing  to  his  having  been  "jilted" 
by  a  widow  of  the  name  of  Brown. 

It  was  in  these  times  that  Hoby  the  bootmaker  made  a  reputation, 
maintained  almost  to  our  own  time.  The  ridiculous  stories  of  boots 
made  for  riding  only,  and  splitting  ' '  when  used  for  walking  to  the 
stable,"  illustrate  further  the  absurd  gravity  with  which  the  ques- 
tion of  dress  was  treated.    Now  flourished  Rouland,  the  exquisites' 


668  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOMOE  IV. 

hairdresser,  later  more  celebrated  as  Rowland,  and  inventor  of  the 
famed  ''Macassar."*  These  two  eminent  artists  had  their  shops  in 
St.  James's  Street. 

The  death-beds,  too,  of  these  unhappy  beings  were  attended  by 
circumstances  in  keeping  with  their  frivolous  lives.  One  committed 
suicide,  leaving  in  writting  the  characteristic  reason  for  the  act, 
"that  he  was  tired  of  buttoning  and  unbuttoning."  Brummell, 
their  leader,  expired,  as  we  have  seen,  "a  driveller  and  a  show." 
Montrond,  the  French  dandy,  in  wit  second  only  to  his  friend 
Talleyrand,  declared  to  a  friend  on  his  death-bed  that  "  there  was 
nothing  left — for  he  could  not  eat  or  drink."  The  slovenly  Mr. 
Ward,  afterwards  Lord  Dudley,  whose  absence  of  mind  and  oddi- 
ties were  as  entertaining  as  wit  in  other  men,  was  in  1832  consigned 
by  Sir  H.  Halford  to  the  charge  of  a  keeper.  Lord  Sefton,  a  gay 
friend  of  the  Regent,  sank  into  torpor  and  a  sort  of  idiotcy.  Of 
Mr.  George  Payne — not  the  agreeable  ' '  man  about  town"  of  recent 
times — says  Mr.  Raikes  dramatically : 

"  One  evening  I  went  into  Watier's  club,  where  I  found  Mr. 
George  Payne  waiting  to  make  a  rubber  at  whist;  others  soon 
arrived,  and  the  play  began.  Nothing  remarkable  passed  except 
that  Mr.  Payne  was  anxious  to  continue  the  game ;  and  though  we 
played  till  four  or  five  o'clock,  seemed  disappointed  at  the  party 
breaking  up.  I  went  home  to  bed,  and  soon  after  ten  o'clock  my 
servant  Chapman  came  into  my  room  to  tell  me  that  Mr.  Payne 
had  been  that  morning  shot  in  a  duel  on  Putney  Heath.  Thus  he 
had  been  purposely  playing  all  the  night  in  order  to  pass  the  time 
till  he  was  summoned  into  eternity." 

"Jack"  Talbot,  another  viveur  of  mark,  begged  to  be  allowed  to 
die  in  peace,  * '  undisturbed  by  doctor  or  parson ;"  on  which  a  lively 
brother  viveur  said-  that  ' '  he  ought  to  have  been  cupped,  as  there 
was  more  claret  than  blood  in  his  veins."  His  brother,  a  man  about 
town,  was  found  dead  in  his  armchair — an  unfinished  bottle  of 
sherry  beside  him.  Mr.  Berkeley  Craven  destroyed  himself  on  learn- 
ing the  news  that  Bay  Middleton  had  won  the  Derby.  There  is  a 
strange  French  book  entitled  "  Soupeurs  de  mon  Temps,"  by  Roger 
de  Beauvoir,  which  chronicles  the  career  and  fate  of  some  jovial 
roysterers — as  witty  too  as  they  were  jovial — of  Louis  Philippe's 
era,  in  which  the  same  disastrous  ending  of  madness  or  destitution 
seemed  to  attend  nearly  all. 

♦  Five  shillings  was  his  charge  for  treating  a  gentleman's  hair.  At  a  dinner- 
party at  a  great  house  a  guinea  was  expected  by  the  butler. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  669 

Under  all  this  frivolity  there  was  a  certain  sagacity  and  force  of 
character  and  observation  exhibited  in  some  of  their  notes  on  men 
and  manners  which  many  have  left  behind.  Mr,  Greville,  who, 
however,  flourished  under  the  reign  of  George  IV.,  exhibits  this 
shrewdness  in  his  Memoirs,  well  known  for  their  sarcastic  tone  and 
ill-nature.  Yet  under  the  mask  of  this  cynic  and  follow^er  of 
pleasure  there  was  something  good,  and  betokening  heart.* 

Nor  were  the  ladies  of  the  period  inferior.  The  tres-grande  dame 
then  reigned  supreme ;  and  with  beauty  there  was  to  be  found  the 
gifts  of  a  sprightly  gayety  and  wit,  with  a  stately  and  refined  tone. 
The  type  of  the  grande  dame  is  now  scarcely  appreciated.  What 
these  dames  resembled  may  be  gathered  from  the  pictures  of  Law- 
rence, in  which  we  see  faces  of  delicate  fairness  and  refinement,  with 
an  air  of  placid  dignity. 

The  ridiculous  and  grotesque  extravagance  of  the  costumes  of 
this  time  seems  scarcely  conceivable  out  of  a  pantomime.  In  the 
caricatures  and  the  plates  of  fashion — which  seem  more  caricature 
than  the  caricatures  themselves — are  set  forth  these  extraordinary 
habiliments,  which  were  of  the  most  fantastic  and  ludicrous  kind. 
Brims  so  curled  as  to  reach  to  the  top  of  the  hat ;  the  crown  of  the 
hat  so  broad  at  the  top,  and  so  narrow  at  the  bottom,  as  to  resemble 


*  "  One  day,  at  Broadlands,"  writes  Mrs.  Augustus  Craven,  "when  Mr. 
Charles  Greville  was  with  us,  he  brought  me  what  he  called  a  very  interesting 
book,  and  begged  of  me  to  read  it.  I  took  it  to  my  room,  but,  glancing  over 
a  few  pages,  I  saw  that,  interesting  as  it  was,  it  was  written  in  a  sceptical  and 
unbelieving  tone,  that  seemed  to  me  as  odious  as  it  was  unjust.  That  same 
evening  I  returned  him  the  book,  asking  him  why  he  had  suggested  it  to  me, 
since  he  must  have  known  that  it  could  only  have  pained  me  to  read  it.  He 
replied  that  he  had  done  so  because  what  was  good  in  it  would  be  certain  to 
please  me,  while  the  bad  portion  would  do  me  no  harm.  '  Rely  on  this, '  he 
added,  with  a  feeling  that  was  unusual  with  him,  '  not  for  the  world  woidd  I 
disturb  your  faith.  Oh,  God  forbid  1  I  should  only  be  taking  from  you  some- 
thing great,  and  I  have  nothing  to  give  you  in  return.'  How  often  have  I 
realized  in  reading  particular  passages  in  his  journal  the  tone  in  which  he  said 
these  words.  Next  day  I  heard  a  knock  at  my  door,  and,  to  my  great  surprise 
(for  the  practice  is  unusual  in  England),  I  saw  Mr.  Greville  enter.  '  I  wish  to 
speak  to  you,'  he  said, '  and  take  up  what  we  were  talking  of  yesterday,  if  you 
will  let  me.'  Then  followed  a  long  and  sad  conversation.  He  spoke  in  a 
strain,  too  common,  alas  !~doubts  of  religion,  a  wish  to  believe,  impossibility 
of  understanding— a  life  too  much  engrossed  with  other  things — time  taken 
up:  in  short,  void,  regret,  sadness  I  Such  was  the  whole.  I  see  him  still:  his 
head  resting  on  the  high  chimney-piece,  as  he  stood  repeating:  '  Oh!  happy 
those  who  have  a  true  faith.  If  it  could  be  bought  with  gold,  what  would  not 
one  give  for  it! '  " 


670  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

an  inverted  extinguislier;  bonnets  like  sails;  coat-collars  which  rose 
above  the  ears;  waists  of  men,  as  of  women,  almost  between  the 
shoulders ;  sleeves  like  enormous  gigots;  trousers  like  vast  balloons ; 
plumes  streaming  in  the  air;  eye-glasses  in  the  tops  of  whips;  stripes, 
flaming  colors,  topboots,  and  breeches;  such  were  some  of  the  fan- 
tastic freaks  of  dress.  The  Oldenburg  hat,  a  hideous  enveloping 
headdress  introduced  by  the  princess  of  that  name ;  the  Alcantara 
mantle,  a  "unique  and  elegant  article,"  copied  from  the  dress  of 
the  knights  of  the  military  order;  "the  Vigonian  helmet,"  or 
patriotic  bonnet,  ' '  which  was  set  off  by  a  waistcoat  or  wrap-front  of 
marble  or  leopard-skin,  with  a  Spartan  robe  for  evening  wear;" 
with  the  Braganza  or  Andalusian  robe,  and  the  "three-quarter  or 
barouche  coat;"  the  Flushing  hat,  the  hat  in  the  "jockey"  style:  all 
these  designs  were  carried  out  with  an  amazing  variety  of  parti- 
colors.  A  sort  of  travelling-cap,  of  the  pattern  that  Russian  officers 
now  carry,  with  the  addition  of  a  tassel,  was  much  affected  by  the 
Princess  of  Wales.  Most  of  these  extravagances  came  from  France, 
but  departed  from  the  classic  taste  of  the  Empire.  It  was  curious  to 
find  a  remarkable  foreign  lady  taking  a  leading  part  in  directing  the 
fashionable  games  and  ceremonies.  This  was  Princess  Lieven, 
whose  full  undisputed  reign  indeed  belongs  to  later  date ;  but  whose 
influence  in  politics,  as  well  as  in  fashion,  was  felt  to  a  late  period: 
for  we  are  now  considering  an  era  of  manners  which  was  continuous 
to  the  latter  years  of  the  King's  reign.  This  clever  woman  was  to 
exercise  an  extraordinary  power  over  ministers  and  statesmen,  and 
took  her  place  as  a  recognized  leader  of  society.* 

The  institution  over  which  she  presided  became  the  inner  sanc- 
tuary, as  it  were,  of  all  that  was  select  and  fashionable.  This  was 
Alinack's,  the  well-known  series  of  balls  held  during  the  season,  at  the 
still  existing  "Willis's  Rooms,"  in  King  Street,  St.  James's. f  The 
difficulty  of  obtaining  admittance  to  these  entertainments — always 
a  judicious  mode  of  making  admission  desirable — has  been  often 
described,  as  well  as  the  passionate  importunity  with  which  cards 
were  sought,  and  the  mortification  of  refusal  which  brought  despair 
and  sometimes  serious  illness.  The  lady  patronesses  exercised  their 
power  with  a  despotism  that  was  almost  insolent.    Persons  of  high 

*  See  Lord  Houghton's  "  Monographs  "  for  a  Bketch  of  her,  as  well  as  the 
memoirs  of  Mr.  Greville  and  Mr.  Raikes,  passim. 

t  Almack  was  originally  McCall,  and  thus  oddly  transformed  his  name.  He 
brought  his  countryman  Gow's  band  from  Edinburgh  to  the  balls,  which 
played  reels  and  other  Scotch  dances. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  671 

rank  were  refused.  This  rigid  system  of  exclusion  led  even  to 
duels,  and  Lord  Jersey  was  challenged  by  an  officer  because  his 
wife  had  been  refused  a  ticket.  Lord  Jersey  declined  to  "go  out," 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  meet  the  vast 
numbers  who  could  make  that  a  cause  of  quarrel. 

Of  the  nearly  three  hundred  officers  of  the  Brigade  of  Guards, 
mostly  of  the  first  families  in  the  kingdom,  scarcely  half  a  dozen 
could  obtain  admission.  It  was  in  the  year  1815  that  Lady  Jersey, 
"a  tragedy  queen,"  and  the  second  lady  of  fashion  of  that  name  and 
line,  introduced  the  now  familiar  quadrille,  and  Mr.  Gronow  re- 
called the  solemn  occasion  when  the  first  measure  of  the  kind  was 
perfonned.  The  names  of  the  executants  deserve  to  be  recorded, 
including  Lady  Jersey,  Lady  H.  Butler,  Lady  Susan  Ryder,  and 
Miss  Montgomery,  Count  St.  Aldegonde  (one  of  the  fashionable 
foreigners),  Mr.  Montgomery,  Mr.  Montague,  and  Mr.  Charles 
Standish.  The  same  observer  recalled  the  spectacle  of  the  late  Lord 
Palmerston  and  Countess  Lieven  solemnly  going  through  a  waltz — 
a  much  more  dignified  measure  than  it  is  now.* 

"No  event,"  says  Mr.  Raikes,  "ever  produced  so  great  a  sensa- 
tion in  English  society  as  the  introduction  of  the  German  waltz  in 
1813.  Up  to  that  time  the  English  country-dance,  Scotch  steps, 
and  an  occasional  Highland  reel,  formed  the  school  of  the  dancing- 
master.  The  young  Duke  of  Devonshire,  as  the  magnus  Apollo  of 
the  drawing-rooms  in  London,  was  at  the  head  of  these  innovations. 
In  London  fashion  is,  or  was  then,  everything.  Old  and  young 
returned  to  school,  and  the  mornings  which  had  been  dedicated  to 
lounging  in  the  park  were  now  absorbed  at  home  in  practising  the 
figures  of  a  French  quadrille,  or  whirling  a  chair  round  the  room  to 
learn  the  step  and  measure  of  the  German  waltz.  Two  Dutchmen 
— Baron  Tripp  (appropriately  named)  and  Baron  Tuyll — were  chief 
professors:  the  former  some  time  after  committed  suicide  at 
Florence.  The  emperors  and  their  attendants  took  part  in  these 
gay  measures,  and  the  example  of  Courts  led  to  the  fashion. 

General  Thornton  was  also  a  popular  professor  of  the  new  dance, 
and  used  to  instruct  parties  of  young  ladies  in  the  morning;  while 

*  A  fashionable  journal  of  the  day,  "  La  Belle  Assembl6e,"  thus  gravely  de- 
scribes the  new  dance:  "  The  Waltzer  is  a  native  dance  of  Suabia,  and  strict 
translation  of  the  term  to  denote  a  roller.  A  lady  and  gentleman  take  hold 
of  each  other  in  a  certain  graceful  manner,  turn  about  together  with  a  simple 
sort  of  step,  and  then  pass  up  and  down  the  room.  The  movement  is  mode- 
rate." 


672  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

Lady  Harriet  Butler,  who  had  been  taught  by  the  dieu  de  la  lance 
himself,  proved  herself  so  apt  and  graceful  a  pupil  that  every  one 
stopped  to  look  as  she  performed.  Even  many  years  later  Pierce 
Egan  describes  the  ardent  devotee  of  the  new  dance,  who 

Holds,  lest  the  figure  should  be  hard, 
Close  to  his  nose  a  printed  card. 

Another  remarkable  woman  of  the  time,  whose  life  was  adven- 
turous, came  to  London  in  1814,  and,  introduced  into  London 
society,  caused  a  sort  of  fureur.  This  was  Madame  de  Stael.  The 
earliest  of  those  attracted  by  the  new  star  was  the  Regent,  to  whom 
her  affectations  and  her  exaggerated  enthusiasm  promised  entertain- 
ment. The  lady,  however,  in  right  of  her  intellectual  sovereignty, 
stood  out  for  the  homage  of  a  first  call  at  her  house  in  Argyle  Street, 
which  he  was  good-humored  enough  to  concede ;  and  he  further,  as 
his  grand  gala  at  Carlton  House  was  impending,  "with  more  ap- 
pearance of  taste  than  he  usually  displays,"  says  Mrs.  Trench,  went 
specially  to  a  party  at  Lady  Heathcote's,  to  allow  of  an  opportunity 
for  being  presented  to  her,  so  that  she  might  attend  the  fCte  on  the 
following  evening.  When  they  met,  however,  she  violated  etiquette 
by  putting  him  through  a  process  of  questioning,  which  did  not 
please  him.  She  was  also  said  to  have  treated  him  cavalierly,  and 
spoke  in  a  strain  of  personal  praise  which  was  too  strong  for  his 
taste,  "  particularly  dwelling  on  the  beauty  of  the  form  of  his  legs, 
but  saying  very  little  to  him  of  the  glories  of  his  countiy,  or  the 
powers  of  his  mind."  The  interview  was  not  supposed  to  be  pleas- 
ant to  either  party;  nevertheless,  Madame  de  Stael  continued  her 
adulatory  conduct  to  the  Prince.  Her  undignified  and  unsuitable 
marriage  sank  her  to  a  lamentable  degree,  and  her  days  closed  in 
troubles,  disappointment,  and  obscurity. 

The  story  of  Lady  Caroline  Lamb,  a  high-strung,  clever,  ill-regu- 
lated, wilful  creature,  moves  sympathy.  Hers  was  a  strange,  and, 
in  its  ending,  tragic  career.  Her  extravagant  admiration  of  the 
hero  of  the  hour;  her  mad  behavior  at  a  ball  in  consequence;  the 
strange  novels  she  wrote  in  which  she  and  her  idol  figured;  the 
patient  forbearance  of  her  husband  who  bore  with  her  freaks  as 
long  as  they  could  be  borne;  and  her  unhappy  death-bed,  when  she 
was  reconciled  to  him,  form  elements  in  a  wild  course,  and  excite 
the  deepest  pity.* 

*  Many  of  her  letters,  with  other  details,  will  be  found  In  the  "  Memoirs  of 
Lady  Morgan."  There  is  also  a  sketch  of  her  In  Mr.  McCuUagh  Torrens's 
**  Life  of  Lord  Melbourne." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  673 

Few  events  in  the  history  of  society  caused  so  deep  a  sensation  as 
the  appearance  of  Lord  Byron.  When  it  is  considered  he  was 
young,  a  noble,  a  poet  of  the  first  order,  interesting,  if  not  good- 
looking,  and  one  who  was  believed  to  have  known  strange  adven- 
tures, this  success  is  not  surprising.  Further,  as  is  shown  by  his 
letters,  he  possessed  gaietS  de  cceur,  if  not  wit,  and  was  lively  and 
entertaining  in  conversation.  It  may  be  said,  therefore,  that  an  era 
at  which  two  such  geniuses  as  Madame  de  Slag]  and  Lord  Byron 
met  in  London  drawing-rooms  was  one  of  special  note.  The  poet 
used  to  be  merry  with  his  friends  on  the  lady's  peculiarities  and 
affectations,  and  was  himself  "a  lion  "  quite  as  great.  One  scene 
has  been  alluded  to,  which  took  place  at  a  rout.  Another  lady  of 
high  fashion  w^as  found  in  tears  on  a  sofa  at  another  entertainment, 
because  he  had  spoken  unkindly  to  her.  To  a  third  admirer  he  ad- 
dressed a  farewell  letter,  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  person  who  had 
supplanted  her — a  Mephistopheles  touch,  significant  of  his  some- 
what venomous  temper.  Nor  should  we  pass  by  that  extraordinary 
lady,  the  Margravine  of  Anspach,  Lady  Craven,  who  survived  till 
the  year  1828.  Her  oddities,  her  theatricals,  and  her  singular  and 
not  uninteresting  Memoirs,  undoubtedly  give  her  a  place  in  the  line 
of  remarkable  women.  She  was  connected  with  the  Princess  of 
Wales,  by  furnishing  her  with  Mr,  Keppel  Craven,  her  son,  as  an 
equerry;  while  Brandenburg  House,  her  well-known  residence  at 
Hammersmith,  was  occupied  by  the  Princess  on  the  eve  of  her  trial. 

Among  the  oddities  of  London  society  must  be  counted  at  this 
time  two  strange  ladies,  known  for  their  taste  for  party-giving,  and 
their  eagerness  to  collect  at  such  entertainments  everything  remark- 
able. One  of  these  was  the  antique  Lady  Cork,  whose  husband  had 
been  born  so  long  ago  as  1742,  and  who  herself  had  been  married  in 
1786,  and  who  survived  lull  of  animation  and  party-giving  till  1840. 
As  is  well  known,  she  was  a  favorite  of  Dr.  Johnson's,  with  whom 
she  had  often  a  pleasant  encounter  of  wits.  Mr.  Croker  quotes  one 
of  her  last  letters  to  him,  written  in  1836,  gayly  jjesting  upon  the 
year  of  her  birth.  A  full  account  of  this  old  lady  would  form  an 
entertaining  monograph. 

The  other  lady,  as  eager  for  party-giving,  was  the  well-known 
Lydia  White,  and  if  old  age  might  seem  an  obstacle  to  such  gayeties 
in  the  one  instance,  helplessness  and  infirmity  might  be  in  the  other. 
But  these  seem  to  have  only  whetted  their  spirit.  "Going  to  Lydia 
White's"  was  a  thing  which  many  laughed  at  and  yet  few  omitted. 
Sydney  Smith's  jest  of  "  sacrificing  a  Tory  virgin"  is  well  known. 

UNIVERSITY 


674  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

What  was  presented  to  the  guests  was  most  dispiriting.  "  Immov- 
able from  dropsy,  with  a  swollen  person  and  an  emaciated  face," 
says  a  sarcastic  observer,  "she  is  placed  on  an  inclined  plane  raised 
high  upon  a  sofa.     Yet  her  spirit  was  unflagging." 

•With  one  of  these  ruling  queens  of  fashion — Lady  Jersey — the 
Regent's  name  became  associated  in  a  curious  way.  She  was 
daughter-in-law  of  the  better-known  Lady  Jersey,  and  also  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  society.  After  enjoying  the  favor  of  the  Regent, 
she  incurred  his  enmity,  which  he  marked  by  removing  her  minia- 
ture from  a  collection  of  "  beauties"  he  had  formed,  and  sending  it 
back  to  Mrs.  Mee,  the  painter.  Lord  Byron,  an  admirer  of  the  lady, 
wrote  some  lines,  published  in  the  papers: 

If  he,  that  vain  old  man,  whom  truth  admits 
Heir  of  his  father's  crown  and  of  his  wits; 
If  his  corrupted  eye  and  withered  heart 
Could  with  thy  gentle  image  bear  to  part. 

*  *  *  * 

These  are  not  lessened,  these  are  still  as  bright; 
Albeit  too  dazzling  for  a  dotard's  sight; 
And  these  must  wait  till  every  gleam  is  gone, 
To  please  the  paltry  heart  that  pleases  none. 

Here  was  the  sequel :  At  a  ball,  Mr.  Rogers  was  seated  beside  her 
in  a  long  gallery,  at  the  end  of  which  the  Regent  appeared.  He  saw 
the  person  he  so  disliked,  but  it  was  too  late  to  turn  back.  He 
passed  her  with  a  defiant  stare,  which  she  returned  as  defiantly,  and 
then  whispered,  "  Didn't  I  do  it  well?" 

The  irrepressible  gayety  of  the  English  was  displayed  even  abroad, 
imder  the  most  extraordinary  conditions.  The  detenus  at  Verdun 
included  men  of  rank  and  fashion,  like  Lord  Yarmouth,  who  in- 
dulged in  a  riotous  life  that  scandalized  their  keepers.  Horse- 
racing,  gambling,  balls,  and  wasteful  extravagance  were  kept  up  as 
in  town. 

"We  have  had  a  grand  f6te,"  says  a  private  letter  from  Verdun, 
dated  the  22nd  August,  1805,  "given  here  on  the  12th  instant,  in 
honor  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  by  Mrs.  Concannon.  Her  cards  were 
sent  out  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons,  in  the  same  style  as  in 
London.  The  company  met  at  tea,  and  were  conducted  into  a  large 
room,  fitted  up  as  a  theatre,  where  a  little  piece  adapted  to  the 
occasion  was  performed  by  Enghshmen.  It  was  intermixed  with 
French  parts,  which  were  performed  by  the  regular  actors  of  the 
theatre,  and  a  very  humorous  epilogue,  written  by  Mr.  Concannon, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  675 

was  spoken  after  it.  The  play  lasted  till  twelve,  when  three  sup- 
per-rooms, with  two  tables  in  each,  were  thrown  open.  The  tables 
were  covered  with  everything  which  the  season  could  produce,  and 
the  most  renowned  wines  in  France.  About  two  o'clock  the  ball- 
room was  ready;  and  the  ladies  and  those  gentlemen  who  wished  to 
dance  kept  up  country-dances,  reels,  and  cotillons  till  six  in  the 
morning.  The  gentlemen  who  wished  to  remain  at  table  kept 
drinking  and  singing  till  the  same  hour,  excepting  some  few  who 
got  round  the  hazard-table.  Captain  Prescot  sang  a  very  humorous 
song,  which  terminated  with  this  chorus : 

May  we  soon  arrive  on  the  banks  of  the  Shannon — 
So  here's  to  the  health  of  Mrs.  Concannon ! 

At  six  we  were  summoned  to  the  breakfast-room,  where  tea  and 
coffee  kept  us  till  seven,  when  we  all  retired  to  our  beds,  to  be  up 
by  two  to  go  to  the  races. 

"Dresses. — The  ladies  were  dressed  in  a  style  much  beyond  what 
was  even  seen  at  Mrs.  Concannon's  great  routs  in  London :  the 
preparations  occupied  them  a  month  before,  and  every  town  in 
France,  and  even  in  Germany,  were  laid  under  contribution. 
Among  the  most  conspicuous  was  the  honorable  Mrs.  Clive,  who 
wore  a  Vandyke  diadem  profusely  set  round  with  jewels,  and  the 
Honorable  Mrs.  Annesley,  who  wore  a  dress  which  cost  at  Paris 
one  hundred  and  fifty  guineas.  Mrs.  Concannon  had  a  beautiful 
bird-of-paradise  feather,  which  cost  twenty-five  guineas." 

There  were  other  settlements  of  a  less  penal  kind,  such  as  Calais, 
which  was  always  filled  with  refugee  English.  At  midnight,  when 
mails  and  passengers  are  hurrying  through,  few  can  conceive  of 
days  when  it  was  the  special  refuge  of  Englishmen  of  condition  in 
temporary  or  permanent  straits.  There  too,  by  an  odd  perverse- 
ness,  they  soon  found  means  to  raise  up  a  crop  of  foreign  creditors, 
from  whom  they  found  it  as  difficult  to  escape  as  they  had  don© 
from  their  English  ones.  Legends  were  told  of  escapes  planned 
with  considerable  ingenuity.  One  man  of  fashion,  strictly  watched, 
contrived  a  daily  ride  along  the  sands,  immersing  his  horse's  legs 
in  the  water,  far  out,  until  he  ceased  to  excite  suspicion.  A  well- 
manned  boat  from  the  English  coast  came  in  close,  into  which  he 
leaped,  and  was  rowed  away  with  complete  success.*  Here  went 
on  gaming,  and  walking  on  the  Place,  while  the  stream  of  English 

*  See  the  entertaining  "  Annals  of  Calais." 


576  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

passing  through,  and  staying  at  Dessein's,  then  one  of  the  finest 
hotels  in  Europe,  furnished  pleasant  excuse  for  meeting  friends, 
little  dinners,  and  borrowing  money.* 

There  was  also  a  little  corner  of  Europe  which  at  this  time  rose 
into  sudden  attraction,  and  offered  a  more  brilliant  scene  than  it 
has  ever  done  since.  This  w^as  the  little  w^ateriug-place  of  Spa.  It 
has  now  sunk  into  a  quiet  torpor,  without  having  lost  any  of  its 
natural  charms,  but  the  spectacle  it  presented  at  the  close  of  the 
great  war  must  have  been  a  dazzling  one. 

"  In  1818,"  says  Sir  H.  Holland,  "at  the  time  of  the  Congress  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  the  proximity  of  the  two  places  brought  many 
diplomatists  across  the  frontier,  to  the  quieter  amusements  and  bet- 
ter atmosphere  of  Spa;  among  others  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and 


*  I  may  be  pardoned  for  quoting  from  The  St.  James's  Gazette  this  sketch 
of  my  own  on  the  fate  of  this  interesting  old  hotel:  "  Until  very  lately  Sterne's 
Room,  No.  31,  and  Reynolds's  portrait  of  Sir  W.  Scott  over  the  chimney-piece, 
were  still  shown  and  still  used.  The  whole  had  an  antique  air.  Dessein,  how- 
ever, passed  away  with  his  son,  and  his  son's  daughter  married  Quillacq,  who 
kept  the  Silver  Lion,  an  old  hotel,  also  with  a  court,  to  be  found  now  in  the 
Rue  Neuve.  Here  it  was  that  Hogarth  stayed.  So  lately,  however,  as  1864, 
L.  Dessein,  who  was  keeping  the  old  Dessein's  Hotel,  issued  an  important  an- 
nouncement: 'That  after  the  1st  of  January  his  establishment  will  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  Hotel  Quillacq,  which  has  been  entirely  newly  done  up  and  will 
take  the  name  of  Hotel  Dessein.  The  premises  of  the  old  hotel  having  been 
purchased  by  the  town  of  Calais,  it  ceases  to  be  an  hotel.'  So  accordingly  it 
ceased  to  be;  and  in  1874  it  was  transformed  into  a  museum,  with  Indian 
boats,  skeletons  of  birds  and  fishes,  aiTow.s,  pictures,  etc.  It  was  the  occasion 
of  one  of  those  agreeable  little  French  fetes  which  are  in  such  harmony  with 
an  old  town;  in  1878  I  came  by  that  road  once  more,  and  found  the  old  hotel 
still  yellow,  and  its  old  trees  and  gardens  still  blooming.  No  one,  I  fancy, 
ever  asked  to  see  the  things  of  the  museum.  In  1880  I  was  once  more  in  old 
Calais,  coming  over  by  moonlight,  and  with  that  not  unromantic  landing  at 
the  station,  and  by  one  in  the  morning  was  standing  ringing  at  Quillacq's. 
Dessein's  was  sadly  changed  from  those  old  busy  days.  There  was  hardly 
another  person  in  the  house.  They  were  civil,  obliging  people,  and  Madame 
Dessein,  a  pleasing  old  French  dame,  sat  in  her  parlor  and  administered.  The 
fare  was  good  and  the  house  comfortable.  Overhead,  at  the  roof  could  be 
seen  the  silver  lion  rampant.  I  went  out  betimes  to  see  the  old  Dessein's  in 
the  Rue  Leveux,  erst  Royale.  It  was  pouring  rain,  and  somehow  I  could  not 
find  it.  This  was  set  down  to  forgetfulness.  The  trial  was  made  again  later, 
but  with  the  same  result.  The  streets  did  not  wear  the  same  look.  At  last 
the  news  wan  rudely  broken  to  me.  In  place  of  Dessein's  was  to  be  seen  the 
shell  of  an  enormous  brick  building,  ready  but  for  roofing— a  vast  communal 
school,  one  of  M.  Ferry's  offspring.  Dessein's  fair  gardens,  the  quaint  old 
hotel,  the  remise,  Sterne's  room— all  had  been  levelled,  and  this  precious 
structure  reared  in  its  place !    And  thus  there  was  an  end  of  Dessein's  Hotel." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  677 

Lord  Londonderry,  the  Due  de  Ricbelieu,  Prince  Hardenburgh, 
Prince  Dolgorouski,  etc.  Tlie  Emperor  Alexander,  the  Prince  and 
Princess  of  Orange,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Cumberland,  and 
two  or  three  Prussian  princes,  were  among  the  numerous  other 
visitors  of  this  year.  The  Spadois  were  flattered  and  enriched  b-"- 
this  concourse  of  princes  around  the  Pouhon  Fountain,  and  by  see- 
ing tliree  or  four  gartered  English  noblemen  every  evening  at  their 
assembly-rooms  and  roulette  tables.  The  acting  of  Mdlle.  Mars  at 
the  little  theatre  of  Spa  graced  the  season  in  another  way;  some- 
what past  her  perfection,  but  still  supreme  in  the  parts  she  filled.  I 
saw  a  good  deal  of  the  Due  de  Richelieu  in  society;  quite  enough 
to  tell  me  that  Talleyrand  cared  more  for  his  bo?i  mot  than  for  the 
truth  of  his  sarcasm,  when  he  eulogized  the  appointment  of  the 
Duke  as  Prime  Minister — '11  est  Vhomme  de  la  France  qui  connoit 
mieux  la  Cnmee.'  The  Due  de  Richelieu  was  a  fine  specimen  of 
what  we  are  taught,  rightly  or  wrongly,  to  picture  as  a  French 
noble  of  the  old  school.  He,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  Lord 
Londonderry,  walking  arm-in-arm  as  I  saw  them  at  Spa,  would 
have  made  an  interesting  subject  for  photography  had  the  art  then 
existed.  I  had  a  good  deal  of  intercourse  with  Lord  Londonderry 
at  Spa.  I  saw  much  too  at  Spa  of  Montrond,  the  friend  of  Talley- 
rand; if  friendship  be  the  word  to  denote  the  link  between  two 
men  who  lived  in  a  common  contempt  of  the  feelings  and  fashions 
of  the  world." 


BOOK    III. 

THE  JTJifG.— 1830-1830. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV.  681 


CHAPTER  I 
1820. 

At  midnight,  January  29,  1820,  the  great  bell  of  St.  Paul's  an- 
nounced the  death  of  George  III  and  the  accession  of  George  IV. 
The  good  old  King  was,  at  last,  to  close  his  weary,  suffering  life, 
and,  for  so  many  years  dead  to  reason  and  sight,  to  shuffle  off  with 
that  life  the  mere  semblance  of  royalty. 

The  Regent  had  been  too  ill  to  attend  his  father's  death-bed,  over 
which  the  Duke  of  York,  his  favorite  son,  we  are  told,  "  hung  with 
the  most  affectionate  solicitude."  But  Sir  William  Knighton  was 
with  him  on  the  night  when  the  news  arrived  from  Windsor,  and 
testifies  that  it  was  received  "  with  a  burst  of  grief  that  was  very 
affecting."  His  situation  presently  became  most  critical.  At  his 
favorite  residence,  Brighton,  he  had  caught  a  cold,  for  which  he 
lost  eighty  ounces  of  blood.  But  on  the  night  of  Tuesday,  Feb- 
ruary 1,  a  fresh  attack  coming  on,  he  was  almost  in  danger  of 
suffocation.  Sir  Henry  Hal  ford  was  absent,  and  had  left  directions 
that  there  was  to  be  no  further  bleeding  till  his  return.  The 
cautious  Knighton  was  afraid  to  disobey,  and  Mr.  Grenville  states 
that  he  might  have  died  but  for  Bloomfield's  sending  for  Tierney, 
who  promptly  took  fifty  ounces  of  blood  from  him,  almost  bleeding 
him  to  death.  It  was  believed  that,  but  for  this  step,  he  would 
have  followed  his  father  on  the  second  or  third  day  of  his  reign. 
In  all  these  attacks,  his  fine  constitution,  not  yet  shattered,  helped 
him  to  rally.  It  was  characteristic  of  his  effusive  nature,  which  for 
the  time  was  even  affectionate,  that,  in  the  moments  of  his  greatest 
danger,  he  despatched  expresses  to  his  dear  friend.  Lord  Wellesley, 
with  messages  as  to  his  state.  By  the  17lh  he  was  restored,  and 
receiving  addresses  from  the  City  of  London.  "Sheriff  Perkins" 
declared  that  his  Majesty  was  one  of  the  most  robust-looking  men 
in  the  kingdom.  "His  limbs,"  he  added,  "retain  their  fine  pro- 
portions, and  his  eye  its  wonted  vivacity."  But  at  the  Council  less 
partial  judges  declared  that  he  was  "very  weak  and  tottering." 

29* 


682  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBQE  IV. 


the  king  to  louis  xvih.  and  other  sovebeions. 

"Sir,  my  Brother, 

"Amidst  my  own  and  the  public  grief  for  the  loss  of  his 
late  Majesty,  my  most  honored  father,  of  blessed  memory,  whom  it 
pleased  God  to  release  from  the  sufferings  of  a  long  illness  on  the 
evening  of  the  twenty-ninth  instant,  at  thirty-five  minutes  past  eight 
o'clock,  I  cannot  omit  giving  your  Majesty  the  earliest  intelligence 
of  the  event,  being  convinced  that  you  will  participate  in  the 
concern  which  I  feel  upon  this  melancholy  occasion.  Upon  my 
ascending  the  throne  of  this  imperial  kingdom,  I  renew  to  your 
Majesty  the  assurance  of  my  constant  desire  to  cultivate  and  main- 
tain that  amity  and  good  correspondence  which  so  happily  subsists 
between  our  two  crowns;  and  that  I  will  not  be  wanting  on  my 
part  in  anything  that  may  tend  to  the  advancement  of  the  pros- 
perity and  welfare  of  your  dominions.  And  so,  wishing  your 
Majesty  health,  peace,  and  true  felicity,  I  am,  with  the  highest 
esteem, 

"  Sir,  my  Brother,  your  Majesty's  affectionate  Brother, 

"George  R 

"Given  at  my  Palace  of  Carlton  House,  the  31st  day  of  January, 
1820.     To  my  good  brother  the  most  Christian  King."* 

At  the  Privy  Council,  on  the  customary  oath  being  taken,  his 
Majesty  made  the  following  declaration : 

"I  have  directed  that  you  should  be  assembled  here,  in  order 
that  I  may  discharge  the  painful  duty  of  announcing  to  you  the 
death  of  the  King,  my  beloved  father. 

"It  is  impossible  for  me  adequately  to  express  the  state  of  my 
feelings  upon  this  melancholy  occasion ;  but  I  have  the  consolation 
of  knowing  that  the  severe  calamity  with  which  his  Majesty  has 
been  afflicted  for  so  many  years,  has  never  effaced  from  the  minds 
of  his  subjects  the  impressions  created  by  his  many  virtues;  and 
his  example  will,  I  am  persuaded,  live  forever  in  the  grateful 
remembrance  of  his  country. 

♦  This  document,  written  on  a  quarto  sheet  of  paper  with  gilt  edges,  has 
somehow  found  its  way  into  the  British  Museum.  It  Is  in  the  nature  of  a 
circular  letter,  and  is  merely  signed  by  the  King. 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBOE  IT.  683 

"  Called  upon,  inconsequence  of  his  Majesty's  Indisposition,  to 
exercise  the  prerogatives  of  the  crown  on  his  behalf,  it  was  the  first 
wish  of  my  heart  to  be  allowed  to  restore  into  his  hands  the  powers 
with  which  I  was  entrusted.  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to 
determine  otherwise;  and  I  have  not  been  insensible  to  the  advan- 
tages which  I  l^ve  derived  from  administering,  in  my  dear  father's 
name,  the  government  of  this  realm. 

"  The  support  w^hich  I  have  received  from  Parliament  and  the 
country,  in  times  the  most  eventful,  and  under  the  most  arduous 
circumstances,  could  alone  inspire  me  with  that  confidence  which 
my  present  station  demands. 

"The  experience  of  the  past  will,  I  trust,  satisfy  all  classes  of  my 
people,  that  it  will  ever  be  my  most  anxious  endeavor  to  promote 
their  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  to  maintain  unimpaired  the 
religion,  laws,  and  liberties  of  the  kingdom." 

It  was  naturally  desirable  that  the  first  step  taken  should  be  to 
close  the  unseemly  chapter  of  nearly  forty  years'  pecuniary  embar- 
rassments and  scandals.  This  delicate  task  was  undertaken  by  his 
confidential  friend  Knighton,  who  devoted  himself  to  it  for  the 
next  ten  years  with  infinite  pains,  carrying  it  out  with  an  inflexible 
severity,  which  made  him  incur  the  displeasure,  if  not  dislike,  of 
his  royal  master;  not  the  least  disagreeable  part  being  the  under- 
taking distant  journeys  on  "delicate  missions"  in  the  depth  of 
winter.  It  is  stated  that  the  old  debt  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was 
now  cleared  off  with  interest,  together  with  other  long-standing 
encumbrances,  while  the  King  himself  eagerly  pressed  his  minis- 
ters for  a  substantial  addition  to  the  Civil  List,  which,  he  main- 
tained, was  inadequate  for  his  state.  They  refused — declaring  that 
the  settlement  must  be  considered  a  settlement  for  the  reign,  though 
they  held  out  a  hope  that  some  special  grant  might  be  made  in  the 
future.  It  was  curious  to  find  the  King  thus  renewing  the  old 
attempts  of  the  Prince,  and  clamoring  for  "increased  allowance." 
When  the  new  Parliament  met,  he  was  able  in  his  speech  to  "con- 
gratulate the  nation  on  there  being  no  addition  to  the  burdens  on 
the  people."  On  this  occasion  he  sat  on  the  "new  throne,"  arrayed 
"in  purple  and  gold."    The  next  step  was  to  dispose  of  his  Queen. 

He  had  discovered  a  convenient  ally  and  instrument — a  pliant 
lawyer,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  only  man  of  position  and 
ability  who  adopted  and  favored  his  plans.  This  was  Leach, 
already  his  Chancellor  of  Cornwall,  and  who  looked  to  a  higher 


684  'J'SE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 

reward.  All  the  reports  of  the  spies  abroad  with  the  more  respect- 
able communications  of  Lord  Exmouth  and  Sir  C.  Stuart,  had  been 
gradually  accumulating,  and  this  adroit  partisan  suggested  that  it 
was  time  that  some  action  should  be  taken  upon  these  materials.* 
From  him  and  Lord  Liverpool  we  learn  how  the  first  step  was 
arranged,  and  that  in  1818  commissioners  had  been  sent  out  to 
Milan  to  collect  evidence.  In  Mr.  Grey-Beune^s  diary  some 
account  is  given  of  the  persons  to  whom  this  delicate  task  was 
entrusted. 

"  I  have  read  a  letter  from  Sir  John  Leach,  the  Regent's  Chan- 
cellor for  the  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  to  Lord  Essex,  which  gives  the 
following  particulars:  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1817  (after  the 
Princess  Charlotte's  death),  a  large  parcel  of  papers  was  laid  before 
him  (Sir  J.  L.)  by  order  of  the  King,  a  considerable  part  of  which 
came  from  the  Foreign  Office.  After  having  perused  them,  he 
recommended  an  inquiry  to  be  instituted;  and,  accordingly,  with 
the  full  consent  and  approbation  of  some  of  the  ministers,  such  as 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Liverpool,  and  Lord  Castlereagh,  one 
was  nominated,  consisting  of  Mr.  Cooke  (a  Chancery  lawyer),  Mr. 
Powell  (an  attorney),  and  Captain  Brown  (a  creature  of  Lord 
Stewart's),  Lord  Castlereagh's  brother,  then  our  ambassador  at 
Vienna.  This  commission  assembled  at  Milan,  in  September,  1818, 
and  transmitted,  from  time  to  time,  copies  of  the  evidence,  as  they 
collected  it,  to  Sir  John  Leach,  who  sent  them  to  Lord  Liverpool. 
They  returned  to  England,  and  made  their  report  in  July,  1819. 
Leach's  defence  consists  in  his  denial  that  he  ever  communicated 
with  them,  or  with  any  one  else  upon  the  subject,  while  he  was 
on  the  Continent  (of  which  he  was  accused),  the  commission  not 
assembling  at  Milan  till  he  left  it.  Of  the  character  of  these  com- 
missioners it  may  be  necessary  here  to  say  a  few  words,  Mr, 
Cooke  bears  a  very  good  reputation  as  a  Chancery  lawyer." 

Sir  J.  Leach,  this  instrument,  was  a  suitable  character,  with  a 
strange  reserve  and  ambition.  "How  often  have  I  seen  him,"  snys 
an  old  solicitor,  "  when  walking  through  the  Green  Park,  knock  at 
the  private  door  at  the  back  of  Carlton  Palace.  I  have  seen  him 
go  in  four  or  five  days  following."  And  there  was  something 
significant  in  his  mode  of  dispensing  law.  Two  large  fan-shades 
were  placed  in  such  a  position  as  not  only  to  screen  the  light  from 


♦  To  present  all  these  proceedings  in  a  continuous  form  I  have  reserved  for 
this  place  the  preliminary  discussions  and  arrangements. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  685 

the  Master's  eyes  but  to  render  him  invisible  to  the  court.  After 
the  counsel  who  was  addressing  the  court  had  finished  and  resumed 
his  seat,  there  would  be  an  awful  pause  for  a  minute  or  two;  when 
at  length,  out  of  the  darkness  which  surrounded  the  chair  of  justice 
would  come  a  voice,  distinct,  awful,  solemn,  but  with  the  solemnity 
of  suppressed  anger:  "The  bill  is  dismissed  with  costs."  No 
explanations,  no  long  series  of  arguments  were  advanced  to  sup- 
port this  conclusion. 

One  Vimercati,  an  Italian  lawyer,  was  local  manager  and  employed 
to  hunt  up  evidence,  and  when  it  was  known  that  the  English  Court 
was  enger  to  obtain  evidence,  the  "raffish"  miscellany  of  Italian 
scamps,  menials,  valets  de  place — never  a  high  type — virtually  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  fit  what  they  had  to  tell  to  the  standard  that 
was  required. 

The  instigator  of  the  scheme  at  once  received  his  reward.  At 
Christmas,  1&17,  he  was  made  Yice-Chancellor,  "on  the  distinct 
nomination  of  the  Prince  Regent  himself,"  Mr.  Twiss  tells  us. 
Lord  Eldon  having  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  That  eminent 
Tory's  scruples  did  not  stand  in  the  way.  The  Regent,  for  ends 
of  his  own,  was  then  calling  him  his  dearest  friend,  and  imploring 
him  not  to  desert  him;  and  as  the  public  was  clamoring  for  his 
resignation  this  appeal  became  of  value.  Why  the  Regent  was 
so  anxious  not  to  be  "deserted"  will  be  now  seen.  It  is  also  a 
little  significant  that  Sir  W.  Scott,  the  Chancellor's  brother,  was 
heard  lo  remark  that  the  late  death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  had 
removed  the  only  objection  to  the  divorce.  His  "dear  young 
master"  had  addressed  him: 


THE  KEGENT  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

"My  dear  friend  [ho  wrote  on  January  1st,  1818],  it  must 
always  be  a,  mortifying  as  well  as  painful  circumstance  to  me, 
whenever  I  am  deprived  the  pleasure  of  your  society;  but  when 
I  learn  the  reason  of  such  privation,  that  it  is  to  be  attributed  to 
bodily  indisposition,  arising  entirely  from  distress  of  mind,  it  is 
then  truly  that  I  do  tenfold  regret  the  absence  of  my  friend,  and 
that  I  do  feel  more  deeply  for  him  than  I  can  find  words  to 
express.  Perhaps  (and  in  addition  to  what  I  have  just  written) 
there  never  was  a  moment  when  (and  in  which  also  from  private 
and  personal  reasons  towards  myself)  I  not  only  could  have 
regretted  and  lamented   your  absence  more  or  so  much  as  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

late  one  (but  when  I  at  the  same  time  am  sensible  that  you  could 
not  possibly  come  to  me);  for  you  cannot  fail  to  know  how  much 
I  depend  upon  you  at  all  times,  and  how  firmly  I  rely  upon  your 
support  and  affection  in  whatever  can  concern  my  tranquillity,  my 
happiness,  and  my  honor.  You  cannot,  therefore,  be  surprised 
(much  difficulty  in  point  of  delicacy  being  now  set  aside  in  my 
mind  by  the  late  melancholy  event  which  has  taken  place  in  my 
family)  if  I  therefore  turn  my  whole  thoughts  to  the  endeavoring 
to  extricate  myself  from  the  cruellest,  as  well  as  the  most  unjust 
predicament,  that  ever  even  the  lowest  individual,  much  more  a 
prince,  ever  was  placed  in  by  unshackling  myself  from  a  woman 

who ....     Is  it  then,  my  dear  friend,  to  be  tolerated  that 

....  is  to  be  suffered  to  continue  to  bear  my  name,  to  belong  to 
me  and  to  the  country,  and  that  that  country,  the  first  in  all  the 
world,  and  myself  its  sovereign,  are  to  be  expected  to  submit  silently 
to  a  degradation,  under  which  no  upright  and  honorable  mind  can 
exist?  This,  then,  was  my  main  object  for  collecting  certain  of  my 
confidential  servants  here.  ...  I  shall  now  take  my  leave  of  you, 
wishing  you  from  my  heart  many  happy  returns  of  the  season,  and 
assuring  you  that  if  it  depends  upon  me  alone,  your  happiness  should 
never  know  interruption, 

"  I  remain,  my  dear  Friend, 

"Always  most  affectionately  yours, 

"George,  P.  R 

"P.S.— I  hope  that  you  will  be  able  to  make  out  this  scrawl." 

But  it  is  now  that  Mr.  Brougham  begins  to  occupy  so  conspicuous 
a  figure  in  these  transactions — though  his  behavior  at  this  stage 
was  always  deemed  perplexing.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Princess  was  thoroughly  alarmed  by  the  fact  of  the  inquisition  that 
was  held  at  Milan,  and  was  unequal  to  maintain  the  struggle  at  such 
odds.  Her  friends,  too,  felt  that  on  every  account  it  was  desirable 
she  should  remain  abroad.  This  was  the  view  of  the  ministers — in 
short,  there  was  but  one  person  in  the  kingdom  who  was  eager  to 
disturb  or  annoy  her. 

In  this  view  Mr.  Brougham  addressed  a  letter  to  Lord  Hutchinson, 
a  friend  of  both  contending  parties,  suggesting  an  arrangement, 
which  he  was  not  authorized  to  make,  but  which  he  seemed  to  say 
he  had  influence  enough  to  persuade  her  to  accept,  on  the  terms  of  a 
formal  separation,  no  coronation  or  title  of  Queen,  and  an  annuity 
for  life.     He  added  that  he  thought  this  would  be  most  comfortable 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV.  687 

for  her,  as  since  her  daughter's  death  she  would  not  desire  to  return. 
This  sensible  proposal  was  not  accepted,  for  the  reason  that  at  that 
moment  a  most  singular  discussion  was  going  on  between  the 
Regent  and  his  ministers.  The  report  of  the  Milan  commission  had 
come  to  hand,  and  the  Prince  was  filled  with  a  sort  of  passionate  ill- 
regulated  longing  to  take  action  on  it.  They  pressed  on  him  as 
reasonable  the  proposals  contained  in  the  letter,  assuring  him  that 
any  notion  of  divorce,  such  as  he  suggested  "by  arrangement,"  was 
out  of  the  question.  On  this  he  replied,  saying  that  they  had  mis- 
understood nim,  that  he  intended  there  should  be  due  proofs  of 
guilt,  and  put  it  to  them  whether,  for  the  purpose  of  "arrange- 
ment," there  could  be  any  essential  difference  between  divorce  and 
the  sort  of  separation  they  referred  to,  and  whether  the  party  who 
would  propose  the  one  w^ould  not  accept  the  other?* 

In  about  a  fortnight,  on  July  10th,  ministers  at  once  took  into 
consideration  the  report  of  the  commission.  A  couple  of  weeks 
later,  with  this  unexpected  information  before  them,  they  addressed 
the  Regent  in  a  remarkable  minute  :f 

"  According  to  these  opinions  your  Royal  Highness's  servants  are 
led  to  believe  that  the  facts  stated  in  the  papers  which  have  been 
referred  to  them  would  furnish  sufficient  proof  of  the  crime,  pro- 
vided they  were  established  by  credible  witnesses;  but  it  is  at  the 
same  time  the  opinion  of  your  Royal  Highness's  confidential  ser- 
vants that,  considering  the  manner  in  which  a  great  part  of  this 
testimony  has  unavoidably  been  obtained,  and  the  circumstance 
that  the  persons  who  have  afforded  it  are  foreigners,  many  of 
whom  appear  to  be  in  a  low  station  of  life,  it  would  not  be  possi- 
ble to  advise  your  Royal  Highness  to  institute  any  legal  proceeding 
upon  such  evidence,  without  further  inquiry  as  to  the  characters 
and  circumstances  of  the  witnesses  by  whom  it  is  to  be  supported." 

Then  they  considered  the  various  courses  of  proceeding — high 
treason,  suit  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts — and  found  the  most  serious 
objections  to  all. 


*  As  these  papers  are  evidently  not  the  Regent's  o-wn  composition,  but  writ- 
ten by  Sir  J.  Leach,  the  substance  is  merely  given. 

t  Mr.  Roebuck  states  ("  History,"  i.  9),  "  on  the  highest  authority,"  that  the 
Whig  party  conveyed  to  Lord  Liverpool  an  intimation  that,  if  the  King  dis- 
missed him  and  his  friends  for  refusing  to  prosecute  the  Queen,  they  would 
decline  to  take  office,  even  though  this  condition  were  waived.  This  does  not 
seem  very  credible. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

"They  are  satisfied  that  evidence  which  in  a  common  case,  and 
before  the  ordinary  tribunals,  would  be  deemed  fully  sufficient, 
would,  in  a  proceeding  of  this  kind,  be  received  with  the  greatest 
suspicion,  particularly  where  the  witnesses  happened  to  be  foreign- 
ers; and  they  doubt  the  success  of  any  application  to  Parliament 
upon  such  a  transaction,  except  in  a  case  in  which  the  testimony 
was  so  unexceptionable,  clear,  and  distinct,  as  to  be  subject  to  no 
reasonable  doubt.  Most  of  the  objections  above  stated  would  not 
apply  to  the  third  proposition — a  proceeding  for  high  treason.  Such 
a  proceeding  would  be  considered  as  conformable  to  the  due  course 
of  law.  But  on  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  observed  that  the  diffi- 
culties of  obtaining  sufficient  evidence  of  the  crime  of  high  treason 
are  greater  than  in  any  other  criminal  proceeding,  and  it  would  cer- 
tainly not  be  advisable  to  institute  it,  if  there  did  not  exist  the 
highest  probability  of  success.  Upon  the  whole  of  this  question 
your  Royal  Highness's  confidential  servants  beg  leave  most  humbly 
to  state  their  opinion  as  decidedly  adverse  to  any  proceeding  being 
attempted  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts." 

We  venture  to  say  that  this  document,  to  which  attention  has 
scarcely  been  sufficiently  directed,  is  as  damaging  a  piece  of  evi- 
dence against  the  Regent's  ministers  as  could  be  conceived.  For 
here  was  their  deliberate  opinion  as  to  the  value  of  the  evidence 
on  which  they  later  brought  the  Queen  to  trial.  It  shows,  indeed, 
how  flexible  were  their  principles.  In  fact,  the  effect  of  this  remon- 
strance was  complete,  and  the  Regent,  for  the  moment  baffled,  ac- 
cepted their  opinion. 

Lord  Hutchinson,  however,  pressed  the  Government  to  close  with 
Mr.  Brougham's  offer,  assuring  them  that  he  would  not  have  made 
it  unless  certain  to  carry  it  out,  but  the  matter  was  dropped;  and 
we  may  imagine  the  Regent  was  in  no  humor  to  accept.  This,  too, 
may  have  been  caused  by  a  sudden  threat  of  the  Princess  to  Lord 
Liverpool  that  she  would  come  to  England.  From  this  she  was 
dissuaded.  But  if  ever  a  woman  was  driven  to  action  by  harsh 
and  wantonly  stupid  treatment,  it  was  this  unfortunate  lady.  For 
now  there  began  a  series  of  petty  slights  and  insults  at  foreign 
courts,  all  prompted  by  the  English  ministers  of  the  Prince.  At 
Vienna,  Paris,  Rome,  she  encountered  this  form  of  ir.sult,  as  though 
she  was  some  pretender  or  impostor,  all  being  obsequiously  eager 
to  gratify  the  Regent.  She  had  completed  all  her  restless  peregrina- 
tions, having  made  a  very  important  and  interesting  tour,  and  seen  a 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  689 

great  deal  of  the  world.  A  slight  matter  will  show  the  spirit  of  the 
proceedings  adopted  towards  her — a  charge  that  she  was  seen  to 
enter  places  of  Catholic  worship  and  kneel  down. 

But  the  arrival  of  both  parties  at  the  throne  made  a  most  impor- 
tant change.  As  was  natural  with  one  of  the  King's  character,  the 
possession  of  power  suggested  immediate  deliverance  from  the 
yoke  which  he  chafed  against;  and  almost  at  once,  before  he  es- 
caped his  critical  illness,  the  old  frenzy  seized  on  him.  He  was  for 
divorcing  his  Queen  at  once,  and  ten  days  had  scarcely  passed  from 
his  father's  death,  before  he  was  again  embroiled  with  his  ministers 
on  this  thorny  subject.  Apart  from  his  own  dislike,  there  was  the 
feeling  that  she  had  been  elevated  with  him,  and  the  instinct  that 
her  power  for  annoyance  and  battle  had  increased.  As  Princess 
she  might  be  ignored;  but  her  new  situation  as  Queen  of  England 
promised  difficulties  and  embarrassments  of  the  most  painful  kind. 
Whether  recognized  or  not,  she  was  sure  to  be  found  intolerable. 

The  strange  frantic  mode  in  which  the  King,  after  a  fortnight, 
pressed  this  matter,  introduces  us  to  a  most  characteristic  episode. 
His  dme  damnee  in  this  matter,  Leach,  was  despatched  to  the  Chan- 
cellor to  operate  on  the  Cabinet  with  threats  of  the  King's  retirement 
to  Hanover — not  likely  to  have  any  effect  upon  them — and  hints  of 
dismissal,  perhaps  more  potent;  and  it  was  urged  that  the  King's 
state  of  health,  agitation  of  mind,  and  the  like,  all  required  that 
his  wishes  should  be  carried  out.  Their  views,  however,  could  not 
have  given  him  satisfaction,^  and  were  embodied  in  a  minute  of 
Cabinet  dated  Febmary  10.  This  most  important  document  again 
sets  out  the  deliberate  judgment  of  ministers,  based  on  the  Milan 
evidence  and  the  "supplementary  evidence,"  which  had  been  got 
together  to  strengthen  the  first,  and  it  was  to  the  effect  that  a  divorce 
was  impracticable,  chiefiy  on  the  ground  of  recrimination  which  it 
would  open,  and  which  could  not  be  shut  on  account  of  the  legal 
diflQculties;  and  above  all,  for  this  very  remarkable  reason: 

"This  evidence  [they  say]  would  indeed  establish  the  fact,  if  not 
rebutted  or  discredited;  but  notwithstanding  the  supplementary 
evidence  which  has  since  been  obtained,  your  servants  must  beg  to 
refer  to  the  opinion  which  they  gave  in  their  minute  of  the  24th  of 
July  last,  "that  this  body  of  tesUmony  consists  almost  exclusively 


*  Letter  of  Lord  Eldon,  '*  Life  cf  Lord  Liverpool,"  p.  24,  where  will  be  found 
much  of  the  information  quoted  in  this  episode. 


690  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  the  evidence  of  foreigners,  most  of  them  not  above  the  rank  of 
menial  servants,  or  that  of  masters  and  attendants  in  hotels,  wholly 
unacquainted  with  the  English  language,  and  some  of  the  former 
class  standing  in  the  questionable  situation  of  having  been  dismissed 
or  removed  from  her  Royal  Highness's  service. 

"Your  servants  are  not  insensible  to  the  obstacles  which  may 
have  arisen  to  any  attempt,  made  according  to  their  advice,  to  ascer- 
tain what  was  likely  to  be  the  evidence  of  the  several  English  per- 
sons of  both  sexes  who  had  been  living  in  the  family  of  the  Princess 
of  Wales.  But  to  proceed  in  ignorance  as  to  the  probable  effect  of 
such  testimony  would,  they  submit,  be  hazardous;  particularly  as 
your  servants  have  reason  to  believe  that  some  of  those  persons  of 
rank  and  station  at  present  in  friendly  correspondence  with  the 
Princess  profess  an  interest  in  all  that  concerns  her." 

Thus  they  again  put  on  record  their  opinion  of  the  w^orthlessness 
of  the  evidence  on  which  they  later  founded  their  proceedings,  and 
which  then,  tliey  maintained,  was  convincing;  and  they  also  fur- 
nish, by  anticipation,  another  damaging  fact  against  themselves; 
for  these  "  several  English  persons  of  both  sexes,"  to  whom  they 
allude,  actually  testified  in  the  most  favorable  way  for  her.  So 
that,  if  favorable,  their  evidence  was  to  be  excluded;  if  the  reverse, 
sought  for. 

Further,  they  held  out  to  the  King  that  the  only  feasible  course 
was  to  arrange  matters  so  that  the  Queen — or  "Princess,"  as  they 
ludicrously  styled  her  through  the  document — should  be  prevented 
returning,  and  thus  shadowed  out  a  sort  of  measure  which,  through 
the  leverage  of  the  annuity,  which  had  now  lapsed,  as  well  as  of 
the  scandals,  etc.,  might  be  effectual.  They  would  advise  that  she 
should  not  be  admitted  to  "the  honors  of  coronation,"  and  that 
her  name  should  be  omitted  from  the  Liturgy.  Owning  that  it  was 
indeed  "  a  chain  of  difficulties,"  they,  in  conclusion,  almost  abjectly 
"  implored  his  Majesty's  indulgent  construction  of  everything  which 
they  may  appear  to  have  said  amiss." 

Mr.  Canning  gave  his  adhesion,  but,  taking  a  curious  distinction, 
declared  he  could  not  have  agreed  to  the  omission  of  her  name  from 
the  Liturgy  hnd  any  penal  process  been  contemplated.  This  was  no 
doubt  intended  as  forewar?iing,  and  it  was  felt  necessar^'to  rnenager 
the  King  in  his  present  excited  state. 

He  replied  in  a  long  argument  not  of  his  own  composition.     The 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  691 

ministers  rejoined,  reiterating  in  the  strongest  terms  the  objections 
to  the  divorce  and  to  the  characters  of  the  witnesses. 

Thus  crossed  in  his  plans,  the  King  gave  way  to  the  most  intem- 
perate behavior.  We  find  Lord  Sidmouth  saying,  when  apologizing 
for  not  answering  a  letter:  ' '  If  you  knew  how  the  day  (the  12th)  was 
passed,  you  would  not  be  surprised  at  the  omission.  The  Govern- 
ment is  in  a  very  strange  and  precarious  state."  Mr.  Greville  even 
heard  that  they  had  all  resigned,  and  reports  some  extraordinary 
behavior  on  the  part  of  the  King — such  as  ordering  Lord  Liverpool 
out  of  the  room,  asking  him  "if  he  knew  to  whom  he  was  speak- 
ing?" Onwhich  that  nobleman  replied  with  dignity:  "Sir,  Iknow 
that  I  am  speaking  to  my  sovereign,  and  I  believe  I  am  addressing 
him  as  it  becomes  a  loyal  subject  to  do."  The  King  sneered  at  the 
Chancellor,  saying  "that  his  conscience  always  interfered  except 
where  his  interest  was  concerned  " — a  speech  probably  true  in  the 
main.  As  was  to  be  expected,  this  vehemence  soon  gave  place  to 
timidity.  He  apologized  to  the  Prime  Minister,  and  we  are  not 
surprised  to  find  that  he  yielded  the  whole  matter  in  dispute.  The 
difficulty  was  thus  composed,  both  parties  fancying  that  there  was 
little  more  to  be  done  than  settle  the  terms  of  the  arrangement. 

The  "Cato  Street  Conspiracy" — the  most  incredible  attempt 
known  in  modern  London  life,  and  which  exceeded  in  daring  and 
villany  the  schemes  of  foreign  assassins  like  Orsini — now  occupied 
public  thought. 

One  single  feature  of  the  political  life  of  this  time  deserves  notice. 
It  might  be  said  that  at  no  other  period  were  the  risks  of  violence 
and  actual  bloodshed  so  curiously  associated  with  the  careers  of 
political  men  and  men  in  high  position.  We  have  even  the  spec- 
tacle of  three  statesmen  of  high  mark  perishing  by  their  own  hands, 
viz.,  Lord  Castlereagh,  Sir  Samuel  Romilly,  and  Mr.  Whitbread. 
The  catalogue  might  be  further  added  to  by  the  fates  of  Mr.  Hus- 
kisson  and  of  Sir  Robert  Peel. 

Ministers,  like  the  King  himself,  found  themselves  exposed  to  the 
revengeful  attack  of  persons  suffering  from  a  morbid  sense  of  griev- 
ance; and  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Perceval,  and  the  later  marvel- 
lous escape  of  Lord  Palmerston,  struck  by  a  bullet,  but  unwounded, 
showed  what  perils  were  incident  to  high  office.  But  the  most  ex- 
traordinary attempt  of  this  kind  was  the  desperate  "Thistlewood 
Conspiracy."  It  became  known  in  London  one  morning  that 
a  band  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  desperate  men  had  planned  the 
assassination  of  the  whole  ministry,  seizing  the  happy  occasion 


692  TSE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

when  they  were  gathered  at  dinner  at  the  Foreign  Secretary's,  se- 
curing admittance  through  the  pretext  of  delivering  a  letter  to  the 
servant.  The  details  were  worked  out  in  thorough  fashion.  Lord 
Harrowby  had  invited  nearly  the  whole  ministry  to  dine  at  his 
house  in  Grosvenor  Square,  due  notice  of  which  had  found  its 
way  into  the  papers.  Thistlewood  and  his  band — which  included 
butchers,  shoemakers,  and  others — who  had  been  arranging  a  gen- 
eral plan  of  assassination,  seized  on  this  favorable  opportunity. 
They  had  been  holding  meetings  in  a  stable  loft,  in  Cato  Street, 
Paddington,  and  had  there  gathered  a  store  of  guns,  swords,  hand 
grenades,  with  a  stock  of  ammunition;  and  the  plan  agreed  upon 
was  that  one  of  the  band,  about  nine  o'clock,  should  knock  at  Lord 
Harrowby's  door  with  a  letter,  and  when  presenting  it,  should  rush 
into  the  dining-room  and  massacre  the  ministers.  The  town  was 
then  to  be  fired.  Some  courageous  police  arrested  these  desperate 
men  when  armed  and  about  to  execute  their  scheme,  and  an  affray 
followed  in  which  one  of  the  officers  was  killed.  The  scene  at  the 
execution  had  a  sort  of  dramatic  interest  as  much  from  the  sym- 
pathy exhibited  by  the  crowd,  who  raised  a  shout  when  the  doomed 
men  appeared  on  the  scaffold,  as  from  the  strange  remark  of  This- 
tlewood to  his  neighbor:  "  We  shall  soon  know  the  grand  secret !" 
A  reporter,  with  an  enterprise  worthy  of  later  times,  forced  himself 
close  to  the  leading  criminal,  and  addressed  him:  "Mr.  Thistlewood, 
if  you  have  any  remarks  to  make  I  shall  be  happy  to  take  them 
down  and  convey  them  to  the  public."  The  reply  was  a  look  of 
extraordinarily  mixed  contempt.* 

This  sympathy  of  the  people — also  displayed  with  more  signifi- 
cant indecency  at  the  funeral  of  the  unhappy  Lord  Castlerengh, 
when  dead  cats  were  flung  at  the  remains  and  other  indignities 
attended  them — was  another  universal  feature  of  the  time.  AVe 
have  seen  how  the  Regent  was  periodically  attended  in  his  prog- 
resses by  hootings  and  yells,  and  even  the  venerable  Queen  was 
mobbed  and  spat  upon.     This  was  owing  to  the  system  of  reprcs- 


*  Many  years  after  these  events,  when  Mr.  W.  Curran  was  with  Lord 
Anglesey  at  Beaudesert,  the  latter  showed  his  guest  a  strange  walking-stick, 
which,  on  pressing  various  springs,  shot  forth  a  sword  at  the  extrenaity,  with 
two  cutting  weapons  also  at  right  angles;  while  a  third  piece  of  mechanism 
in  the  handle  produced  adagger  and  pistol.  This  formidable,  out  ctpiiiirass- 
ing,  weapon  had  been  designed  by  the  Duke  of  York  after  the  Tliistkwood 
conspiracy,  and  he  had  some  fifty  or  sixty  made  of  the  pattern,  for  presenta* 
tion  to  the  ministers  and  other  leading  personages. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  693 

sion  instituted  by  Lord  Sidmouth— with  the  six  Acts  and  other 
engines  of  oppression,  and  above  all  to  a  hateful  system  of  spies 
and  informers.  One  Edwards,  an  image  maker,  whose  introduc- 
tion to  the  Government  Mr.  Charles  Knight  gives  an  account  of  in 
his  pleasing  "Autobiography,"  with  Oliver  and  others,  had  done 
useful  service  in  these  transactions. 

This  had  the  effect  not  merely  of  alarming  the  King,  but  rousing 
his  effusive  sensibilities  for  one  of  his  ministers,  Lord  Sidmouth,* 
whose  severities  of  administration  had  his  sympathies.  He  was  by 
this  time  at  Brighton,  whence  a  series  of  encouraging  despatches 
almost  daily  reached  the  ministers,  with  high  praise  of  the  "zeal 
and  vigilance  you  have  displayed,  and  which  were  now  unfolding 
themselves  in  the  detection  of  crimes  which  have  brought  our  land 
to  the  condition  heretofore  reserved  only  for  revolutionary  France." 

THE  KING  TO  SIR  W.   KNIGHTON. 

"  Carlton  House,  Friday  night,  or  rather  Saturday  morning, 
"  May  12-13,  1820. 

"My  DEAR  Knighton, 

"Let  me  entreat  of  you,  if  you  possibly  can,  to  call  upon  me 
to-morrow  morning,  if  your  health  will  in  any  way  admit  of  it,  at 
latest  by  eleven  o'clock.  I  am  so  overburthened  that  I  must  abso- 
lutely see  you. 

"Always  most  affectionately  yours, 

"G.  R. 

"P.S. — B tells  me  that  he  has  obeyed  my  orders  in  writing 

to  you  to  the  same  effect;  but  I  cannot,  notwithstanding,  resist 
writing  this  short  line  myself. " 

We  must  turn  to  the  new  Queen  of  England,  whom  the  late 
King's  death  found  at  Leghorn,  Mr.  Brougham  having  despatched 
Sicard,  her  steward,  with  the  news.  She  had  been  staying  at  Mar- 
seilles. She  had  thought  of  going  on  to  Paris;  but  a  significant 
hint  having  been  conveyed  to  her  from  the  ambassador,  that  the 
capital  would  be  made  disagreeable  to  her,  she  proceeded  instead 


t  "  The  King's  remark,"  writes  Sir  Benjamin  Bloomfleld,  "  on  your  letter  of 
this  morning,  was,  'He  is  the  Duke  of  Wellington  upon  home  service '  "—a 
compliment  which  strikes  the  very  amusing  Dean  Pellew  as  "peculiarly  feli- 
citous." 


694  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

to  Rome,  where,  in  answer  to  her  request,  a  guard  of  honor  was 
posted  at  her  door,  but  withdrawn  suddenly.  She  made  a  protest 
against  this  treatment,  on  which  Cardinal  Consalvi  replied  that  tlie 
Pope  would  not  accede  to  it,  on  the  ground  that  "at  Rome  it  was 
not  the  custom  thus  to  honor  royal  personages  travelling  incognito, 
and  that  he  had  had  no  official  announcement  from  the  English 
Court  of  her  having  become  Queen."  This  was,  of  course,  but  a 
thinly -veiled  pretext,  the  truth  being  that  the  Hanoverian  minister. 
Reding,  had  made  the  strongest  remonstrances,  and  used  pressure 
which  it  was  impossible  to  resist.  This  proceeding  could  scarcely 
have  affected  her  subsequent  behavior;  and  it  was  no  doubt  the 
news  that  her  name  had  been  struck  out  of  the  Liturgy — a  first  step, 
as  she  fancied,  towards  deposing  her — that  drove  her  into  asserting 
her  rights.  But  first  she  wrote  to  Lord  Liverpool  from  Rome,  on 
March  16th,  a  characteristic  appeal  which  began :  ' '  The  Queen  of 
this  Relams  wishes  to  be  informed  through  the  medium  of  Lord 
Liverpool,  First  Minister  to  the  King  of  this  Relams,  for  which 
reason  or  motif e  the  Queen's  name  has  been  left  out  of  the  Liturgy." 

Here,  then,  was  the  speedy  fruit  of  their  first  blunder;  for  this 
"leaving  her  name  out  of  the  Liturgy"  was  a  trivial,  unmeaning 
act,  dealing  with  a  matter  of  form  and  routine  which  committed 
none  of  the  parties.* 

The  poor  lady  had  hard  work  to  get  away  from  Rome.  The 
French  ambassador  declined  to  user  her  passport,  and  the  English 
consul,  "with  trembling  hand,  much  afraid  of  lossing  his  place,  at 
last  was  obliged  to  give  me  a  pas-port;"  while  she  considered  the 
Cardinal's  behavior  "  violent  and  impertinent "  in  directing  the  post- 
masters to  find  horses  for  ''Princess  Caroline  of  England." 

She  accordingly  set  out  on  her  journey  home,  reaching  Geneva 
about  May  15th.  She  sent  home  a  demand  for  Buckingham  House, 
or  in  case  of  refusal,  some  mansion  near  Dover.  Sicard,  the  faith- 
ful courier,  had  been  despatched  home  with  letters  to  Mr.  Brough- 
am, inviting  him  to  come  to  Geneva;  but  was  sent  back  to  her  by 
the  ambassador  at  Paris  with  letters  to  her,  he  himself  forwarding 
hers  by  his  own  messenger.  She  was  roused  up  in  the  middle  of 
the  night  by  his  arrival,  and  then  sent  off  a  new  courier  with  com- 
plaints of  this  extraordinary  proceeding,  and  a  fresh  summons  to 


*  It  might  be  urged,  the  more  need  she  had  of  the  nation's  prayers  if  she 
were  as  vile  as  it  was  imputed  she  was.  It  might  be  said,  too,  that  she  was 
still  included  in  the  prayers  for  "  all  the  Royal  Family,"  or,  as  it  was  touched 
so  finely  by  one  of  her  counsel,  in  the  prayer  for  the  fatherless  and  persecuted. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Mr.  Brougham  to  come  and  meet  her  at  some  French  port,  as  more 
convenient.  She  was  in  a  fever  of  excitement,  and  at  once  set  out 
on  her  journey.  She  was  agreeably  surprised  at  Montbard  by  the 
arrival  of  Alderman  Wood  and  Lady  Anne  Hamilton — the  last 
one  of  her  most  faithful  and  disinterested  adherents.  The  prog- 
ress of  the  party  along  the  French  posting  was  not  without  the 
grotesqueness  which  seemed  to  attend  the  poor  lady's  proceedings. 
The  train  consisted  of  five  carriages.  A  calash,  in  which  sat  Alder- 
man Wood  and  Count  Vasali,  led  the  way.  The  yellow  English 
posting-chariot,  with  the  royal  arms  and  "  C.  P.  W."  on  the  panels 
followed,  containing  the  Queen,  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  and  "a  fine 
little  female  child,  about  three  years  old,  whom  her  Majesty,  in  con- 
formity with  her  benevolent  practices  on  former  occasion,  has 
adopted."  Then  came  three  others,  containing  Mr.  William  Austin, 
"Mr.  Wood,  junior,"  and  servants.  There  were  various  accidents 
and  annoyances ;  her  leaders  falling,  the  post-masters  showing  a  dis- 
inclination to  supply  horses,  one  hiding  himself.  On  another  occa- 
sion plough-horses  had  to  be  impressed  and  ridden  for  the  stage  by 
the  carters. 

At  last  she  reached  St.  Omer,  where  she  halted  till  the  courier 
should  return  with  news  of  Mr.  Brougham,  also  sending  on  couriers 
to  London  with  demands  for  a  royal  yacht  to  take  her  over> 

This  Alderman  Wood,  who  now  appears  on  the  scene,  has  been 
described  as  a  linen-draper  with  whom  the  Queen  had  dealt;  but  this 
seems  an  invidious  mode  of  describing  a  person  who  had  been  Lord 
Mayor  of  London,  and  was  now  a  member  of  Parliament.  He  was 
no  doubt  a  *'City  man,"  with  a  certain  forwardness,  and  perhaps 
vulgarity;  but  he  certainly  devoted  himself  to  her  cause  with  zeal 
and  loyalty,  while  the  credit  of  the  son,  Sir  W.  Page  Wood,  might 
be  brought  in  aid  of  the  respectability  of  the  father. 

While  she  was  thus  hurrying  home,  her  adviser  and  agent,  Mr. 
Brougham,  had  been  engaged — unknown  to  her — in  a  singular  and 
equivocal  negotiation.  He  was  sent  for  by  Lord  Liverpool  imme- 
diately after  his  heated  struggle  with  the  King;  and  it  was  suggested 
that  terms  might  now  be  made.  They  w^ere  willing  to  treat.  Mr. 
Brougham,  who  certainly  had  no  instructions,  gave  up  the  Liturgy 
point;  and  on  the  question  of  her  having  law  officers,  he  declared 
that  by  appointing  Mm  a  King's  counsel  he  might  thus  be  prevented 
assuming  those  functions!  Lord  Hutchinson,  formerly  a  friend  of 
the  King's,  was  now  joined  in  the  negotiations,  and  to  him  Mr, 
Brougham  revealed  the  anger  and  jealousy  which  the  departure  of 


696  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Alderman  Wood  had  roused  in  him.  He  styled  him  "ass  and 
alderman,  whom  they  call  Thistle  Wood,"  and  suggested  that  the 
Carlton  House  newspapers  should  open  on  him  a  shower  of  squibs 
and  ridicule,  on  the  scorex)f  his  having  a  job  to  do."* 

As  the  Queen  was  now  drawing  nearer  to  England,  the  King  in- 
tervened, and  desired  that  both  should  go  over  and  meet  her,  while 
Lord  Liverpool  furnished  Mr.  Brougliam  with  a  memorandum  of 
the  Government  terms — which  were  an  allowance  of  £50,000  a  year, 
provided  neither  the  title  nor  prerogatives  of  a  Queen  were  assumed, 
save  that  of  appointing  law  officers.  The  King  also  showed  his 
eagerness  that  the  two  envoys  should  set  out  at  once;  and  all  was 
in  train  when,  on  the  day  before  his  departure.  Brougham  suddenly 
informed  Lord  Liverpool  that  he  reserved  the  right  of  giving  Tier 
advice — apparently  the  opposite  of  that  which  he  was  undertaking 
to  give — should  he  find  that  her  situation  required  it.  And  on  the 
day  they  left  London,  Lord  Liverpool  must  have  been  confounded 
at  receiving  a  notice  to  the  effect  that  his  (Brougham's)  situation 
was  a  most  delicate  one,  and  that  whatever  might  be  his  feelings, 
it  might  be  that  he  would  have  actually  to  advise  her  to  come  to 
England!  It  was  plain  that  he  wished  to  have  two  courses  open 
to  him,  and  Lord  Liverpool  ought  to  have  at  once  withdrawn  the 
commission  from  so  doubtful  an  agent.  What  confusion  arose  out 
of  his  proceeding  will  be  seen. 

On  June  2nd  the  party  landed  at  Calais.  The  little  town  was  in 
a  fever  of  excitement,  the  English  holding  meetings  at  the  Silver 
Lion  (Hogarth's  inn).  They  reached  St.  Omer  the  following  day, 
where  Mr.  Brougham  was  at  once  received  by  her.  He  spent  two 
hours  with  her,  and  a  courier  at  once  set  out  to  bear  Mr.  Brough- 
am's views  to  Lord  Liverpo(;l.  That  nobleman  then  saw  how  he 
had  been  duped.  Mr.  Brougham  informed  him  that  the  Queen  was 
determined  to  proceed  to  England,  and  plainly  said  he  thought  her 
justified  in  doing  so  from  the  treatment  she  had  received  on  her 
travels.  He  declared  the  only  way  of  stopping  her  was  to  give 
lier  that  title  of  Queen  which  he  had  come  out  specially  to  ask  her 
to  forego  I 

"From  this  your  lordship  will  perceive  that  I  have  not  ventured 
even  to  hint  at  the  renunciation  proposed  by  your  lordship;  indeed, 
I  never  deemed  that  at  all  within  the  possibility  of  the  case,  and  I 


♦  There  is  a  letter  of  Mr.  Brougham.  In  which  he  spealcs  opprobriously  of 
this  "  d d  woman  "  coming  back  to  plague  them  all ! 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  697 

am  now  certain  that  the  bare  mention  of  the  thing  would  have  been 
followed  within  five  minutes  by  an  order  of  post-horses  to  go  to 
Calais.  Lord  Hutchinson,  however,  though  he  has  been  prevailed 
on  to  defer  this  proposition,  means  soon  to  make  it.  Your  lordship 
may  further  perceive  from  this  letter  that  my  own  opinion  is  now 
decided,  both  as  to  what  can  be  accomplished  and  what  I  ought  to 
advise.  In  the  peculiarly  delicate  situation  in  which  I  stand,  I 
must  be  as  explicit  as  possible  with  your  lordship,  and  therefore, 
relying  on  your  secrecy,  I  shall  state  it.  If  it  be  only  her  Majesty's 
intention  to  go  once  to  England  for  a  few  weeks,  I  am  decidedly 
against  any  such  plan,  because  I  see  nothing  but  mischief  in  such  a 
proceeding.  But  in  order  to  enable  me  to  turn  her  aside  from  it,  I 
must  add  that  I  see  most  plainly  the  necessity  of  your  lordship  giv- 
ing either  Lord  Hutchinson  or  myself  the  assurance  above  alluded 
to;  and,  as  a  day's  delay  can  only  bring  Lord  Hutchinson's  appli- 
cation to  the  same  effect,  I  think  the  risk  of  her  Majesty's  setting 
out  before  the  answer  to  it  arrives  may  be  lessened  by  my  writing 
this  letter." 

It  will  be  seen  he  made  no  mention  of  the  handsome  bribe  of 
£50,000  a  year  which  he  was  empowered  to  offer,  and  which  might 
have  had  its  effect.  After,  indeed,  suppressing  the  character  in 
which  he  had  come,  he  with  consummate  art  shifted  the  whole  to 
the  shoulders  of  Lord  Hutchinson,  informing  her  that  "he  had  rea- 
son to  believe  that  nobleman  had  brought  over  a  proposition  from 
the  King,"  and  requiring  him  to  produce  it.  The  other  declared — 
for  he  was  not  allowed  to  see  her — that  he  bore  none;  but  that  he 
would  try  and  gather  it  from  what  Lord  Liverpool  had  said  to  him; 
he  was  able  to  repeat  the  terms  of  Brougham's  commission,  with 
the  addition,  which  he  apologized  humbly  for  mentioning,  that  the 
instant  she  landed,  Government  would  proceed  against  her.  Mr. 
Brougham — now  become  the  Queen's  agent  in  the  matter — was 
commanded  to  decline  these  terms.  This  was  at  five  o'clock.  ShQ 
instantly  quitted  the  room,  and  Mr.  Brougham  saw  her,  to  his  sur- 
prise, driving  out  of  the  courtyard.  (He  forgot,  however,  that  in 
his  own  letter  he  declared  for  her  that  she  would  only  wait  till  five.) 
She  set  off  at  full  speed  for  Calais.  He  sent  couriers  after  her  with 
letters  imploring  her  to  be  cautious,  but  adding  that  he  did  not  ad- 
vise her  to  accept  the  proposition  made,  unless  she  was  allowed  to 
retain  her  title  as  Queen,  with  due  acknowledgment  from  all  agents 
abroad,  etc. ;  in  short,  everything  opposed  to  what  he  had  under- 
30 


698  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV. 

taken  to  urge.  To  the  minister  he  sent  off  despatches  "most  se- 
cret," repeating  the  same  thing,  declaring  that  "the  spirit  which 
had  guided  him  all  through  was  merely  to  save  annoyance, "  and 
talking  of  "  the  duty  he  owed  to  his  client,"  and  concluding  with  a 
declaration  of  sorrow  for  the  failure  of  his  negotiation,  and  of  his 
readiness  to  lend  his  aid  again,  if  it  were  renewed. 

No  wonder  Lord  Liverpool  considered  he  had  been  tricked.  In 
the  recriminations  that  followed,  he  maintained  that  Brougham 
"  substantially  approved  "  the  memorandum  intrusted  to  him,  and 
that  he,  and  he  alone,  was  the  bearer  and  negotiator.* 

"  It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  and  contributed  not  a  little  to 
excite  the  Queen's  suspicions  of  Brougham  at  the  time,  that  Lord 
Hutchinson's  letter  was  in  the  handwriting  of  Brougham's  brother, 
who  had  accompanied  them,  acting  as  secretary  to  his  brother.  On 
giving  it  to  the  Queen,  Brougham  told  her  it  was  an  inadmissible 
proposition,  and  that  she  could  not  accept  it.  The  moment  the 
Queen  read  it  she  expressed  the  greatest  indignation,  and  requested 
Brougham's  opinion,  who  said  that  he  certainly  did  not  advise  her 
Majesty  to  accept  those  conditions,  at  the  same  time  her  Majesty 
best  knew  her  own  situation,  and  he  entreated  her  to  consider  what 
propositions  she  might  accept.  The  Queen  then  said  she  would  go 
immediately  to  England."    Thus  Mr.  G.  Bennett, 

*  See  the  "queries  and  answers,"  dated  the  10th  of  June,  "Life  of  Lord 
Liverpool,"  vol.  iii.  p.  59.  Lord  Hutchinson's  naive  bewildp'-inent  at  the  part 
he  had  been  made  to  play  is  well  shown  in  his  communication  *o  Lord  Liver 
pool:  "I  learnt,  to  my  great  surprise,  from  Mr.  Brougham,  but  not  until 
late  last  night,  that  he  had  made  a  communication  to  your  lordship  through 
Mr.  Fonlilanque,  dated  the  3rd  inst.  When  Mr.  Brougham  left  me  yesterday 
morning  at  eleven  o'clock  to  go  to  the  Queen,  he  did  not  appear  to  be  at  all 
aware  thafrher  Majesty  meant  to  act  in  the  precipitate  manner  she  had  done. 
His  first  letter  (marked  No.  1)  therefore  came  upon  me  quite  unexpectedly. 
I  did  not  exactly  comprehend  the  meaning  of  it.  I  thought  his  object  was 
that  I  should  write  something  that  might  pacify  the  mind  of  the  Queen  for  the 
moment,  and  enable  us  both  to  gain  time.  I  was  induced  to  make  my  last 
proposition  by  a  private  hint  from  Mr.  Brougham;  she  did  not  receive  it  until 
she  had  left  St.  Omer,  but  it  was  forwarded  to  her  to  Calais,  and  I  understand 
that  she  received  it  when  she  was  on  board  the  packet  ready  to  sail  for  Eng- 
land. I  am  now  to  observe  to  you  that  in  the  whole  of  this  negotiation,  Mr. 
Brougham,  as  far  as  my  judgment  enables  me  to  go,  does  not  appear  to  have 
possessed  the  smallest  degree  of  power,  we'ght,  or  authority  over  the  mind  of 
the  Queen.  To  speak  to  you  in  confidence,  I  think  that  her  violence  and  de- 
termination subdued  him,  and  that  he  failed  in  making  the  slightest  impres- 
sion upon  her,  He  may  be,  and  I  dare  say  has  been,  most  sincere;  but  as  for 
Influence,  if  it  did  ever  exist,  there  certainly  w^s  no  appearance  of  It  on  the 
present  occasion." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  699 

We  hurry  after  the  excited  Queen  posting  along  the  high  road  to 
Calais,  which  she  reached  that  night,  and  then  went  on  board  the 
packet.  This  precipitation  was  owing  to  the  fear  that  the  means 
might  be  found  to  detain  her.  She  had  dismissed  her  strange  suite 
of  Italians,  including  the  whiskered  Bergami,  and  was  now  to  trust 
herself  to  English  service.  The  alderman  was  busy  sending  off  de- 
spatches by  special  boat,  to  prepare  his  wife  for  the  august  visitor 
who  had  agreed  to  accept  their  hospitality  at  South  Audley  Street. 
The  English  consul  sent  off  a  courier  with  the  alarming  news. 

She  did  not  start  till  the  following  morning,  reaching  Dover  about 
noon,  where  she  was  exhilarated  by  the  honor  of  a  royal  salute — 
quite  unexpected — thundering  out  from  the  castle.  The  comman- 
dant, having  no  instructions  to  the  contrary,  felt  himself  bound  to 
follow  the  usual  course.  The  whole  town  lined  the  shores,  and 
though  the  tide  did  not  allow  the  vessel  to  enter  the  harbor,  the  in- 
trepid lady  insisted  on  entering  a  small  boat  and  getting  ashore. 
Now  began  those  extraordinary  ovations  and  progresses  which  were 
to  mark  her  course  and  delight  her  soul.  Amid  roars  and  acclama- 
tions she  walked  through  Snargate  Street,  arrayed  in  the  broad  hat 
and  pelisse  which  were  to  be  so  familiar  to  the  public.  Wright's 
Hotel  had  the  honor  of  receiving  her,  and  from  this  house  she  de- 
parted in  the  evening,  the  crowd  drawing  her  carriage.  At  Canter- 
bury there  were  torches  lit,  fresh  shouting,  and  addresses.  She 
stayed  the  night,  and  next  day  proceeded  by  Gravesend  to  London; 
the  singular  feature  being,  that  as  she  drew  near  the  metropolis,  her 
progress  became  a  vast  cavalcade,  from  the  number  of  mounted 
persons  who  joined  her.  She  did  not  reach  town  till  seven  o'clock, 
when  the  tremendous  acclamations  as  she  passed  over  Westminster 
Bridge  conveyed  to  the  House  of  Commons  and  his  Majesty's  min- 
isters the  news  of  her  arrival.  She  passed  by  Charing  Cross  to 
South  Audley  Street — the  streets  almost  impassable,  every  window 
filled  with  eager  faces  and  waving  handkerchiefs.  In  short,  scenes 
that  were  to  be  repeated  ad  nauseam  for  the  next  few  months. 

To  the  genuine  heroine  this  sort  of  exhibition  is  odious,  Mr. 
Grenville,  who  rode  out  to  Greenwich  to  meet  her,  describes  the 
scene.  Carriages,  carts,  and  horsemen  followed,  preceded,  and  sur- 
rounded her  coach  all  the  way.  The  alderman  was  seated  in  the 
place  of  honor,  while  the  Duke  of  Hamilton's  sister  "sat  back- 
wards." This  undignified  proceeding  caused  the  King  to  express 
himself  with  oaths  and  other  unbecoming  language.  As  she  passed 
White's  Club,  she  turned  and  smiled  to  the  members  in  the  window 


700  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Arrived  at  Audley  Street,  she  appeared  on  the  balcony,  to  the  de- 
light of  the  surging  mob,  who  celebrated  her  arrival  by  breaking 
the  windows  of  obnoxious  persons,  such  as  Lords  Sidrnouth  and 
Castlereagh,  as  well  as  Lady  Hertford's  in  Manchester  Square,  fill- 
ing the  air  even  with  yells  of  "To  Carlton  House  !"  where  soldiers 
had  to  be  posted.  Citizens  in  her  neighborhood  were  required  to 
illuminate.  This  was  but  the  inauguration  of  a  period  of  confusion 
and  disorder,  which  lasted  till  the  trial  was  over.  But  on  news  of 
her  coming  the  ministers  had  made  up  their  minds.  Not  an  instant 
was  lost  in  taking  action. 

The  following  day  the  much-talked  of  "  green  bag, "  a  portentous 
receptacle  supposed  to  be  filled  with  horrifying  evidence  of  culpable 
behavior,  was  solemnly  carried  down  to  Parliament,  and  the  ques- 
tion whether  it  was  to  be  opened,  and  its  unsavory  contents  emptied, 
was  to  exercise  the  Houses  for  some  time.  A  message  from  the 
King  invited  the  House  of  Lords  to  consider  those  papers  with  all 
* '  serious  atten  ion. "  A  Secret  Committee  was  named.  To  the 
House  of  Commons  the  Queen  addressed  her  message,  skilfully 
drawn  up,  in  which  she  declared  that  she  had  been  induced  to 
return,  in  consequence  of  the  measures  pursued  against  her  honor 
and  peace  by  secret  agents  abroad,  to  defend  her  character.  She 
added  solemnly  that  she  was  ready  to  meet  her  accusers  openly,  and 
protested  against  any  "secret  tribunal,"  and  their  examination  of 
documents  "privately  prepared  by  adversaries,  a  proceeding  un- 
known to  the  laws  of  the  land."  The  insulting  measures  taken 
against  her  should  only  have  been  attempted  after  trial  and  con- 
viction. 

A  discussion  followed,  in  which  Mr.  Brougham  vehemently  stood 
forward  in  the  capacity  of  her  champon,  and  vindicated  his  own 
recent  proceedings.  The  impression  on  all  sides,  and  it  is  pleasing 
to  find  that  such  good  sense  leavened  that  great  assembly,  was  that 
everything  should  be  done  to  arrange  matters,  and  avoid  touching 
the  portentous  green  bag.  Mr.  "Wilberforce  carried  all  with  him  in 
proposing  an  adjournment  for  the  purpose  of  trying  an  accommo- 
dation. The  Queen,  no  doubt  yielding  to  good  advice,  having 
moved  to  Lady  Anne  Hamilton's  house  in  Portman  Square,  on  the 
evening  of  the  9th  informed  Lord  Liverpool  that  she  was  willing  to 
receive  any  proposal. 

"It  was  the  general  opinion  of  ministers,"  says  Mr.  Grey -Bennett, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  everything  connected  with  the 
Queen's  case,  "that  she  would  not  come  to  England,  but  accept 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  701 

the  terms  proposed.  The  King,  however,  said  he  knew  her  better 
than  they  did,  and  come  she  would ;  and  so  it  turned  out,  for  the 
intelligence  of  her  having  reached  Dover  arrived  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  riding  m  the  Park  with  Lady 
Jersey,  arguing  the  point  with  her  and  persisting  that  she  could  not 
come.  Lord  Hutchinson  had  been  sent  out  by  the  Government  to 
treat  with  her,  but  had  no  written  instructions.  The  proposition 
was  taken  by  Brougham,  who  consented  to  be  the  oflBcial  bearer  of 
it,  though  he  said  he  should  not  advise  her  to  accept  it.  He  and 
Lord  Hutchinson  left  town  together  in  the  same  chaise,  crossed  the 
sea  in  the  same  packet,  and  arrived  at  St.  Omer  together,  where 
they  found  the  Queen,  who  had  come  by  slow  journeys  from  Geneva. 
Brougham  told  me  he  had  the  greatest  difficulty  to  persuade  her  to 
cross  the  Alps,  as  he  wished  her  to  be  near  England  to  carry  en  the 
negotiation,  and  though  he  had  the  Government  proposals  in  his 
pocket  since  the  month  of  April,  he  kept  them  to  be  presented  in 
person,  for  he  knew  that  when  she  received  them  she  would  set  off 
instanter  to  return  to  England,  and  he  was  in  hopes  to  prevent  that 
decisive  step  being  taken  on  a  sudden  and  without  reflection.  The 
Queen,  on  her  approach  towards  home,  had  written  to  Lord  Liver- 
pool to  request  to  be  informed  what  residence  had  been  prepared  for 
her,  and  to  Lord  Melville  to  demand  a  yacht  to  bring  her  over.  The 
letter  to  Lord  Liverpool  was  dated  Villeneuve  le  Roi,  the  29th  of 
May,  in  which  she  announced  her  intention  of  coming  to  England  on 
Saturday,  the  3rd  of  June,  The  letter  to  Lord  Melville  was  written 
by  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  and  bears  the  same  date.  Lord  Melville 
answered  it  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  stated  that,  as  the  King  was 
not  in  town,  he  could  not  take  his  commands  about  sending  a 
yacht." 


702  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOms  IV. 


CHAPTER  n. 

1820. 

The  battle  was  commenced  in  the  House  of  Commons;  Brougham 
from  the  outset  intrepidly  contesting  every  inch  of  ground.  It  was 
on  June  6th  that  his  Majesty  sent  this  message  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  commending  his  Queen  to  be  dealt  with  by  them,  the  first 
instance  of  the  kind  since  the  precedent  of  King  Henry  VIII. 

"  [George  R] 

"  The  King  thinks  it  necessary,  in  consequence  of  the  arrival 
of  the  Queen,  to  communicate  to  the  House  of  Lords  certain  papers 
respecting  the  conduct  of  her  Majesty  since  her  departure  from  this 
kingdom,  which  he  reconunends  to  the  immediate  and  serious  atten- 
tion of  this  House. 

"The  King  has  felt  the  most  anxious  desire  to  avert  the  necessity 
of  disclosures  and  discussions,  which  must  be  as  painful  to  his  peo- 
ple as  they  can  be  to  himself;  but  the  step  now  taken  by  the  Queen 
leaves  him  no  alternative. 

"The  King  has  the  fullest  confidence  that,  in  consequence  of  this 
communication,  the  House  of  Lords  will  adopt  that  course  of  pro- 
ceeding which  the  justice  of  the  case  and  the  honor  and  dignity  of 
his  Majesty's  crown  may  require. 

"George  R." 

It  was  then  that  Brougham,  no  doubt  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of 
her  learning  the  truth  from  others,  confided  to  her  that  he  had 
brought  to  Calais  propositions  from  the  King.  The  effect  of  this 
revelation  on  a  woman  who  was  about  making  propositions  herself 
may  be  conceived ;  and  her  distrust  and  suspicion  of  her  advocate 
from  that  moment  were  excessive.  She  even  thought  of  dismissing 
him. 

It  was  felt,  however,  that  before  further  measures  were  taken, 
something  might  be  attempted  in  the  way  of  compromise.  It  is  to 
the  credit  of  the  Queen  that  the  first  offer  came  from  her.    This 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  703 

seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  Mr.  Brougham.  After  Mr.  Can- 
ning's speech  she  thought  he  would  be  found  most  suitable,  intend- 
ing to  send  a  message  to  him  with  her  odd  proposal,  that  he  should 
arrange  an  interview  between  her  and  the  King.  He  naturally  said 
it  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  unless,  indeed,  ' '  she  threw  herself  upon 
his  mercy."  She  answered  haughtily  that  she  would  never  ask 
mercy  from  hiiL. ;  but  that,  like  any  other  peeress,  she  was  entitled 
to  ask  an  audience.  She  then  asked  Mr.  Brougham  what  mode  he 
would  recommend  of  approaching  his  Majesty. 

The  minister  had  pointed  out  in  the  debate  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, that  no  renunciation  of  her  royal  prerogative  or  privileges 
was  required ;  she  was  merely  to  abstain  from  using  them.  This 
declaration  was  acknowledged  in  a  cordial  spirit,  and  she  seemed 
inclined  to  agree  on  this  basis,  suggesting  that  some  one  of  position 
should  be  named  to  prescribe  the  place  of  residence  and  terms  gen- 
erally. It  was  this  that  suggested  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  the  hope  of 
arrangement,  for,  as  he  said,  the  claim  as  to  the  Liturgy  was  only 
urged  as  a  recognition,  and  if  this  could  be  secured  b}^  other  means, 
the  end  could  be  gained.  Accordingly,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and 
Lord  Castlereagh  met  the  Queen's  advocates.  After  many  discus- 
sions, the  important  concessions  were  made  that  ' '  official  announce- 
ment of  her  position  "  was  to  be  given  to  the  various  Courts;  she  was 
to  leave  in  a  King's  ship ;  an  address  of  congratulation  from  both 
Houses  to  her  and  the  King  to  be  passed ;  in  short,  a  pont  d'or  as 
satisfactory  as  could  be  desired.  But  these  were  declined  as  insuf- 
ficient, and  the  demand  still  pressed  that  her  name  should  be  restored 
to  the  Liturgy.     The  matter  was  therefore  broken  off. 

The  excellent  Wilberforce  incurred  much  odium  for  his  share  in 
the  transactions  that  followed.  He  was  eager  that  she  should  make 
concessions  and  resign  the  claim  "to  be  prayed  for."  He  accord- 
ingly proposed  that  the  Houses  should  ''address"  her  to  this  effect. 
He  thus  had  the  air  of  deserting  the  popular  side. 

The  secret  history  of  this  transaction  is  that  he  had  received  a 
letter  from  her,  * '  bad  in  composition,  vulgar  and  foolish, "  in  which 
she  wondered  how  "a  religious  man  "  could  propose  such  a  thing! 
Brougham  remonstrated  with  her  on  this  foolish  step,  and  she  owned 
to  him  that  she  "had  got  into  a  scrape."  He  then  engaged  to  soothe 
Wilberforce  and  get  him  to  do  something.  She  then  wrote  a  letter, 
and  in  clear  terms  threw  herself  upon  the  House,  engaging  to  com- 
ply with  their  desires.  And  it  is  infinitely  to  his  honor  that,  when 
the  matter  fell  through^  and  he  was  pursued  with  obloquy  for  trying 


704  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

to  make  her  compromise  her  cause,  he  should  never  have  vindicated 
himself  by  producing  this  authorization. 

Accordingly,  on  June  22nd,  the  motion  was  proposed  and  carried, 
with  the  approbation  of  ministers.  Four  delegated  members  waited 
on  her,  having  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  an  incensed  mob,  who  were 
expecting  them  in  front  of  her  residence.  The  Queen  received  them 
"sternly  and  haughtily,"  but  declined  to  comply,  on  the  ground 
that  whether  she  would  accept  any  proposed  measure  or  not  was  to 
be  decided  by  her  own  feelings  and  conscience. 

Mr.  Brougham  tells  that  he  had  no  part  in  this  refusal,  and  that 
he  had  not  even  seen  her  reply,  which  was  drawn  up  by  Lushington 
or  her  solicitor.  Indeed,  he  adds  that  he  had  assured  Mr.  Wilber- 
force  "she  will  accede,  I  pledge  myself."  He  was  even  anxious 
she  should  do  so.  The  deputies  were  received  by  an  enormous 
crowd  in  the  most  opprobrious  fashion,  saluted  with  cries  of  "rogues, 
villains,  hypocrites,  Cantwells."  They  and  their  carriages  were  spat 
on,  and  they  were  with  difficulty  saved  from  violence.  When  it 
was  known  that  the  Queen  had  refused,  the  shouts  might  have  been 
heard  at  Charing  Cross.* 

It  would  almost  seem  that  the  fate  of  the  Queen  was  really  deter- 
mined by  the  decision  taken  on  this  occasion.  She  herself  was  ready 
to  adopt  whatever  course  would  be  thought  the  most  prudent.  All 
her  friends,  however,  including  Brougham,  Grey  -  Bennett,  and 
others,  declined  to  advise  her,  telling  her  that  she  knew  her  own 
case  best,  and  what  truth  there  was  in  the  charges — a  rather  artful 
suggestion,  if  they  thought  that  the  agitation  was  to  be  profitable. 


*  MS.  "Diary,"  Grey-Bennet.  It  seems  probable  that  her  adviser  was  ac- 
countable for  this,  though  he  affects  to  lay  the  blame  upon  her  camarilla. 
But  Mr.  Wilberforce  says  that  he  had  "  every  reason  to  believe  she  would  have 
acquiesced,  but  for  circumstances  which  I  had  rather  state  to  you  in  person 
than  by  letter."  "  It  was  plain,"  saj's  Mr.  Brougham,  "  that  they  had  nothing 
like  full  powers  from  the  King.  Nor,  indeed,  had  we  from  the  Queen ;  for, 
upon  some  alarm  being  given  her  by  the  meddling  folks  whom  she  saw,  she 
complained  that  she  was  not  informed  of  the  whole  of  the  negotiation."  Act- 
ing under  the  influence  of  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  one  of  her  ladies,  she  sent 
letters  to  the  Speaker,  or  rather  formal  messages,  beginning  "CaroUne  R.," 
"which  Lady  Anne's  brother,  Lord  Archibald  (our  stanch  supporter)  and 
myself  were  never  aware  of  till  an  hour  before  they  were  [to  be]  read  by  the 
Speaker."  His  behavior  was  mconsistent  with  this  theory.  Theie  was,  how- 
ever, a  disturbing  element,  of  which  account  must  be  taken,  namely,  the 
King's  determination  to  concede  nothing  that  would  favor  a  solution.  The 
Chancellor  declared  that  he  was  determined  to  get  other  ministers,  If  the 
present  ones  would  not  aid  him  in  getting  rid  of  his  Queen. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  705 

Alderman  Wood  was  seen  in  the  House  of  Commons  going  about 
and  canvassing  for  opinions.*  Had  there  been  one  thoroughly  dis- 
interested capable  adviser,  he  would  have  certainly  influenced  her, 
and  the  disastrous  issue  might  have  been  avoided. 

The  excitement  of  "the  mob,"  as  it  was  fashionable  to  call  the 
lower  classes  of  her  supporters,  grew  to  be  a  nuisance,  and  became 
a  serious  trouble  to  those  who  did  not  share  their  feelings.  The 
Chancellor,  changing  horses  on  his  way  to  the  country,  was  saluted 
with  yells  of  "  Long  live  the  Queen!"  and  was  in  other  ways  marked 
out  for  annoyance.  When  a  suitable  house  was  being  selected  for 
the  Queen — for  the  Government  had  agreed  to  find  her  one — her 
friends  with  some  malice  pitched  on  one  in  Hamilton  Place,  next 
door  to  the  Chancellor's.  He  appealed,  almost  in  an  agony,  to  Lord 
Liverpool,  and  declared  that  if  the  project  was  persisted  in  he  would 
give  up,  not  merely  his  house,  but  his  office.  When  they,  of  course, 
declined  to  purchase  this  mansion,  the  Queen's  friends,  still  bent  on 
harassing  him,  set  a  subscription  afoot  to  secure  it;  and  the  Chan- 
cellor could  see  no  other  way  to  save  himself  from  this  persecution 
than  to  buy  it  himself.  He  disposed  of  it,  however,  again  without 
loss.  More  serious  ground  for  apprehension  was  in  the  behavior 
of  a  battalion  of  the  Guards — the  3rd — which  at  this  unfortunate 
moment  became  mutinous.  The  Queen's  friends  insisted  that  this 
was  owing  to  their  sympathies  with  her ;  while  the  royal  party  at- 
tributed it  to  the  harsh  orders  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  their 
colonel,  who  had  harassed  them  with  new  severe  regulations,  the  roll 
being  called  four  times  a  day.  This  made  them  mutinous.  They 
were  ordered  out  of  town  next  day  to  Portsmouth. 

"But,"  says  Mr.  Grey-Bennett,  "the  story  soon  got  wind,  and  in 
the  evening  some  thousands  of  persons  assembled  opposite  to  the 
barracks  in  the  King's  Mews,  Charing  Cross,  shouting  '  Queen  for- 
ever! '  and  calling  to  the  soldiers  to  do  the  same.  The  people  made 
every  coachman  and  footman  of  the  carriages  passing  by  take  off 
their  hats  to  the  barracks  in  honor  of  the  soldiers ;  and  there  was 
evidently  a  very  bad  feeling  among  them.  I  mixed  in  the  crowd 
coming  up  from  the  House  of  Commons,  and  heard  many  unpleas- 
ant observations.  The  Life  Guards  at  last  came,  and  the  people  dis- 
persed; but  I  believe  one  or  two  people  were  wounded.  The  3rd 
Guards  on  the  march  to  Portsmouth  behaved  in  a  most  disorderly 
manner.     My  neighbor,  Sir  Thomas  Williams,  told  me  that  some 


MS.  "  Diary,"  Grey-Bennett. 
30* 


706  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

were  quartered  at  CoUen,  near  his  house,  and  that  he  went  towards 
the  village  in  the  evening,  and  heard  them  shouting  'Queen  for- 
ever \'  and  I  have  been  told  the  same  took  place  at  Kingston,  where 
they  drank  the  health  of  all  the  popular  leaders  in  the  alehouses 
where  they  were  billeted.  As  usual,  all  this  was  denied  by  the  Gov- 
ernment and  the  officers;  but  it  is  true,  and  no  doubt  a  strong  feel- 
ing of  compassion  for  the  Queen  existed  in  the  minds  of  the  soldiery. 
Even  the  10th  Hussars,  the  King's  Own  Regiment,  showed  it,  and  a 
person  of  credit  told  me  he  walked  into  the  Toy  Tavern,  Hampton 
Court,  where  the  regiment  was  quartered,  and  passing  by  the  tap 
saw  twelve  or  fourteen  soldiers  sitting  in  it,  where,  one  of  them 
taking  up  a  pot  of  porter  said,  '  Come,  lads,  the  Queen ! '  when  they 
all  rose  and  drank  her  health."  * 

No  wonder  that  the  witty  Luttrell  declared  that  "  the  extinguisher 
was  taking  fire." 

It  must  be  said  that  whatever  hesitation  Mr.  Brougham  had  shown, 
he  from  this  moment  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  her  cause, 
conducting  it  in  the  most  intrepid  as  well  as  masterly  manner,  show- 
ing tact,  resource,  and  courage  and  ability  of  the  most  extraordinary 
kind.  Nor  did  his  client  owe  less  to  the  calmer  virtues  of  his  coad 
jutor  Denman,  whose  character  and  talents  were  no  less  valuable. 
The  episodes  that  followed  were  of  the  most  stirring  character. 
There  was  seen  her  advocate  warning  and  even  threatening  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  yet  with  infinite  adroitness  keeping  within  due 
bounds,  f 

The  Chancellor  mdeed  contrived  ingeniously  to  obstruct  the  popu- 


*  •• '  The  Commander-in-Chief,'  wrote  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  *  has  felt 
great  uneasiness  respecting  the  Coldstream  Guards,  and  was  afraid  of  again 
being  surprised  by  a  mutiny.'  He  also  heard  'of  the  cry  of  disaffection  of 
"  The  Queen  "  being  raised  on  the  march.'  He  did  not  know  whether  there 
was  foundation  for  this;  but  Mr.  Qreville  was  assured  by  Lord  Worcester  that 
he  heard  the  soldiers  utter  it."— "Despat.  Cor.  and  Mem.,"  i.  127;  Qreville, 
i.  30. 

+  Brougham,  however,  all  through  made  a  distinction  between  the  Queen 
and  the  wcman,  and  he  wisely  never  identified  himself  with  the  camarilla. 
We  find  him  cautioning  the  ministers,  through  Mr.  Arbuthnot,  as  to  the  pay- 
ment of  witness,  counsel,  etc..  which  he  said  should  be  done  by  responsible 
persons,  who  should  see  that  the  proper  parties  received  it.  He  hinted  that 
she  was  being  "plundered  by  Wood  and  others,"  who  he  was  afraid  would 
get  hold  of  this  Government  allowance  He  entreated  that  this  communica- 
tion should  not  transpire.  No  wonder  Mr.  Arbuthnot  remarked  upon  "  the 
extraordinary  footing  he  must  be  on  with  his  client."— "Life  of  Lord  Liver- 
pool," iii.  93. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  707 

lar  cause  as  much  as  he  could.  For  when  the  Queen  sent  to  him  to 
say  she  would  come  in  person  to  present  her  petition,  he  answered 
that  she  must  apply  to  the  House  for  leave.  When  she  asked  him 
to  give  this  message  to  the  House,  he  answered  that  the  House  only 
received  messages  from  the  King.  Then  she  asked  him  to  precent 
her  petition,  which  he  declined.  "  I  am  resolved  not  to  be  employed 
in  any  way  by  this  lady,"  he  wrote.  "  They  must  get  another  Chan- 
cellor," he  added,  "if  he  should  be  required  to  do  work  of  that 
kind. "  But  he  put  this  yet  more  strongly.  Those  near  him,  when  he 
was  being  harassed  by  Brougham's  fierce  attacks,  heard  him  mutter- 
ing that  he  ' '  would  be  damned  if  he  would  act  as  Chancellor  if  such 
things  were  permitted.'* 

One  of  the  most  interesting  Incidents  in  this  exciting  episode  was 
the  behavior  of  Mr.  Canning,  which  offered  a  pleasing  instance  of 
constancy  and  loyalty.  It  was  a  surprise  to  hear  one  of  the  prose- 
cuting ministry  standing  forth  in  praise  of  the  accused,  though 
"with  great  ingenuity  he  let  out  all  the  private  communications 
made  by  Brougham  in  the  preceding  summer,  and  pushed  the  argu- 
ment very  hard.  A  most  remarkable  passage  in  his  speech  was  his 
protesting  he  would  not  be  an  accuser  of  the  Queen,  and  that  his 
respect  and  affection  remained  undiminished,  and  that  she  was  the 
grace  and  ornament  of  every  society.  As  may  be  imagined,  these 
expressions  created  the  greatest  astonishment  in  the  House,  and  I 
never  saw  Castlereagh  so  agitated.  It  is  said  that  he  complained 
loudly  of  it,  declaring  that  he  considered  Canning  to  be  a  partner  to 
all  their  proceedings. " 

In  private  also  he  expressed  the  same  opinions:  "Brougham  has 
had  his  game,  too.  ...  He  dreaded  compromise.  He  thought  he 
saw  how  it  might  be  effected.  He  barred  that  course  by  offering 
mediation.  He  thus  got  the  thing  into  his  own  hands,  and,  having 
got  it  there,  he  let  it  languish  till  success  was  hopeless." * 

Though  he  spoke  on  the  ministerial  side  he  gave  her  the  highest 
and  warmest  praise:  "There  was  no  society  in  Europe,"  he  said, 
"of  which  she  would  not  be  the  grace,  life,  and  ornament.  The 
honorable  gentleman,''  said  Mr.  Canning,  "called  upon  the  Govern- 
ment to  come  forward  frankly,  and  at  once,  as  her  Majesty's  accus- 
ers. I  for  one,"  continued  he,  "will  never,  so  help  me  God,  place 
myself  in  the  situation  of  her  accuser."  He  concluded  with  declar- 
mg  that  he  should  take  no  further  share  in  the  deliberations  on  the 

*  Grey -Bennett,  "Diary." 


708  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

subject  This  announcement  lie  proceeded  to  put  into  practice 
forthwith.* 

It  was  not  surprising  that  this  chivalrous  man  should  feel  his 
position  untenable,  and  when  Mr.  Wilberforce's  compromise  was 
rejected  be  waited  on  the  King  and  placed  bimself  at  his  disposal. 
Tbe  following  is  the  account  of  the  interview  sent  to  a  friend,  the 
real  james  being  originally  disguised  as  "  Marcus,"  "  Mars,"  "The 
Magdalen,"  etc.  He  explained  that  while  he  approved  of  all  tbe 
steps  up  to  the  present,  he  could  not  join  in  any  further  proceed- 
ings owing  to  the  old  intimacy  and  the  confidence  she  had  placed 
in  him.  He  submitted  whether  it  was  tben  desirable  that  he  sbould 
remain  in  the  ministry;  though  he  did  not  offer  his  resignation. 

"The  King  expressed  his  strong  sense  of  the  manly  proceeding 
of  Mr.  Canning  on  this  occasion,  and  his  especial  satisfaction  at 
his  having  come  at  once  to  him  with  this  communic.jition,  instead 
of  conveying  it  through  a  third  person.     He  acquiesced  with  per- 


*  "  Let  any  one  put  this  question  to  himself,"  he  wrote  from  abroad,  "  Do 
you  think  we  could  get  the  Duke  of  York  off,  as  we  did  iu  1809,  after  such  a 
bill  as  this  will  be,  when  it  ceases  to  be  a  bill  of  divorce,  had  been  enacted?" 
I  would  defy  you  to  do  so;  and,  after  all,  without  the  clause  of  divorce,  of 
what  value  is  the  bill,  supposing  it  passed  into  a  law,  to  the  King?  Would  he 
have  given  sixpence  for  it  originally  in  that  state ?  Not  he.  But  having  tasted 
the  sweets  of  discussion,  he  may  be  now  willing  to  compromise  for  getting 
anything  through,  so  as  not  to  appear  to  come  out  of  court,  as  in  fact  he  does, 
completely  defeated.  But  this  is  precisely  the  mortification  from  which  we, 
his  servants,  ought  to  have  saved  him.  We  ought  to  have  said  from  the  begin- 
ning: "  Sir,  divorce  is  impossible."  "  What,  if  she  comes,  if  she  bn^ves,  if  she 
insults?"  etc.  "Yes,  Sir,  in  any  case,  divorce  is  impossible.  Other  things 
may  be  tried,  other  expedients  may  be  resorted  to;  but  divorce,  we  tell  you 
again,  is  impossible.    It  can  never  be."    These  were  sagacious  warnings. 

"  Had  we  stuck  to  this,  and  this,  I  say,  was  our  opinion,  in  February  (mine 
always,  now  more  than  it  was  then— not  more  then  than  it  is  now),  depend 
upon  it  he  would  have  discarded  Leach,  and  played  us  fair.  But,  there  were 
conferences  as  well  as  minutes,  and  I  suspect  the  unwritten  counteracted  the 
written  communications.  And  see  the  fruits!— a  Government  brought  into 
contempt  and  detestation ;  a  kingdom  thrown  into  such  ferment  and  convul- 
sion, as  no  other  kingdom  or  govemmeut  ever  recovered  from  witjiout  a  revo- 
lution; but  I  hope  we  shall. 

"  I  would  have  pledged  my  life  to  settle  the  whole  matter  last  summer,  or 
at  any  time  before  the  fatal  measure  of  the  Liturgy.  I  would  have  under- 
taken it  even  after,  though  with  diminished  confidence  of  success.  But  the 
Government  was  not  prepared  to  pursue  their  own  course  by  any  means  but 
those  which  were  indicated  to  them ;  and  these  indications  came  from  a  quar- 
ter which  wished  for  extremities,  as  the  way  of  getting  at  what  they  are  now 
enjoying  1" 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV.  709 

feet  cordiality  and  good  humor  in  the  adoption  by  him  of  the  line 
of  proceeding  which  he  had  announced  with  respect  to  the  Queen's 
affairs,  said  it  was  what  he  had  expected,  but  plainly  intimated  at 
the  same  time  his  impression  that  Mr.  Canning  had  not  told  all  his 
reasons  for  declining  to  take  a  share  in  the  hostile  proceedings 
against  the  Queen.  With  respect  to  the  question  of  retirement,  as 
it  affected  the  general  interest  of  the  King's  service,  the  latter 
declared  that  it  was  full  of  difficulty,  and  that  he  should  wish  to 
have  a  few  hours  for  the  consideration  of  it  before  he  returned  a 
final  answer  to  Mr.  Canning's  communication.  After  a  conversa- 
tion of  more  than  an  hour  in  the  most  friendly  tone,  they  shook 
hands  at  parting,  and  the  King  again  assured  him  of  his  entire 
approval  of  his  conduct;  that  whatever  might  be  the  King's  deci- 
sion upon  this  matter,  whether  to  adopt  his  advice  with  respect  to 
his  retirement  or  not,  he  should  never  cease  to  feel  the  sincerest 
regard  for  Mr.  Canning.  He  said  further,  that  if  ever  he  should 
hear  (as  he  probably  might)  reflections  thrown  out  against  him  for 
stopping  short  after  having  gone  so  far  in  the  proceedings  against 
the  Queen,  he  should  uniformly  declare  that  Mr.  Canning  had 
acted  in  the  most  manly,  and  honorable,  and  gentlemanlike  manner. 
"  The  next  day  he  was  informed  that  he  must  remain  and  follow 
what  course  he  pleased  as  to  the  Queen ;  and  further,  might  assign 
the  King's  pleasure  as  the  reason  for  his  remaining.  This  showed 
what  favor  he  enjoyed.  In  a  fortnight  he  was  addressing  the  most 
earnest  remonstrances  to  Lord  Liverpool,  over  whom  he  exercised 
extraordinary  influence  against  the  divorce.  His  arguments  seem 
unanswerable,  the  main  one  being  that  the  consequence  of  such  a 
clause  would  alarm  every  one,  and  shipwreck  the  bill.  All  through 
the  proceedings  he  gave  warning  in  this  sense,  appealing  with  jus- 
tice to  their  own  Cabinet  addresses  to  the  King,  in  which  this  very 
step  was  deprecated  with  forcible  arguments.  But  his  strongest 
point  wasliis  appeal  to  the  Duke  of  York's  case.  For  if  the  divorce 
were  dropped,  he  argued,  it  became  a  question  of  private  morality 
unworthy  the  investigation  of  the  House;  the  very  argument  so 
vehemently  pressed  against  the  Opposition  when  it  was  the  interest 
of  the  Court  that  the  Duke's  '  green  bag '  should  not  be  opened. 
Again  and  again  he  prophesied,  'The  bill  will  not  pass,'  and  he 
advised  withdrawing  it  frankly  in  the  Upper  House — a  course  which 
Lord  Liverpool  later  was  to  adopt.  He  felt,  however,  the  awk- 
wardness of  his  situation,  and  withdrew  from  the  scene,  remaining 
abroad  till  the  matter  terminated." 


710  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

On  the  amiable  Denman,  who  seems  to  have  viewed  the  whole 
through  an  atmosphere  of  romance,  the  Queen  and  her  trials  had 
left  an  impression  of  deep  pity  and  sympathy. 

He  was  looking  on  when  she  entered  London  on  that  eventful 
day.  Her  equipage,  he  says,  was  mean  and  miserable.  On  the 
box  of  one  carriage  was  a  man  with  a  turban,  in  the  others  Italians, 
"with  enormous  moustachios  " — a  rather  unusual  spectacle,  and 
always  considered  ' '  outlandish,"  There  was  scarcely  a  well-dressed 
person  in  the  crowd,  while  among  the  few  on  horseback  he  recog- 
nized a  sheriff's  broker,  and  his  own  "bankrupt  cousin."  A  touch 
of  character  that  a  dramatist  would  relish  was  to  be  noted  in  the 
remarks  made  by  husband  and  wife  of  each  other  on  this  occasion. 
The  King  said  indignantly,  "  That  beast  Wood  sat  by  the  Queen's 
side!"  This  being  reported  to  the  Queen,  she  said,  "That  was 
very  kind  of  him!"  "She  pertinaciously,"  says  Denman,  "cher- 
ished the  hope  of  a  reconciliation,  and  related  with  pride  a  compli- 
ment twenty  years  old,  paid  her  by  the  Prince,  when  speaking 
handsomely  of  a  bride,  he  had  declared,  'she  was  just  like  the 
Princess  of  Wales.'  She  might  well  treasure  up  these  meagre  tes- 
timonials: they  had  been  few.  She  looked  at  me,"  he  goes  on,, 
"with  uncommon  earnestness,  and  said,  'I  know  the  man.  Well, 
mark  what  I  say,  we  shall  be  good  friends  before  we  die.'  Her 
bearing,"  he  says,  "as  she  appeared  on  the  balcony  was  most  noble 
and  attractive,  firm  and  graceful,  with  a  fixed  courage  in  her  eye. 
She  kept  repeating  again  and  again,  '  If  he  wished  me  to  stay 
abroad,  why  not  leave  me  in  peace?     So  here  I  am,'  '* 

Almost  to  the  last,  however,  the  Queen  had  a  rooted  distrust  of 
her  advocate.  Brougham,  and  suspected  he  had  acted  a  double  part. 
She  made  the  significant  declaration,  "Had  he  come  over  to  me  at 
Geneva,  I  had  been  spared  all  this."  And  on  the  very  eve  of  the 
trial  she  thought  seriously  of  dismissing  him.  It  does,  indeed, 
seem  that  while  Denman  was  the  advocate  of  her  cause.  Brougham 
merely  considered  himself  as  "holding  a  brief,"  as  it  were,  "in- 
structed by  an  attorney."  Even  when  he  left  her  on  her  arrival, 
she  said,  "  He  is  afraid." 

In  the  interval  between  the  debates  in  the  Houses  and  the  trial, 
the  Queen  removed  to  Brandenburgh  House,  not  long  before  the 
residence  of  a  rather  eccentric  lady,  the  Margravine  of  Anspach — 
Lady  Craven — whose  matrimonial  relations  had  also  been  of  a  dis- 
turbed character.  This  was  a  large  villa  at  Hammersmith,  on  the 
edge  of  the  Thames,  and  hither  she  removed  in  the  first  week  of 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  TLl 

August.  The  owner  could  scarcely  have  congratulated  himself  on 
his  new  tenant,  for  from  that  hour  the  house  was  almost  daily- 
invaded  by  large  mobs  in  charge  of  addresses,  who  spread  them- 
selves over  the  flowers,  coming  up  to  the  windows,  and  freely  enter- 
ing the  drawing-rooms  and  other  portions  of  the  premises.  These 
testimonials  of  attachment  were  sent  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
and  the  list  is  certainly  an  extraordinary  one;  but  there  was  a  sad 
loss  of  dignity  incurred  from  the  familiarity  of  the  proceedings, 
and  the  proletarian  character  of  this  sort  of  popularity.  The  poor 
lady,  however,  never  flagged  in  the  resolute  energy  of  her  part, 
receiving  all  comers  with  unfailing  enthusiasm,  and  welcoming  all 
"the  greasy  rogues"  that  arrived  "  in  their  thousands." 

Quiet  retirement  with  an  air  of  suffering  would  have  been  far 
more  politic.  As  it  was,  all  this  afforded  an  opening  which  those 
opposed  to  her  were  not  slow  to  turn  to  account,  and  a  newspaper 
which  had  been  recently  established — the  Jolm  Bull*  whose  chief 


♦  So  successful  was  this  journal  that  the  editor  was  receiving  £2000  a  year. 
Its  personality  maybe  gathered  from  this  specimen — "  The  Visit  of  Mrs.  Mug- 
gins to  Brandenburgh  House." 

Have  you  been  to  Brandenburgh,  heigh,  ma'am,  ho,  ma'am? 

Have  you  been  to  Brandenburgh,  ho?— 
Oh  yes,  I  have  been,  ma'am,  to  visit  the  Queen,  ma'am, 

With  the  rest  of  the  gallantee  show,  show— 

With  the  rest  of  the  gallantee  show. 

And  who  were  the  company,  heigh,  ma'am,  ho,  ma'am? 

Who  were  the  company,  ho?— 
We  happened  to  drop  in  with  gemmen  from  Wapping, 

And  ladies  from  Blowbladder  Row,  row- 
Ladies  from  Blowbladder  Row. 

What  saw  you  at  Brandenburgh,  heigh,  ma'am,  ho,  ma'am? 

What  saw  you  at  Brandenburgh,  ho?— 
We  saw  a  great  dame,  with  a  face  red  as  flame, 

And  a  character  spotless  as  snow,  snow— 
A  character  spotless  as  snow. 

And  who  were  attending  her,  heigh,  ma'am,  ho,  ma'am? 

Who  were  attending  her,  ho?— 
Lord  Hood  for  a  man— for  a  maid  Lady  Anne, 

And  Alderman  Wood  for  a  beau,  beau- 
Alderman  Wood  for  a  beau,  etc. 

Lord  Byron  wrote  an  epigram.  The  fire  never  slackened  an  instant;  wit,  or 
coarse  persiflage,  was  poured  upon  her:  as  when  the  braziers  of  London  pre 
sented  their  address,  declaring  that  they  would  "find  more  brass  than  they 
carried."    And  it  was  stated  that  these  bitter  and  unscrupulous  attacks  had 


712  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 

raison  d'etre  was  to  expose  her  failings — was  now  rendering,  under 
the  clever  direction  of  Theodore  Hook,  most  valuable  aid  to  Gov- 
ernment. 

The  incidents  of  this  extraordinary  trial  were,  as  it  may  be  con- 
ceived, full  of  a  dramatic  interest;  and  conspicuous  above  all  were 
the  singular  courage  and  resolution  displayed  by  the  chief  person- 
age concerned.  Next  to  her,  all  interest  was  drawn  by  the  match- 
less exertions  of  Brougham,  whose  conduct  of  the  case  and  masterly 
exposure  of  the  witnesses  were  beyond  all  praise.* 

The  interval  between  this  proceeding  and  the  trial  was  filled  up  with 
processions,  shoutings,  etc. ,  which  her  Majesty  heartily  encouraged. 
On  the  other  side,  the  witnesses — the  Italian  herd — were  sent  for, 
and  arrived.  Public  curiosity  was  much  exercised  by  the  prepara- 
tions for  their  reception.  There  was  something  revolting  in  seeing 
the  large  space  next  Westminster  Bridge  being  built  in  and  barri- 
caded, 80  that  there  could  be  no  approach  save  from  the  river.  The 
houses  of  the  officers  of  the  House  of  Lords  were  devoted  to  their 
accommodation,  while  the  place  was  regularly  victualled,  furniture 
being  secretly  introduced;  walls  were  run  up  to  prevent  them  being 
seen  as  they  took  exercise ;  and  gunboats  on  the  river  and  a  military 
force  on  the  land  side  strictly  guarded  them :  \  while  the  royal  cooks 
were  installed.  By  the  12th  several  boatloads  of  witnesses  were 
landed  at  the  stairs,  and  the  whole  band  was  finally  mustered  by  the 
14th  of  August.  "About  this  building,  in  which  they  were  im- 
mured from  August  until  November,"  says  Lord  Albemarle  in  his 
agreeable  recollections,  "the  London  mob  would  hover  like  a  cat 
round  the  cage  of  a  canary."  The  Italians,  however,  were  not  dis- 
tressed at  their  confinement;  enjoying  the  good  fare  provided  for 
them,  and  amusing  themselves  with  their  national  dances. 

When  the  day  of  the  trial  drew  near,  the  Queen  came  to  town, 
having  at  last  selected  a  house  by  Lady  Francis's  in  St.  James's 


the  effect  intended,  viz.,  of  frightening  away  any  of  the  higher  and  more  re- 
spectable classes  who  were  inclined  to  support  the  Queen. 

*  That  unclean  band  he,  with  delightful  irony,  described  to  the  House.  He 
apologized  for  "  seeking  "  to  elude  a  bill  '*  supported  by  so  respectable  a  body 
of  witnesses  as  those  assembled  in  Cotton  Garden.  Judging  from  their  exte- 
rior," said  he,  "  they  must  be  like  those  persons  with  whom  your  lordships  are 
in  the  habit  of  associating.  They  must  doubtless  be  seized  in  fee-simple  of 
those  decent  habiliments— persons  who  would  regale  themselves  at  their  own 
expense,  live  in  separate  apartments,  have  full  powers  of  locomotion,  and 
require  no  other  escort  than  their  attendant  lacquaia  de  place.'' 

t  Lord  Albemarle,  "Fifty  Years  of  my  Life,"  ii.  123. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  713 

Square,  adjoining  Lord  Castlereagh's,  who  was  too  intrepid  a  man 
to  be  affected,  as  was  the  Lord  Chancellor,  by  such  a  neighbor.* 

On  the  morning  of  August  17th,  the  day  when  the  trial  really 
began,  and  the  Queen  was  to  attend,  the  whole  of  London  was  in  a 
ferment,  and  Westminster  a  network  of  barricades.  Enormous 
bodies  of  soldiers  and  police  were  at  every  corner,  while  the  whole 
space  between  St.  James's  Square  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament  was 
crammed  with  people  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

The  peers  began  to  arrive  betimes,  while  the  Chancellor  came  at 
the  singularly  early  hour  of  eight.  Every  window  and  housetop 
was  covered  with  spectators.  The  Duke  of  York  arrived  on  horse- 
back, the  Duke  of  Wellington  being  hissed  and  groaned  at.f    The 

*  The  bill  was  as  follows: 

"  An  Act,  entitled  '  An  Act  for  depriving  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth,  Queen 
of  Great  Britain,  of  and  from  the  style  and  title  of  Queen  of  these  realms,  and 
of  and  from  the  rights,  prerogatives,  and  immunities  now  belonging  to  her  as 
Queen  Consort.' 

"Whereas  in  the  year  1814,  her  Majesty  Caroline  Amelia  Elizabeth,  then 
Princess  of  Wales,  but  now  Queen  of  England,  being  at  the  Court  of  Milan, 
engaged  in  her  service  one  Barttolomo  Pergami,  otherwise  Bartholomo  Ber- 
gami,  a  foreigner  of  low  situation  in  life,  and  afterwards  the  most  unbecoming 
and  indecent  familarities  took  place  between  her  Royal  Highness  and  the 
said  Bartholomo;  and  her  Royal  Highness  not  only  advanced  him  to  a  high 
situation  in  her  household,  but  received  also  many  of  his  relatives  into  her 
service  in  inferior  and  other  situations,  and  bestowed  on  him,  the  said  Bartho- 
lomo, various  marks  of  distinction  and  favor,  and  took  upon  herself  to  confer 
upon  him  the  Order  of  Knighthood,  and  pretended  to  institute  an  Order  of 
Knighthood,  without  the  authority  of  your  Majesty,  and  conducted  herself 
both  in  public  and  in  private  in  various  places,  with  indecent  and  offensive 
familiarities  and  freedom  towards  the  said  Bartholomo,  and  carried  on  with 
him  a  disgraceful,  licentious,  and  adulterous  intercourse,  to  the  great  scandal 
of  your  Majesty's  royal  family,  and  to  the  dishonor  of  the  kingdom,  and  mani- 
fested a  most  scandalous,  disgraceful,  and  vicious  conduct  towards  the  said 
Bartholomo.  We,  therefore,  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal  and  Com- 
mons of  Great  Britain  in  Parliament  assembled,  humbly  pray  your  Majesty 
that  it  may  be  enacted,  and  be  it  therefore  enacted,  that  from  and  after  the 
passing  of  this  Act,  the  said  Caroline  Amelia  Ehzabeth  be  wholly  deprived  of 
and  from  the  stj^e  and  title  of  Queen  of  these  realms,  and  of  and  from  the 
rights,  prerogatives,  privileges,  and  immunities  now  belonging  to  her  as  Queen 
Consort,  and  that  she  shall  and  may  be,  from  and  after  the  passing  of  this 
Act,  forever  displaced  from,  and  be  utterly  incapable  of,  exercising  or  enjoy- 
ing the  same,  and  that  the  said  marriage  between  his  Majesty  the  King  and 
the  Queen  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  wholly  dissolved  and  annulled,  to  all 
Intents  and  purposes." 

t  The  Duke,  however,  was  getting  pretty  well  accustomed  to  the  attentions 
of  the  mob,  and  thoroughly  despised  the* manifestation  either  of  applause  or 
dislike.    He  would  ride  to  and  from  the  House,  where  he  took  a  prominent 


714  THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV. 

Duke  of  Sussex  was  received  rapturously.  The  roar  of  voices  all 
along  the  route  gave  notice  of  the  procession,  for  such  it  was,  which 
was  to  be  the  daily  programme  for  some  time  to  come,  which  swelled 
into  shouts  as  the  carriage,  drawn  by  six  horses,  with  servants  in  the 
royal  liveries  of  scarlet  and  gold  with  purple  velvet  caps  and  fac- 
ings, came  into  view.  Behind  followed  other  carriages,  containing 
Sir  William  Gell  and  Mr.  Keppel  Craven,  who,  though  they  might 
have  left  her  service  in  some  disgust  at  her  conduct,  were  chivalrous 
enough  to  return  to  it,  to  show  their  belief  in  her  innocence  of  more 
serious  charges.  This  to  an  impartial  mind  would  not  be  without 
weight.  Along  the  route  the  soldiers  on  duty  were  posted,  and  the 
multitude  watched  those  stationed  at  Carlton  House  with  feverish 
anxiety,  to  see  whether  they  would  present  arms.  They  did  so,  to 
the  delight  and  even  rapture  of  the  mob,  who  shook  hands  with 
them,  while  some  of  the  women  embraced  them.  The  cries  were  all 
of  the  same  affectionate  character.  "God  bless  your  Majesty!" 
"We'll  give  our  blood  for  you!"  "The  Queen  or  death!"  "May 
you  overcome  your  enemies!"  Men  were  seen  carrying  green  bags 
at  the  end  of  long  poles.  At  Westminster  Lord  Albemarle,  who 
was  present,  graphically  describes  the  scene,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  chief  actress. 

"Denman  was  addressing  the  House  on  the  morning  of  the  18th, 
when  a  confused  sound  of  drums,  trumpets,  and  human  voices 
announced  the  approach  of  the  Queen.  Beams  a  foot  square  had 
been  thrown  across  the  street  between  St.  Margaret's  Church  and 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench;  but  this  barrier  her  Majesty's  admirers 
dashed  through  with  as  much  ease  as  if  they  had  been  formed  of 
reeds,  and  accompanied  her  Majesty  to  the  entrance  of  the  House. 
The  peers  rose  as  the  Queen  entered,  and  remained  standing  until 
she  took  her  seat  in  a  crimson  and  gilt  chair,  immediately  in  front  of 
her  counsel.  Her  appearance  was  anything  but  prepossessing.  She 
wore  a  black  dress  with  a  high  ruff,  an  unbecoming  gypsy  hat  with 
a  huge  bow  in  front,  the  whole  surmounted  with  a  plume  of  ostrich- 
part  aprainst  the  Queen.  As  the  people  would  press  on  his  horse,  shouting  out 
to  his  face,  "No  foul  play,  my  lord!  The  Queen  forever!"  he  would  answer 
in  his  own  characteristic  style,  "  Yes,  yes,  yes."  One  of  the  stories  ran,  that 
he  added  good-humoredly,  "And  may  all  your  wives  be  like  her."  Long 
after  the  fickle  crowd  had  forgotten  the  services  of  Waterloo,  and  broken  his 
windows,  he  was  attended  home  by  a  mob,  shouting  in  uproarious  applause, 
and  cheering  him  all  the  way.  But  ^  he  entered  he  pointed  significantly  to 
his  windows,  then  decorated  with  the  iron  shutters,  never  opened  till  the  day 
of  his  death.    A  finely  contemptuous  rebuke. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  715 

feathers.  Nature  had  given  her  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  a  fair  com- 
plexion, and  a  good-humored  expression  of  countenance ;  but  these 
characteristics  were  marred  by  painted  tyebrows,  and  by  a  black  wig 
with  a  profusion  of  curls,  which  overshadowed  her  cheeks,  and  gave 
a  bold,  defiant  air  to  her  features.* 

Almost  the  most  dramatic  incident  was  the  appearance  of  the 
notorious  "  Majocchi,"  of  JSfon  mi  ricm^do  memory.  When  he  came 
forward  this  strange  incident  occurred.  "The  Queen,"  says  one 
who  witnessed  the  scene,  "  stood  up  close  to  him  and  threw  her  veil 
completely  back,  held  her  body  very  backward,  and  placed  both  her 
arms  in  her  sides.  In  this  position  she  stared  furiously  at  him.  For 
some  seconds  there  was  a  dead  silence,  and  she  screamed  out '  Theo- 
dore ! '  in  the  most  frantic  manner,  and  rushed  violently  out  of  the 
House.  I  think  she  is  insane,  for  her  manner  to-day  chilled  my 
blood,  "f  This  seems  to  point  to  what  was  so  often  said  by  her 
family  and  others,  that  there  was  some  madness  below  all  her  eccen- 
tricities. On  the  evidence  of  this  Majocchi  and  that  of  Dumont, 
both  discharged  servants — the  latter  her  femme  de  chambre — rested 
the  chief  charges,  which,  as  is  well  known,  related  to  her  behavior 
to  Bergami,  a  man  whom,  from  being  her  courier,  she  had  made  her 
chamberlain.  Her  proceedings  in  this  connection  raised  extraor- 
dinary presumptions  of  guilt;  yet  it  could  be  argued  that  the  instance 
most  insisted  on,  that  of  having  her  courier's  and  her  own  bed 
placed  in  a  tent  on  the  deck  of  a  vessel,  showed  from  the  publicity 
of  the  proceedings  an  insane  recklessness  as  to  public  opinion. 

*The  trial  began  on  August  17th,  and  by  September  7th  the  Attorney- 
General,  the  examination  and  cross-examination  of  the  witnesses  for  the 
Crown  being  concluded,  proceeded  to  comment  on  the  evidence.  The  House 
adjourned  to  October  3rd,  to  give  time  for  the  defence  being  prepared.  On 
the  5th  Mr.  Brougham's  speech  was  concluded.  On  November  2nd,  the  debate 
on  the  second  reading  began,  which  lasted  until  the  6th,  when  there  was  a 
majority  for  the  bill  of  twenty-eight;  and  on  the  third  reading  it  was  passed 
by  a  majority  of  nine,  when  it  was  withdrawn. 

t  Some  declared  that  she  said  "  Traditore !"  And  the  graphic  sketch  of  the 
present  Lord  Albemarle's  father,  written  on  the  day  of  the  occurrence,  was 
no  doubt  the  true  version.  "  Some  consider  it  proof  of  conscious  gilt,  forget- 
ting that  the  Queen  knew  well  that  he  was  to  be  examined ;  others,  an  indig- 
nant protest  at  seeing  her  servant  dressed  up  and  turned  into  a  gentleman  on 
the  next  day."  "  I  never,"  says  her  admiring  counsel,  Denman,  "  saw  a  human 
being  so  interesting.  Her  face  was  pale,  her  eyelids  a  little  sunken,  her  eyes 
fixed  on  the  ground,  with  no  expression  of  alarm  or  consciousness,  but  with 
an  appearance  of  decent  distress  at  being  made  the  subject  of  such  revolting 
calumnies."  This  demeanor,  however,  would  naturally  have  been  the  result 
of  a  reaction  after  the  outburst  of  the  preceding  day. 


716  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

On  the  part  of  the  prosecution,  it  was  insinuated  that  all  her  Eng- 
lish suite  had  left  her  within  a  few  months.  This  included  Mr,  St. 
Leger,  Sir  W.  Gell,  Mr.  Craven,  and  Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay.  Satis- 
factory reasons  were  given  by  all  these  persons  for  their  retirement. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  long  roll  of  Italian  testimony  com- 
ing from  persons  of  the  highest  rank  in  her  favor — secured,  indeed, 
too  late  for  the  trial.* 

The  re-entry  into  her  service,  when  the  trial  came  on,  of  Sir  W. 
Gell  and  Mr.  Keppel  Craven,  also  of  Lord  and  Lady  Llandaff,  was 
certainly  evidence  in  her  favor.  But  then  it  was  urged,  against 
their  testimony  in  the  witness-box,  that  they  had  been  with  her  but 
a  few  months,  and  previous  to  her  extravagance.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  Bergami  was  of  a  good  family.  His  father  was  a  physi- 
cian, in  possession  of  a  good  property,  lands,  and  houses,  which  had 
got  involved  and  had  to  be  sold,  on  which  his  son  enlisted  in  an  hussar 
regiment.  It  is  remarkable,  too,  that  his  whole  family — mother, 
brothers,  sisters,  cousins,  to  the  number  of  eight  or  nine — were 
established  in  this  strange  woman's  service. 

But  what  taints  the  whole  proceeding  was  the  mode — almost  un- 
avoidable under  the  circumstances — in  which  the  evidence  was  se- 
cured. When  it  was  known  that  all  who  could  tell  anything  or  find 
out  anything  would  be  taken  to  England,  paid  for  their  time  and 
services ;  that  the  Hanoverian  minister.  Baron  Ompteda,  had  eagerly 
taken  on  himself  the  duty  of  "ferreting  out"  evidence;  that  there 
was  an  Italian  lawyer,  Vimercati,  employed  to  visit  all  "likely" 
persons,  employing  Italians  to  bring  forward  the  diffident  or  reluc- 
tant; when  it  was  known,  in  short,  that  the  "King  of  England" 
desired  aid,  who  could  doubt  that  a  premium  was  set  on  falsehood 
and  exaggeration? 

But  still  the  course  of  her  admitted  proceedings — her  extraordi- 
nary ill-regulated  defiance  of  public  opinion,  her  reckless  patronage 
of  those  she  liked,  her  taste  for  associating  with  the  lowest,  and  her 
instinctive  repulsion  to  those  who  were  respectable  and  decorous — 
all  this,  carried  on  in  a  distant  land,  warranted  the  evil  opinion  held 
of  her,  and  made  her  accountable  for  it.  The  public,  not  having 
time  or  inclination  to  appraise  nice  distinctions,  for  its  own  conve- 
nience holds  a  particular  sort  of  conduct  to  be  significant  of  evil, 


♦  The  most  complete  view  of  the  investigation  will  be  found  in  Wilks's 
"Memoirs,"  where  a  fair  analysis  of  the  charges  with  reference  to  theevi- 
dence  by  which  it  is  supported,  and  the  reply,  are  set  out. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV.  717 

throwing  the  onus  of  disproof  on  those  who  exhibit  such  behavior. 
Much  of  this  was  owing  to  the  consciousness  that  she  was  surrounded 
by  spies,  proved  by  the  fact  that  at  Baden  an  official  of  the  Court 
was  engaged  in  taking  notes  of  her  proceedings,  which  at  the  trial, 
by  direction  of  the  Grand  Duke,  he  declined  to  produce.  This 
seemed  mysterious,  and  the  conclusion  was  that  their  record  would 
have  damaged  the  prosecutor's  case.  But  Miss  Wynne,  the  agree- 
able diarist,  was  told  by  Lord  Redesdale  that  at  Baden,  when  a  par- 
tie  de  chasse  had  been  made  for  her,  she  appeared  ' '  with  a  half 
pumpkin  on  her  head,"  to  the  amazement  of  the  Grand  Duke.  She 
explained  that  it  was  the  coolest  sort  of  coiffure  !  If  the  spy -diarist 
had  this  fact  upon  his  notes,  it  is  needless  to  say  that  it  would  have 
shown  she  was  scarcely  accountable  for  her  actions. 

The  intrepid  Brougham,  as  we  have  said,  confronted  this  hired 
miscellany,  though  with  an  interpreter  interposed.  One  of  his  coups 
was  masterly.  He  learned  by  the  merest  accident  that  Rastelli,  one 
of  the  King's  witnesses,  had  been  allowed  to  go  away,  and  instantly 
turned  it  to  profit,  by  desiring  to  have  him  recalled  to  clear  up  some 
point.  It  win  be  seen  what  could  be  made  of  this.  For  the  tribu- 
nal he  was  addressing  he  made  no  secret  of  his  contempt,  crushing 
interruptions  with  a  fierce  sardonic  tone,  that  made  the  offender  ap- 
peal for  protection  to  the  House.  The  very  interpreter  he  would 
address  with  studious  politeness  as  "Marquis" — he  had  been  a 
teacher — affecting  to  put  him  on  a  level  with  the  noble  persons  round 
him.  It  was  thought  a  great  hardship  that  he  had  been  compelled 
to  declare  whether  he  would  call  witnesses  before  being  allowed  to 
open  his  case — as  he  desired  to  conduct  his  case  in  his  own  way,  to 
make  his  speech  so  as  to  neutralize  the  admirable  one  made  by  the 
comparatively  obscure  Williams,  who  had  admirably  summed  up  the 
evidence  for  the  prosecution.  The  Attorney-General  was  considered 
to  have  made  but  a  weak  display.  The  Chancellor,  however,  had 
insisted  on  his  announcing  the  course  he  had  decided  on.  By  the 
adjournment  for  three  weeks,  the  startling  evidence  had  come  to 
circulate,  without  antidote  and  uncontradicted.  Mr.  Greville's  com- 
ments express  happily  enough  the  view  of  an  ordinary  observer  of 
the  day. 

"There  is  no  one  more  violent  than  Lord  Lauderdale,*  and 

*  In  the  course  of  the  trial,  in  order  to  show  that  the  Queen  had  associated 
in  Italy  with  ladies  of  good  character,  it  was  stated  that  a  Countess  T fre- 
quented her  society  at  Florence.  On  cross-examination  it  came  out  that  the 
Countess  spoke  a  provincial  dialect,  anything  but  the  purest  Tuscan,  whence 


718  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

neither  the  Attorney-General  nor  the  Solicitor-General  can  act  with 
greater  zeal  than  he  does  in  support  of  the  bill.  Lord  Liverpool  is 
a  model  of  fairness,  impartiality,  and  candor.  The  Chancellor  is 
equally  impartial,  and  as  he  decides  personally  all  disputes  on  legal 
points  which  are  referred  to  the  House,  his  fairness  has  been  con- 
spicuous in  having  generally  decided  in  favor  of  the  Queen's 
counsel." 

The  struggle  being  vital,  no  one  was  to  be  spared,  and  the  strokes 
at  the  King  were  of  the  most  unsparing  personality.  In  his  splen- 
did speech — the  peroration  of  which  he  had  written  again  and  again 
— Mr.  S.  Percival  suggested  to  him  the  happy  d  propos,  asking  who 
was  the  secret  instigator — the  airy,  unsubstantial  being  who  was  be- 
hind— he  wished  to  encounter — 

This  shape— 
If  shape  it  could  be  called— that  shape  had  none 
Distinguishable  in  member,  joint  or  limb.    What  seemed  its  head 
The  likeness  of  a  kingly  crown  had  on. 

This  Pythian  dart — piercing  where  the  King  was  most  sensitive 
— was  never  forgiven,  though  his  Majesty  long  after  said  that 
Brougham  had  only  done  his  duty.  But  Denman  carried  this  li- 
cense of  quotation  beyond  decent  limits.  Dr.  Parr,  who  had  ardent- 
ly taken  up  the  Queen's  case,  had  bidden  Denman  look  into  Bayle's 
Dictionary  for  suitable  classical  allusions,  under  such  headings  as 
Julia,  Judith — and  the  name  of  Octavia,  the  wife  of  Nero,  at  once 
flashed  upon  the  counsel,  and,  as  he  tells  us,  he  determined  to  make 
her  his- heroine,  of  course  elaborating  the  parallel.  In  the  classical 
story  is  given  a  retort  by  the  "honest  chambermaid  "  not  fit  for  ears 
polite,  which  he  determined  to  use,  meaning  to  apply  it  to  Majoc- 
chi.  No  one  can  doubt  Denman's  truth ;  but  the  public  most  natu- 
rally applied  the  gross  insinuation  to  the  King,  who  was,  further, 
dubbed  Nero  in  the  newspapers — his  palace  "  Nero's  Hotel."  This, 
as  will  be  seen,  was  also  never  forgiven,  or,  rather,  cherished  with 
undying  rancor.    The  Duke  of  Clarence,  to  whom  he  made  the  well- 


it  may  be  implied  that  she  was  a  vulgar  person,  and  Lord  Lauderdale  (>8pe- 
cially  pointed  out  this  inference,  speaking  himself  in  very  broad  Scotch. 

Upon  which  Lord ,  a  member  of  the  Opposition,  said  to  the  witness, 

"  Have  the  goodness  to  state  whether  Countess  T spoke  Italian  with  as 

broad  an  accent  as  the  noble  Earl  who  has  just  sat  down  speaks  with 
his  native  tongue."  The  late  Sir  Henry  Holland  was  present  when  this 
occurred,  and  used  to  relate  the  anecdote. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  719 

known  apostrophe,  "Come  forth,  thou  slanderer,"  was  magnani- 
mous enough  to  dismiss  it  from  his  recollection.* 

The  ingenious  device  by  which  the  Queen's  friends  actually  sup 
ported  the  divorce  clause,  knowing  that  it  was  odious  to  the  ortho 
dox,  in  spite  of  the  effort  of  the  Government  to  withdraw  it,  was 
successful.  It  is  amusing  to  find  that  though  " the  bishops'"  con- 
sciences were  exercised,  they  obeyed  the  instincts  of  party  rather 
than  of  conscience,  and  supported  the  bill,  divorce  and  all.  By 
these  tactics  the  majority  on  the  third  reading  sank  to  nine,  on 
which  the  Prime  Minister  announced  that  he  would  withdraw  the 
measure.  At  this  moment  of  triumph  a  supporter  of  the  Queen's 
met  her  "coming  out  alone  from  her  waiting-room,  preceded  by  an 
usher.  She  had  been  there  unknown  to  me.  I  stopped  involunta- 
rily; I  could  not  indeed  proceed,  for  she  had  a  dazed  look,  more 
tragical  than  consternation.  She  passed  me;  the  usher  pushed  open 
the  folding  doors  of  the  great  staircase,  she  began  to  descend,  and  I 
followed  instinctively,  two  or  three  steps  behind  her.  She  was  evi- 
dently all  shuddering,  and  she  took  hold  of  the  banister,  pausing  for 
a  moment.  Oh !  that  sudden  clutch  with  which  she  caught  the  rail- 
ing! It  was  as  if  her  hand  had  been  a  skinless  heart.  Four  or  five 
persons  came  in  from  below  before  she  reached  the  bottom  of  the 
stairs.  I  think  Alderman  Wood  was  one  of  them ;  but  I  was  in  in- 
describable confusion.  The  great  globe  itself  was  shaking  under 
me.  I  rushed  past,  and  out  into  the  hastily  assembling  crowd.  The 
pressure  was  as  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  that  shall  be.  I  knew 
not  where  I  was,  but  in  a  moment  a  shouting  in  the  balcony  above, 
on  which  a  number  of  gentlemen  from  the  interior  of  the  House 
were  gathering,  roused  me.  The  multitude  then  began  to  cheer, 
but  at  first  there  was  a  kind  of  stupor :  but  the  sympathy,  however, 
soon  became  general,  and,  winged  by  the  voice,  soon  spread  up  the 
street ;  every  one  instantly,  between  Charing  Cross  and  Whitehall, 
turned  and  came  rushing  down,  filling  Old  and  New  Palace  Yards, 


*  Not  less  unfortunate  was  he  in  other  allusions— as  in  his  finale,  when  he 
talked  of  repentance,  and  bade  her  "  go  and  sin  no  more,"  an  awkward  point, 
which  gave  rise  to  the  pleasant  epigram- 
Gracious  lady  we  implore 
That  you  will  go  and  sin  no  more; 
Or,  if  the  effort  be  too  great, 
Go  away  at  any  rate. 

The  likening  her  to  "  unsunned  snow  "  caused  merriment. 


720  *  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV. 

as  if  a  deluge  were  unsluiced.     The  generous  exultation  of  the  peo 
pie  was  beyond  all  description," 

Brougham  and  Denman  drew  her  into  a  room  to  sign  a  petition  to 
the  House  to  be  heard  by  counsel.  Then  it  was  that  the  woman, 
victorious  and  triumphant,  as  she  wrote  her  name,  "  Caroline,"  add- 
ed ''Begina,"  in  spite  of  them  I 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  721 


CHAPTER  in. 

1831. 

One  of  the  immediate  steps  following  on  the  conclusion  of 
the  trial,  was  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Canning.  The  reasons  given 
showed  his  chivalry  and  delicacy.  These  he  set  out  in  a  letter  to 
the  King. 

"When,  in  the  month  of  June,  I  presumed  humbly  to  represent 
to  your  Majesty  the  impossibility  of  my  talking  any  part  in  the 
proceedings  against  the  Queen,  and  in  consequence  laid  at  your 
Majesty's  feet  the  tender  of  my  resignation,  your  Majesty  had  the 
goodness  and  condescension  to  command  me  to  continue  in  your 
service,  abstaining  from  any  share  in  those  proceedings.  And  your 
Majesty  was  farther  pleased  to  grant  me  full  authority  to  plead  your 
Majesty's  express  commands  for  so  continuing  in  office. 

"That  authority  I  have  not  abused.  And  I  have  persevered  in 
obedience  to  your  Majesty's  commands  (the  generosity  of  which  I 
can  never  sufficiently  acknowledge)  until  a  state  of  things  has  arisen 
to  which  they  cannot  be  considered  as  applying. 

"  The  proceeding  in  the  House  of  Commons,  which  was  then  in 
contemplation  when  your  Majesty's  commands  were  laid  upon  me, 
was  one  which  would  have  been  conducted  (as  that  in  the  House  of 
Lords)  apart  from  all  other  matters.  The  absenting  myself  from 
that  separate  proceeding  would  have  required  no  other  explanation 
than  that  which  your  Majesty  had  so  indulgently  authorized  me  to 
furnish;  nor  need  such  partial  absence  from  the  House  of  Commons 
have  created  any  embarrassment  in  the  general  conduct  of  parlia- 
mentary business. 

"But  the  discussions  respecting  the  Queen,  which  may  now  be 
expected  in  the  House  of  Commons,  will  be  so  much  intermixed 
with  the  general  business  of  the  session,  that  a  minister  could  not 
absent  himself  from  them  without  appearing  virtually  to  abandon 
the  parliamentary  duties  of  his  station.  On  the  other  hand,  to  be 
present,  as  a  minister,  taking  no  part  in  the  discussions,  must  pro 
31 


722  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

duce  not  only  the  most  painful  embarrassment  to  himself,  but  the 
greatest  perplexity  to  his  colleagues,  and  the  utmost  difiadvantage 
to  the  conduct  of  your  Majesty's  affairs." 

THE  KING  TO  MR.  CANNING. 

"  Carlton  House,  Dec.  13th,  1820. 

"The  King  receives  with  regret,  but  not  with  surprise,  Mr. 
Canning's  letter,  tendering  his  resignation. 

"The  King  feels,  as  he  should  do,  the  loss  of  a  servant,  whose 
great  talents  rendered  him  so  very  useful  to  the  Government  and 
the  country." 

In  January,  1821,  the  ministry  determined  to  make  an  allowance 
to  the  Queen.  When  the  King  read  his  speech,  and  mentioned  the 
provision  to  be  made  for  the  Queen,  he  laid  great  emphasis  on  the 
word  "you,"  as  if  he  would  be  no  party  to  it.  He  looked,  too, 
very  black,  and  was  in  no  way  in  a  good  humor.  In  going  down 
to  and  returning  from  the  House  of  Peers,  he  was  civilly  treated. 
Many  cries  of  "Queen,  Queen,"  were  heard;  some  few  people 
applauded;  but  the  general  feeling  was  one  of  contempt  and 
indifference:  the  greater  part  of  the  spectators  not  taking  off  their 
hats.* 

On  the  1st  of  February,  after  the  presentation  of  petitions  in 
reference  to  the  Queen  had  taken  from  four  to  five  hours,  a  message 
from  the  Queen  was  read  to  the  effect  that  she  declined  any  pro- 
vision so  long  as  her  name  was  excluded  from  the  Liturgy.  This 
she  was  persuaded  into  sending  by  Mr.  Brougham,  though  she  was 
disinclined  to  take  his  advice,  saying,  "she  ought  not  to  refuse  the 
only  act  of  kindness  and  consideration  which  the  King  had  shown 
his  subjects  since  his  accession."    The  debatesf  that  followed  were 

*  Grey-Bennett's  "  Diary,"  from  which  the  passages  in  inverted  commas 
that  follow  are  taken. 

t  An  amusing  story  is  recorded  by  the  same  diarist.  In  one  of  these  debates 
"  Mr.  Horace  Twiss  replied— a  lawyer-like  artificial  speech,  got  up  with  care, 
but  singularly  absurd;  good  language  in  general,  but  foolish  throughout. 
Macintosh  told  me  that  Dr.  Holland  informed  him  that  as  he  was  going  down 
Bearle  Street,  where  Twiss  lives,  he  saw  a  crowd  of  p»ersons  standing  under 
the  window  of  his  lodgings,  and  joining  them,  he  found  they  were  listening  to 
some  one  haranguing  to  himself  in  the  room  above.    While  he  stood  there  he 

heard:  'Mr.  Speaker,— The  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties '    In  this  way  Mr. 

Twiss  prepared  bis  speech." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  723 

of  the  most  exciting  kind.  We  hear  of  Brougham  being  called  to 
order  for  alluding  to  the  House  as  persons  who  "  presumed  to  think 
themselves  administrators,"  decharing  his  perfect  faith  m  her  inno- 
cence, and  invoking  maledictions  on  himself  if  he  were  not  speaking 
the  truth — "tearing  opponents  limb  from  limb."  It  was  determined 
to  appeal  for  a  subscription  to  be  set  on  foot  by  her  party  in  lieu  of 
an  allowance.  But  the  great  Whig  lords  either  objected  to  the  pro- 
posal or  took  it  up  very  coldly,  and  it  flagged  from  the  outset.  After 
various  ineffectual  attempts  to  kindle  enthusiasm,  the  changeable 
woman  began  to  think  that  she  would  accept  the  provision  from  the 
public  purse. 

"I  dined,"  said  Mr.  Grey-Bennett,  "on  Saturday  the  17th  inst., 
with  the  Queen  at  Brandenburgh  House.  The  party  consisted  of 
the  Duke  of  Bedford,  Lord  Grey,  Lord  Nugent,  my  brother  Ossul- 
ston-Lambton  and  Lady  Louisa  Brougham,  Mr.  Lushington,  Alder- 
man Wood,  Sir  R.  Fergusson,  Mr.  Den  man,  Lord  A.  Hamilton, 
Madame  Oldi,  Madame  Fabrici,  Major  Antaldi,  and  two  or  three 
other  Italian  gentlemen.  The  dinner  was  good  and  agreeable,  the 
Queen  very  civil  and  free,  and  evidently  more  at  her  ease  and  more 
tranquil  within  than  she  was  when  I  dined  there  before  Christmas. 
She,  as  usual,  by  her  natural  gait  of  a  bad  manner,  with  a  short, 
fat,  clumpy,  ilKdressed  figure,  and  by  endeavoring  to  look  tall  and 
young,  contrived  by  several  strange  and  curious  movements  to  be 
the  very  reverse  of  a  queen;  but  no  one  who  studied  the  manner, 
such  as  it  was,  but  must  have  been  convinced  how  easily  an  unpar- 
donable interpretation  might  be  given,  and  yet  how  unjust  and  ill- 
founded  such  construction  might  be." 

The  King  carried  out  his  role  of  indifference  not  unskilfully  at 
levees.  "Many  petitions  were  presented  to  him  about  the  Queen; 
he  was  very  civil  to  some  persons  and  rude  to  others.  Lord  Grey 
he  received  in  a  very  marked  and  good-humored  manner.  He  said 
to  the  Duke  of  Bedford:  'How  do  you  do,  my  lord?  I  hope  the 
Duchess  is  well.'  At  the  last  levee  he  had  only  said,  as  the  Duke 
passed  by:  '  How  does  your  grace  do? '  The  Duke  of  Leinster  pre- 
sented several  petitions  about  the  Queen.  The  King  took  the  first, 
and,  with  a  sneer,  said,  'Et  csetera,  et  caetera,  et  caetera,  et  csetera.' 
Lord  Darlington,  not  being  able  to  wait  for  the  levee  (Lady  Dar- 
lington being  ill  in  the  north),  wrote  to  Bloomfield  to  present  the 
city  of  Durham  petition  at  Brighton.  Bloomfield  replied  that  the 
King  made  it  a  rule  to  do  no  business  at  Brighton,  and  that  for 
many  years  the  King  and  Lord  Darlington  had  not  been  upon  such 


724  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

terms  as  to  warrant  his  asking  to  be  received  privately.  Lord  Dar- 
lington upon  this  waited  upon  Lord  Sidmouth,  who  read  the  cor- 
respondence, and,  saying  nothing,  only  begged  Lord  Darlington 
not  to  leave  town,  but  to  wait  upon  him  on  the  next  day.  Some 
short  time  before  the  hour  fixed  Lord  Darlington  received  a  note 
postponing  the  visit  to  the  following  morning.  When  he  came  to 
the  Home  Office  Lord  Sidmouth  said :  '  Your  lordship  must  have 
observed  my  astonishment  at  the  letter  you  did  me  the  honor  to 
show  me  a  few  days  back.  Accordingly,  the  moment  I  got  home, 
I  sent  a  special  messenger  down  to  Brighton  with  a  letter  to  the 
King,  praying  him  to  reconsider  his  resolution.  I  have  this  day 
received  an  answer,  and  his  Majesty  will  receive  your  lordship 
to-morrow  morning.'  This  is  amusing,  and  of  a  piece  with  a  speech  of 
Lord  Sidmouth's  to  the  Archbishop  of  York  during  the  Queen's  trial. 
'My  lord,'  he  said,  '  the  King  will  ruin  us  all;  he  hangs  like  a  dead 
weight  about  us.'  Lord  Darlington  went  down  to  Brighton,  had 
his  audience,  and  presented  his  petitions.  On  receiving  them  the 
King  said :  *  My  lord,  you  have  done  your  duty,  and  I  have  done 
mine,'  and  bowed  him  out  of  the  room," 

"The  Queen  wrote  a  letter,"  goes  on  Mr.  Grey-Bennett,  "a  few 
days  back,  to  Lord  Liverpool,  accepting  the  £50,000  a  year,  and 
returning  thanks  to  the  King  for  it.  This  letter  she  wrote  of  her 
own  accord,  consulting  no  one,  not  even  Alderman  Wood,  who, 
aware  of  her  intention,  and  wishing  to  throw  an  impediment  in  the 
way,  took  off  in  his  pocket  Lord  Liverpool's  letter  to  her,  announc- 
ing the  parliamentary  grant,  and  the  King's  consent  to  the  bill.  He 
told  me  he  had  advised  her  to  consult  Denman  as  to  the  terms  of 
the  letter  (Brougham  being  out  of  town  on  the  circuit),  but. she  did 
no  such  thing.  The  ministers  are  very  triumphant  at  this  act.  and 
the  letter  is  very  unworthy  of  her,  the  expressions  being  by  far  loo 
humble,  aud  the  tone  not  at  all  that  of  defiance,  which  it  was  the 
duty  she  owed  to  herself  at  all  times  to  take.  They  and  their 
friends  now  say,  '  She  will  go  abroad  immediately,  and  that  she  has 
given  up  Brougham,' etc.,  etc.,  etc.  She  has,  to  my  mind,  done 
another  foolish  thing,  and  when  she  acts  of  herself  she  seldom  docs 
a  wise  one." 

She  then  made  another  foolish  demand  to  be  admitted  to  the 
Drawing  Room,  and  being  refused,  declared  that  she  would  go,  but 
wa«  dissuaded  by  her  friends.  Yet  there  was  something  almost 
pathetic  in  the  position  of  the  unfortunate,  who,  it  was  plain,  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  725 

not  indisposed  to  peace  and  reconciliation,  but  was  urged  forward 
by  tlie  faction. 

" I  went  in  the  morning,"  says  the  diarist,  "to  take  up  an  address 
from  the  people  of  Manchester  to  the  Queen,  signed  by  9,000  per- 
sons. We  found  there  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  Lord  Milton,  and  Mr. 
William  Russell,  Sir  William  Eowley,  Sir  G.  Anson,  Mr.  Pym,  Mr. 
Whitbread,  and  many  others  of  the  House  of  Commons,  all  with 
addresses.  Lady  Anne  Hamilton  said  to  me:  'This,  indeed,  is  a 
Queen's  levee. '  Brougham  came  home  with  Lambton  and  myself, 
and  showed  us  the  communication  of  the  Queen  refusing  the  money; 
he  said  that  with  great  difficulty  he  had  persuaded  her  to  sign  it, 
and  showed  us  a  letter  from  her  to  him  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  in 
which  she  said,  '  that  she  thought  she  ought  not  to  refuse  the  only 
act  of  kindness  and  consideration  which  the  King  had  shown  his 
subjects  since  his  accession  to  the  throne.'  Brougham,  however, 
persevered  and  convinced  her  she  had  nothing  left  but  to  sign  the 
paper,  and  that  the  country  would  stand  by  her." 

Returning  now  to  his  Majesty,  we  find  him  engrossed  in  prepara- 
tions for  a  scheme  that  kindled  his  utmost  enthusiasm.  He  had 
resolved  to  be  crowned.  The  circumstances  were  more  embarrass- 
ing now  than  they  would  have  been  the  preceding  year;  but  he  was 
eager  to  attempt  it. 


726  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOMGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  rV. 

1821. 

The  magnificent  ceremonial  of  the  coronation  of  George  IV.  is 
described  by  tliose  who  witnessed  it  as  one  of  the  most  dazzling 
pageants  that  could  be  conceived.  It  was  the  last,  and  probably 
will  be  the  last,  that  was  carried  out  on  such  a  scale  and  with  due 
attention  to  the  old  and  chivalric  theatrical  elements  of  the  cere- 
mony. With  such  a  monarch  it  was  a  show  that  was  indeed  after 
his  own  heart  and  his  special  tastes.  In  the  preceding  year  a  day 
had  been  fixed,  and  the  "  Court  of  Claims"  had  begun  to  sit,  when 
tidings  arrived  of  the  Queen  being  on  her  way  home.  This  dis- 
agreeable news  threw  all  into  confusion,  and  it  was  determined  to 
put  the  ceremonial  off.  The  following  year  it  was  determined  to 
proceed  afresh,  even  though  the  Queen  was  likely  to  give  some 
trouble.  The  most  costly  preparations  were  set  on  foot.  The 
"  Court  of  Claims,"  for  adjudging  on  the  persons  who  were  entitled 
to  be  present,  again  sat.  Fancy  dresses  and  jewels  were  ordered. 
Westminster  Abbey  and  Westminster  Hall  rang  to  the  sounds  of 
workmen. 

The  singular  correspondence  that  follows,  relative  to  the  unhappy 
lady's  claim  to  share  in  the  proceedings,  will  be  found  interesting 
if  not  amusing. 

THE  QUEEN  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Brandenbourgh  House,  Sthe  of  March,  1821. 
"The  Queen  having  been  informed  through  the  midium  of  Lord 
Liverpool,  namely,  that  Purlemcnt  had  voted  a  Provision  for  the 
Queen,  and  that  the  sum  agreed  to  by  the  two  Houses  of  Parle- 
ment  would  be  ready  for  the  immediate  use  of  the  Qurcii.  slic  find 
herself  under  the  ncoossity  of  ncropting  it,  with  a  sense  of  gratitude 
towards  tlx'  K\\\'^.  liiviiii  Ikch  jiroposed  by  his  majesty  himself  at 
the  opening  of  Parlemcut;  and  the  Queen  is  only  anxious  to  show 
to  the  King  that  She  wishesse  to  Received  from  Him,  and  not  from 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  727 

a  mere  Party  Spirit.  The  Queen  at  the  same  time  thinks  herself 
authorized  to  look  upon  this  messure  as  the  first  act  of  Justice  of 
his  majesty  toward's  the  Queen.  She  also  add  that  she  most  enter- 
tains the  flattering  expectation  that  the  same  sentimens  of  Justice 
which  has  prevailed  in  her  favor  will  also  effect  upon  the  Heart  of 
the  King,  by  plaicing  her  name  in  the  Liturgi  as  Queen,  as  such 
having  been  the  Rights  and  custum  of  Her  Predece,ssors,  The 
Queen  can  never  forget  what  difficulties,  and  a  great  deal  of 
troubles  She  has  undergone  on  that  account  upon  the  Continant  by 
having  her  Name  been  omitted  in  the  Liturgi,  and  in  consequence* 
She  deed  not  Received  the  Honor  which  where  due  to  the  Queen, 
as  the  Consort  to  the  King  of  England. 

"Justice  is  the  basis  of  happiness  for  King's,  and  the  good  judg- 
ment of  His  Majesty  will  point  it  out  to  him  the  Methods  by  which 
he  will  accelerate  the  wish  of  his  People,  and  the  satisfaction  of 
the  Queen  on  this  subject,  and  the  Queen  has  not  the  least  doubt 
but  that  the  King  will,  taking  into  his  consideration  the  Queen's 
situation,  and  to  act  accordinly  with  that  generosity  which  Char- 
acterizes a  great  Mind.  Under  such  circumstances  the  Queen  sub- 
mit herself  intierly  to  his  majesty's  dicesion. 

**  Caroline  R." 


MINUTB  OP  CABINET. 

"March  19th,  1821. 

"  It  is  not  probable  that,  after  receiving  the  proposed  answer,  the 
Queen  should  make  any  attempt  to  come  to  Court  on  Thursday. 

"  It  appears  to  be  proper,  however,  to  be  prepared  for  such  an 
event,  in  ca3e  it  should  occur.  The  King's  confidential  servants  are 
unanimously  and  decidedly  of  opinion  that  in  such  case  no  attempt 
should  be  made  to  obstruct  the  Queen  on  her  way  to  Buckingham 
House.  Such  obstruction  could  not  be  made  without  the  risk  of 
creating  general  confusion  in  the  metropolis,  and  of  shedding 
quantities  of  blood. 

"It  is  proposed  therefore  that  if  the  Queen  should  arrive  at 
Buckingham  House  she  should  be  immediately  shown  into  a  room 
on  the  ground-floor,  and  that  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  Vice-Cham- 
berlain, or  some  other  officer  of  his  Majesty's  household,  should  be 
sent  to  her  to  receive  her  petition. 

"If  she  should  decline  delivering  it  into  any  hands  but  the 
King's,  the  King  should  not  be  advised  to  permit  her  to  eome  up  to 


728  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  drawing-room,  but  should  himself  go  down  to  the  room  where 
the  Queen  is,  attended  by  such  of  his  household  and  his  ministers 
as  may  be  there,  and  receive  the  petition. 

"It  is  conceived  that  there  can  be  no  difficulty,  by  previous 
arrangements  such  as  those  which  have  been  recently  adopted,  to 
prevent  the  Queen  from  coming  up  the  stairs,  without  incurring 
any  of  the  inconveniences  which  must  arise  from  a  conflict  in  the 
streets  or  in  the  park." 


THE  PETITION  OF  CAROLINE,  QUEEN  CONSORT,  TO  THE  KING'S  MOST 
EXCELLENT  MAJESTY. 

"  Brandenbourgh  House,  March  21st,  1821. 

*'  Her  Majesty  seeks  to  lay  before  the  King  this  representation  of 
the  grievance  to  which  she  has  been  subjected  by  the  continued 
omission  of  her  name  in  the  Liturgy.  The  privilege  of  being 
prayed  for  by  name  in  the  Church  service  has  been  enjoyed  by  her 
predecessors  Queens  Consorts  of  England  from  the  time  of  the* 
Reformation,  and  has  been  ever  highly  esteemed  as  a  mark  of  honor 
and  dignity. 

"Her  Majesty  has  always  been  impressed  with  the  strongest 
feelings  of  regret  that  the  King  should  have  yielded  to  any  advice 
by  which  she  sliould  be  exckided,  and  thereby  degraded  in  the 
estimation  both  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  and  of  foreign  nations. 
All  further  proceedings  against  her  Majesty  being  now  finally 
abandoned,  the  Queen  solicits  your  Majesty  as  an  act  of  justice  and 
grace  to  permit  her  the  enjoyment  of  that  privilege  now  so  long 
withheld. 

"The  Queen  with  reluctance  makes  this  her  appeal  to  your 
Majesty,  and  earnestly  prays  that  this,  her  only  request,  may  be 
granted.  Caroline  R." 

THE  kino  to  lord  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Carlton  House,  Wednesday,  March  21st,  1821. 

"The  King  has  the  pleasure  to  return  to  Lord  Liverpool  the 
Queen's  note  and  petition,  and  has  no  doubt  that  his  lordship  will 
return  a  proper  answer  to  each. 

"The  King  congratulates  Lord  Liverpool  upon  the  prospect  of 
his  being  relieved  from  a  disagreeable  duty  to-morrow." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT-  729 


THE  QUEEN  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  29the  of  April, 
"The  Queen,  after  having  been  a  considerable  time  of  receiving 
a  answer  from  Lord  Liverpool,  in  consequence  of  the  last  conversa- 
tion that  passed  between  his  Lordship  and  Doctor  Lushington: 

"  Her  majesty  feels  herself  under  the  necessity  to  establish  herself 
in  England,  and  communicates  to  Lord  Liverpool  that  the  Queen 
intends  to  be  present  at  the  Coronation,  and  requests  him  to  present 
the  inclosed  letter  to  his  majesty. 

"Carollne  R." 

THE   SAME. 

"  Brandenbourgh  House,  Sunday,  29th  of  April,  1821. 

"The  Queen  from  circumstances  being  obliged  to  remain  in  Eng- 
land, she  requests  the  King  will  be  pleased  to  command  those 
Ladies  of  the  first  Rank  his  majesty  may  think  the  most  proper  in 
this  Realms,  to  attend  the  Queen  on  the  day  of  the  Coronation,  of 
which  her  majesty  is  informed  is  now  fixed,  and  also  to  name  such 
Ladies  which  will  be  required  to  bear  Her  majesty's  Train  on  that 
day. 

"The  Queen  being  particularly  anxious  to  submit  to  the  good 
Taste  of  his  majesty,  most  earnestly  entreate  the  King  to  informe 
the  Queen  in  what  Dresse  the  King  wishes  the  Queen  to  appear  in, 
on  that  day,  at  the  Coronation. 

"CAROLnSTE  R." 

LORD  LIVERPOOL  TO  THE  KING. 

"  Fife  House,  30th  April,  1821. 
"Lord  Liverpool  has  the  honor  to  send  your  Majesty  a  letter 
addressed  to  your  Majesty  by  the  Queen,  and  likewise  a  copy  of  a 
letter  from  the  Queen  to  Lord  Liverpool. 

"The  communication  from  Dr.  Lushington  to  which  the  Queen 
refers  took  place  somewhat  more  than  a  fortnight  since." 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"[Most  private.] 

"  Brighton,  May  1st,  1821. 

"The  King  has  just  received  the  box  from  Lord  Liverpool,  con- 
taining the  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  Queen  to  Lord  Liverpool,  and 

31* 


730  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Lord  Liverpool's  account  of  a  conversation  which  took  place  a  short 
time  since  between  Lord  Liverpool  and  Dr.  Lushington,  referred  to 
in  the  Queen's  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  and  a  letter  from  the  Queen 
addressed  to  the  King. 

"  The  King  highly  approves  of  the  line  and  of  the  tone  taken  by 
Lord  Liverpool  in  his  conversation  with  Dr.  Lushington.  The 
King,  however,  entertains  considerable  doubts  whether  some  de- 
cided notice  should  not  be  taken  of  the  '  threat '  (as  Lord  Liverpool 
justly  terms  it)  l>eld  out  by  the  Queen  in  her  letter  to  Lord  Liver- 
pool, 'of  her  intention  of  being  present  at  the  coronation.'  Had 
such  an  intimation  reached  Lord  Liverpool  merely  in  the  shape  of 
an  idle  report  or  of  a  fabrication,  such  as  almost  every  day  pro- 
duces, the  King  w^ould  then  entirely  concur  with  Lord  Liverpool's 
opinion  that  it  would  not  justify  any  direct  notice  being  taken  of  it. 

"The  matter  here,  however,  stands  widely  different,  as  the 
Queen  has  decidedly  and  pointedly  specified  to  Lord  Liverpool  that 
it  is  her  intention  to  obtrude  herself  at  the  King's  coronation.  If, 
therefore,  the  subject  were  suffered  to  pass  over  in  utter  silence 
after  this  express  and  positive  declaration  on  the  part  of  the  Queen, 
officially  communicated  by  her  under  her  own  hand  to  Lord  Liver- 
pool as  the  King's  first  minister,  the  Queen,  on  the  one  hand,  might 
have  some  sort  of  color  to  assume  that  it  had  never  been  formally 
notified  to  her,  as  it  is  now  the  king's  intention  that  it  shall  be,  that 
she  should  never  be  suffered  by  the  King,  under  any  circumstances, 
to  appear  at  that  most  solemn  ceremony,  the  law  having  placed  the 
entire  control  upon  that  head  in  the  hands  and  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  King:  while,  on  the  other  hand,  she  might  attribute  such  silence 
to  an  unworthy  timidity  on  the  part  of  the  King  and  of  his  Govern- 
ment, as  well  as  invidiously  pretend  that  her  intimation  upon  this 
point  had  not  only  not  been  treated  with  common  civility,  but  had 
been  contemptuously  disregarded. 

"Lord  Liverpool  will  observe  that  the  King  returns  unopened 
the  letter  addressed  by  the  Queen  to  the  King.  This  is  only  in 
conformity  to  a  resolution  adopted  more  than  twenty  years  ago, 
and  since  invariably  adhered  to  by  the  King  (but  which  must  have 
escaped  Lord  Liverpool's  recollection)  that  tlic  Kiiiu  would  never 
again  receive  or  open  any  letter  or  paper  addressed  to  him  person- 
ally by  the  Queen. 

"  The  King  will  only  further  suggest  to  Lord  Liverpool  the  pro- 
priety of  i)ostpf)ning  any  reply  or  communication  whatsoever  upon 
this  subject  to  the   Quccii  until  after  the  Court  at  Buckingham 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  731 

House  on  Thursday  next.  From  what  so  recently  occurred  with 
respect  to  the  last  drawing-room,  the  King  thinks  that  Lord  Liver- 
pool will  clearly  perceive  the  wisdom  of  this  precaution." 

LORD  LIVERPOOL  TO  THE  QUEEN. 

"  Fife  House,  May  4th,  1821. 

"  Lord  Liverpool  has  the  honor  to  inform  the  Queen  that,  as  it 
has  been  his  majesty's  invariable  determination  for  some  years  to 
receive  no  communication  from  the  Queen  except  through  his  Gov- 
ernment, the  King  directed  Lord  Liverpool  to  open  the  Queen's 
letter;  and.  Lord  Liverpool  having  laid  the  substance  of  it  before 
his  majesty,  the  King  has  commanded  Lord  Liverpool  to  say  in  an- 
swer that  it  is  his  Majesty's  prerogative  to  regulate  the  ceremonial 
of  his  coronation  in  such  manner  as  he  may  think  fit;  that  the 
Queen  can  form  no  part  of  that  ceremonial,  except  in  consequence 
of  a  distinct  authority  from  the  King,  and  that  it  is  not  his  majes- 
ty's intention  under  the  present  circumstances  to  give  any  such 
authority. 

"Lord  Liverpool  thinks  it  must  be  unnecessary,  in  consequence 
of  this  communication,  to  notice  the  other  points  in  the  Queen's 
letter,  but  he  will  further  add  that  the  King  has  dispensed  with  the 
attendance  of  all  ladies  upon  his  coronation." 

THE  Q.UEEN  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Brandenbourgh  House,  Saturday,  May  5th. 
"  The  Queen  is  much  surprised  at  Lord  Liverpool's  answer,  and 
assures  the  Earl  that  her  majesty  is  determined  to  attend  at  the 
coronation ;  the  Queen  considering  it  as  one  of  her  rights  and  privi- 
leges, which  her  majesty  is  resolved  ever  to  maintain." 

LORD  LrVERPOOL  TO  THE  KING. 

"  Fife  House,  May  5th,  1821. 
"  Lord  Liverpool  has  the  honor  to  send  your  majesty  the  answer 
which  he  has  received  from  the  Queen.  Lord  Liverpool  humbly 
submits  that  the  correspondence  would  better  end  here,  at  least  for 
the  present.  The  threat  is  an  empty  threat,  which  the  Queen  has 
evidently  not  the  power  of  carrying  into  execution,  and  must 
appear  to  have  been  made  solely  with  a  view  to  extorting  money. 
"Lord  Livei-pool  will  request  your  majesty  to  be  pleased  to  re- 


732  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

turn  the  Queen's  letter.     Lord  Liverpool  has  directed  a  copy  to  be 
prepared  for  your  majesty  of  the  whole  correspondence." 

"Fife  House,  May  7th,  1821. 
"Lord  Liverpool  has  received  the  King's  commands,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  last  commuuication  of  the  Queen  to  Lord  Liverpool 
of  the  5th  inst.,  to  inform  the  Queen  that  his  majesty  having  de- 
termined that  the  Queen  shall  foi-m  no  part  of  the  ceremonial  of  his 
coronation,  it  is  therefore  the  royal  pleasure  that  the  Queen  shall 
not  attend  the  said  ceremony." 

The  Queen  persisting  in  her  demand  to  be  crowned,  she  was  at 
last  referred  to  the  Privy  Council,  when  the  question  was  argued 
by  her  counsel.  A  curious  array  of  precedents  showed  that  most 
of  the  queens  had  not  been  crowned  with  their  husbands,  and  some 
not  at  all.  The  King  therefore,  having  the  discretion,  declined  to 
sanction  her  being  crowned  with  him. 

The  eagerness  to  be  present  was  extraordinary,  which  a  dispute 
that  arose  between  the  Chamberlain  and  other  high  functionaries, 
as  to  who  were  entitled  to  give  away  seats  in  Westminster  Hall, 
tended  to  increase.  The  whole  area  between  the  Abbey  and  the 
Hall  was  filled  with  grand-stands  and  galleries.  The  Dean  and 
Chapter  farmed  out  the  side  aisle  of  the  Abbey — as  it  was  their 
privilege — to  a  speculator,  to  be  fitted  up  with  boxes,  which  he  let 
at  an  enormous  price.  Special  envoys  came  from  all  the  Courts. 
Every  peer  was  given  five  tickets,  all  the  great  functionaries  had 
a  certain  number,  but  the  Chamberlain  and  High  Steward  had  the 
distribution  of  three  and  four  thousand  apiece  respectively. 

On  the  eve  of  the  ceremonial  the  King  came  to  stay  at  the 
Speaker's,  while  at  one  in  the  morning  the  guests  began  to  arrive. 
At  that  hour,  indeed,  all  the  streets  were  crowded  and  blocked  with 
carriages.  Some  slept  in  the  stands:  the  Guards  were  under  arms 
all  the  night.  At  ten  o'clock  his  Majesty  appeared,  and  a  proces- 
sion was  formed  in  Westminster  Hall.  He  entered  at  ten  o'clock, 
wearing  his  magnificent  robes,  said  to  have  cost  £25,000.  The  cost 
of  the  jewels  for  the  coronation  was  enormous,  and  the  amount 
was  swelled  by  the  addition  of  costly  ornaments  which  his  Majesty 
obtained  for  one  of  his  favorites,  which  it  was  attempted  to  include 
in  the  estimate.  This  was  discovered  by  Sir  Benjamin  Bloomfield, 
and  exposed,  which  entailed  his  fall  and  banishment.  The  King's 
herbwoman,  attended  by  six  maids,  led  the  way.  Dignitaries,  lay 
and  ecclesiastical,  followed.     English,  Irish,  and  Scotch  lords,  bear- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  733 

ing  the  standards  of  their  respective  countries.  The  Knights  of  the 
Bath,  in  blue  and  silver,  succeeded ;  and  it  was  noted  that  of  all  the 
brilliant  figures  Lord  Londonderry,  the  only  one  v^ho  wore  the  full 
robes  of  the  Garter,  was  the  most  striking  and  imposing.  There 
was  but  one  noble  surviving  who  had  walked  at  the  coronation  of 
George  III. — the  Duke  of  Gordon — but  he  was  too  infirm  to  attend. 
The  King  was  dreadfully  exhausted,  the  heat  adding  to  his  fatigue, 
and  it  was  thought  he  would  have  fainted.  The  splendid  scene  that 
waited  him  at  the  Abbey  restored  him.  The  weight  of  his  cloak, 
though  the  train  was  borne  by  seven  supporters,  added  to  his  dis- 
tress. Then  the  religious  rites,  of  great  length,  began — the  anoint- 
ing, a  sermon,  the  taking  the  Sacrament,  when  the  Archbishop 
prayed  that  "he  might  observe  the  commandments  of  God."  * 

In  the  evening  followed  the  grand  banquet  in  Westminster  Hall, 
a  more  magnificent  scene  still.  A  sort  of  scene-painter's  Gothic 
archway,  with  folding  gates,  had  been  erected  at  the  bottom,  through 
which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lord  Anglesey  and  others  rode 
up  to  do  service.  The  excitement  rose  to  its  height  when  the  well- 
known  spectacle  of  the  challenge  was  performed.  Young  Dymoke, 
the  hereditary  champion,  in  full  armor,  rode  in — his  horse  was 
furnished  from  a  circus — and  three  different  times  flung  down  his 
gauntlet,  while  the  challenge  was  proclaimed  by  a  herald.  The 
King  drank  to  him  from  a  gold  cup,  and  he  drank  to  the  King,  re- 
ceiving the  goblet  "as  his  fee."  He  retired  backwards. f  It  is  a 
pity  that  this  good  old  ceremony  has  been  abolished.  It  was  related 
as  a  prodigy  of  culinary  organization,  that  240  tureens  of  soup, 
7000  lb.  of  beef,  20,000  lb.  of  mutton,  etc.,  were  served;  but  in  our 
time  the  ordinary  professional  caterer  would  smile  at  such  an  insig- 
nificant call  on  his  exertions,  t 

This  great  day  thus  passed  over  with  infinite  success  for  all  con- 
cerned, save  the  unhappy  Queen,  who  was  persuaded  to  attempt  the 
profitless  venture  of  forcing  herself  on  the  ceremonies.  At  an  early 
hour  she  set  off  in  her  coach  and  six,  attended  by  Lord  Hood,  who, 
as  we  shall  see,  was  to  figure  later  in  the  King's  interest.     After 

*  When  the  King  returned  from  St,  Edward's  Chapel,  where  some  of  the 
rites  had  taken  place,  he  found  the  Abbey  almost  deserted  by  the  tired  peers 
and  peeresses,  "but  he  moved  about  with  great  good-humor,"  and  spoke  to 
those  he  knew. 

t  The  hero  of  a  hundred  fights  had  also  to  back  his  steed,  which  was  found 
embarrassing  to  Lord  Hood,  whose  horse  was  not  well  bitted. 

t  There  were  100  dozens  of  champagne,  200  of  claret,  and  350,000  of  port  and 
sherry.    Three  thousand  persons  were  entertained  in  adjoining  rooms. 


734  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

having  passed  in,  on  a  ticket,  not  her  own,  and  been  refused  admit- 
tance at  various  entrances,  the  following  scene  took  place  on  her 
first  attempt.  A  number  of  soldiers  drew  across  her  path,  and  she 
was  asked  for  her  ticket.  Lord  Hood  said:  "Don't  you  know  your 
Queen?  She  needs  no  ticket."  The  official  said  he  had  his  orders, 
which  were,  to  admit  no  one  without  a  ticket.  Lord  Hood  then 
produced  his  ticket,  and  the  man  said,  according  to  the  report,  that 
she  might  enter  upon  that.  She  hesitated,  then  declined.*  What 
would  have  occurred  had  she  obtained  permission — whether  she 
would  have  advanced  and  taken  her  place  beside  her  consort,  on 
which  some  unseemly  scene  would  have  followed — it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  say;  but  it  was  agreed  by  friends  and  enemies  that  it  was  an 
undignified  and  fruitless  proceeding,  as  she  attempted  it ;  and  that, 
if  attempted  at  all,  it  should  have  been  carried  through  with  daring 
and  resolution.  As  she  retreated  baffled,  scornful  jeers  from  the 
crowd — whose  sympathies  are  often  forfeited  by  defeat  or  repulse — 
followed  her. 

From  this  time  all  her  proceedings  were  marked  with  worse  than 
the  old  recklessness.  On  that  evening  she  wrote  to  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  demanding  in  consequence  "of  the  insult  of  that  morn- 
ing," to  be  crowned  by  herself  within  a  week;  as  the  preparations 
being  ready,  it  would  save  expense  to  the  nation!  A  few  nights 
later,  Denman  went  to  see  her,  and  found  her  with  a  large  party, 
dancing,  laughing,  and  romping,  "  but  he  saw  that  her  spirits  were 
frightfully  overstrained."  Indeed,  her  friends  held  that  she  had 
received  her  death-blow  in  that  mortification.  But  this  may  be 
fairly  doubted,  as  her  nerves  were  not  of  such  delicate  texture. 

This  magnificent  celebration  being  happily  concluded,  to  his  great 
glory,  the  King  was  now  free  to  consider  other  schemes — and 
notably  to  cultivate  his  favorite  passion  for  building.  We  may 
review  the  state  of  affairs  to  which  his  mania  for  rebuilding  or  al- 
tering his  two  palaces  of  Windsor  and  Buckingham  House  had 
brought  him.     The  year  before  his  death  the  account  stood  thus: 

Origrinal  Estimate.  Cost.                   Excess. 

Windsor  Castle,  building £150,000  £325,000           £175,000 

State  Apartments (Unknown) 

Furniture,  etc £150,000  £167,000             £17,000 

Lands £58,000 

Total £300.000  £550,000  £250,000 

♦  This  part  of  the  story  seems  improbable,  as  it  Is  likely  the  tickets  were 
personal  and  not  transferable. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  735 

Thus  here  was  an  unwarranted  debt  of  £250, 000  incurred.  "We 
turn  to  Buckingham  House,  and  find  that  the  estimate  was  £270,000, 
the  actual  cost  £482,000— an  excess  of  £212,000— making  nearly 
half  a  million  together.  But  even  this  was  not  all.  The  net  revenue 
of  the  Woods  and  Forests,  reaching  a  surplus  of  £70,000  a  year,  had 
been  allotted  to  pay  for  the  building  as  it  went  on;  but  it  was  found 
out  that  this  ready-money  had  been  seized  on  and  devoted  to  other 
building  purposes,  leaving  but  a  balance  of  £4000  a  year  for  the 
palaces.*  How  these  unlawful  plunderings  were  tolerated  is  incon- 
ceivable. An  advance  out  of  moneys  owing  by  the  French  Govern- 
ment was  then  made,  equally  unjustifiable,  and  amounting  to 
£250,000.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  mentioned  that  it  was 
calculated  that  the  rents  of  the  new  Carlton  House  Terrace  would 
sell  for  £70,000.  Nash,  his  favorite  architect,  had  been  concerned 
in  all  his  plans  for  the  Pavilion  and  the  new  Regent  quarter.  These 
proceedings  show  that  it  was  not  so  unprecedented  a  thing  for  min- 
isters to  allow  the  King  to  help  himself  to  "  odds  and  ends  "  of  the 
public  moneys  as  Mr.  Herries,  in  his  Memoir  of  his  father,  would 
make  out.  It  is  impossible  that  the  Secretary  to  the  Treasury  should 
not  have  at  least  known  of  these  practices.  The  result,  however, 
was  to  raze,  not  St.  James'  Palace,  f  but  Carlton  House,  and  to  take 
Buckingham  House  in  hand  for  restoration,  or  rather  rebuilding. 
Accordingly,  in  1825,  it  was  handed  over  to  the  builders  and  archi- 
tect, and  at  the  King's  death  was  left  an  unfinished  pile.  The  King 
took  his  favorite  mode  of  planning  piecemeal  and  altering  bit  by  bit, 
to  which  his  favorite  was  obliged  to  adapt  his  plans  and  suggestions. 
It  should,  however,  be  stated  that  the  Duke  of  Montrose  assured 
Lord  Colchester  that  a  calcul?.tion  had  been  made  of  the  repairs 
necessary  for  Carlton  House,  and  also  for  those  of  Buckingham 
House,  and  that  there  was  but  little  difference  between  them. 


*  It  had  been  thus  spent: 

On  account  of  York  House £57,000 

Finishing  Windsor 19,450 

Ditto,  New  Carlton  House 11,078 

Ditto,  Downing  Street 3,017  . 

Redemption  of  Land  Tax,  Carlton  House 22,022 

Alterations,  St.  James's  Park 6,000 

£118,562 
t  "Life  of  Lord  Liverpool,"  v.  p.  420.     This  proposal,  already  referred  to, 
probably  concerns  the  grounds  round  St.  James's  Palace  gardens,  etc..  and 
does  not,  as  Mr.  Young  thinks,  imply  that  the  palace  was  to  be  razed.    The 
strict  meaning,  however,  seems  to  convey  that  the  palace  was  to  be  levelled. 


736  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

"Other  alterations  of  an  architectural  sort  are  also  proceeding  in 
London,"  wrote  Lord  Colchester  later.  "The  King's  new  palace, 
on  the  site  of  Buckingham  House,  is  covered  in ;  the  Duke  of  York's, 
on  the  site  of  his  former  house,  is  sold  in  its  unfinished  state  to  Lord 
Stafford  for  £80,000;  and  he  gives  £30,000  more  to  Lord  Gower  to 
finish  it  for  his  residence.  Carlton  House  has  nearly  disappeared; 
and  the  new  terrace  of  houses  towards  the  Mall  is  rising  rapidly ;  the 
grass  part  of  St.  James's  Park  is  to  be  laid  out  in  shrubberies  like 
Regent's  Park.  New  gateways,  colonnaded,  are  already  built  at 
Hyde  Park  Corner,  leading  on  one  side  into  the  King's  garden  by 
Constitution  Hill,  and  on  the  other  side  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington's 
house,  into  Hyde  Park.  A  new  bridge  of  five  arches  has  been 
thrown  across  the  Serpentine,  at  the  end  nearest  to  Kensington  Gar- 
dens ;  and  a  new  carriage  drive  has  been  made  round  the  whole  of 
the  Park  north  of  the  Serpentine,  which  makes  a  most  desirable 
addition  to  the  airing  ground  for  carriages  and  equestrians." 

To  the  Londoner  few  objects  are  more  familiar  than  the  Marble 
Arch,  the  Oxford  Street  entrance  to  the  Park.  This  monument, 
suggested  by  his  Majesty  and  copied  frnm  that  of  Constantine  at 
Rome,  stood  within  living  memory  in  front  of  Buckingham  Palace. 
It  has  no  doubt  puzzled  th  ^  spectator  what  could  have  been  the 
intention  in  erecting  this  rather  bald  and  costly  gateway;  but,  it 
seems,  it  was  designed  to  commemorate  the  glories  of  his  Majesty, 
much  as  the  great  French  monarch  erected  flamboyant  memorials  of 
himself,  d  la  gloire  de  Louis  XIV.  On  the  summit  was  to  have  been 
an  equestrian  statue  of  the  King  by  Chantrey ;  on  each  side  bas- 
reliefs  recording  Trafalgar  and  Waterloo.  The  Duke's  bust  was  to 
have  been  displayed  on  the  pedestal  of  the  equestrian  statue,  * '  be- 
tween Europe  and  Asia,"  while  on  various  other  portions  were  to 
have  been  shown  the  King  "approving  the  plan  of  the  campaign," 
the  King  "rewarding  the  Duke  of  Wellington . after  Waterloo." 
Statues  of  the  inferior  officers  were  to  have  been  disposed  about  the 
monument.  The  cost  would  have  been  enormous,  and  the  King 
was  prudent  enough  to  set  the  plan  aside.* 


♦  Two  enormous  blocks  of  Carrara  marble,  which  had  been  ordered  by  Na- 
poleon for  the  purpose  of  making  some  commemoration  of  his  victories,  had 
been  presented  to  his  Majesty  by  the  Duke  of  Tuscany.  It  was  determined  to 
fashion  out  of  them  an  enormous  Waterloo  vase,  twenty  feet  high,  and  the 
talents  of  Westmacott,  the  sculptor,  were  employed  for  the  purpose;  but  the 
King  requiring  that  his  figure  should  be  conspicuous  among  the  group  of  vic- 
tors, this  idea  was  also  abandoned. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  737 

At  this  time  Mr.  Canning  began  to  reappear  upon  the  scene ;  and 
it  was  to  be  expected  that  such  an  intellect  as  his  was,  even  when  he 
affected  by  resignation  to  efface  himself,  should  let  its  force  be  felt. 
Lord  Liverpool,  over  whom  he  exercised  an  extraordinary  influence, 
seemed  to  look  for  the  first  opportunity  to  get  his  aid  once  more; 
and  when  Lord  Sidmouth,  in  June,  1821,  proposed  retiring,  and 
there  was  to  be  a  redistribution  of  offices,  he  suggested  to  the  King 
'  *  that  the  first  offer  must  be  made  to  Mr.  Canning,  whom  he  pro- 
posed to  place  at  the  Admiralty."  The  King,  however,  who  liked 
nursing  his  resentments  and  giving  effect  to  them,  as  a  mode  of 
adding  to  bis  importance,  declined  to  make  any  change.  This  led 
to  a  regular  discussion,  in  which  the  point  was  pressed  on  the  King, 
much  to  his  annoyance.  As  he  (Lord  Liverpool)  had  just  lost  his 
wife,  the  Cabinet  took  the  matter  in  hand.  In  a  conversation  with 
Lord  Sidmouth,  his  Majesty  explained  that  "he  did  not  mean  to 
proscribe  Mr.  Canning  altogether,  nor  to  express  his  determination 
to  exclude  him  forever  from  the  Cabinet;  he  only  begged  not  to 
have  him  pressed  on  him  at  present,  not  being  prepared,  on  the 
sudden,  to  give  him  that  full  confidence  which  a  Cabinet  minister 
had  a  right  to  expect;  that  he  had  nothing  like  enmity  to  Mr,  Can- 
ning; that,  on  the  contrary,  if  Mr.  Canning  should  attend  the 
levee,  he  would  receive  him  with  the  greatest  civility;  and  that,  if 
Mr.  Canning  had  other  objects,  he  would  gladly  promote  them." 

That  he  had  resentment  was  only  too  certain ;  and  he  later  de- 
clared that  "he  had  made  a  vow"  never  to  admit  him.  Mr.  Can- 
ning's secretary  tells  us  that  the  cause  of  this  dislike  was,  not  his 
share  in  opposition  to  the  prosecution  of  the  Queen,  but  the  con- 
duct of  his  supporters  in  the  House  of  Lords,  who,  though  followers 
of  the  Government,  had  thought  it  right  to  adopt  his  course.  The 
King,  however,  attributed  it  to  his  instigation. 

Lord  Liverpool,  however,  in  his  bereavement,  urged  the  point,  and 
to  his  friends  commented  bitterly  on  the  unworthy  pretexts  urged. 
It  was  proscription,  he  said.  The  objection  was  "one  of  personal 
pique  and  resentment."  "But  you  must  know,"  he  wrote  to  a 
friend,  "what  has  been  passing  behind  the  scenes."  This  feeling 
on  the  part  of  the  King  ' '  has  been  the  cause  of  all  our  past  errors. " 
He  even  charged  him  with  a  secret  scheme  for  destroying  the 
Government  when  the  opportunity  offered.  If  the  King  persisted, 
"he  must  look  out  for  another  minister."  The  King,  ever  fertile 
in  resources,  then  affected  to  be  eager  to  have  Lord  Sidmouth  with 
him  on  his  journey  to  Ireland,  which  would  postpone  the  issue,  and 


738  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Mr.  Canning  himself  begged  that  he  might  not  be  pressed;  on  which 
Lord  Liverpool  gave  way  for  the  present,  declaring  however  that 
the  question  was  only  adjoured. 

There  was  a  bitterness  in  this  discussion  which  the  question  itself 
does  not  account  for,  and  which  was  really  owing  to  a  matter  of  a 
private  character  which  had  inflamed  the  King  to  an  extraordinary 
degree.  It  was  indeed  to  add  to  his  long  roll  of  personal  feelings, 
and  was  the  cause  of  rooted  dislike  which  from  this  hour  he 
bore  to  the  Prime  Minister.  A  young  clergyman  named  Sumner 
had  been  selected  as  tutor  by  Lord  Conyngham  for  his  two  sons, 
and  had  taken  them  abroad  to  Geneva.  The  father,  it  seems,  had 
promised  that  an  annuity  or  a  benefice  was  to  be  the  reward  of  his 
services.*  In  1820  this  pupil.  Lord  Francis  Conyngham,  had  been 
appointed  Master  of  the  Robes  and  First  Groom  of  the  Chamber  to 
the  King,  whose  devotion  to  the  family  was  now  beginning  to 
declare  itself.  The  pupil  had  often  sounded  his  praises  to  his 
Majesty,  who  took  as  great  a  delight  in  new  faces  and  persons  that 
were  likely  to  please  him,  as  a  sultan  does  in  favorites.  His  Majesty 
expressed  a  wish  to  see  him,  and  he  was  sent  for  to  Brighton,  dined 
at  the  Pavilion,  and  "had  a  conversation  of  three  hours'  standing." 

The  courtiers,  we  are  told,  looked  grave,  but,  with  nice  forecast, 
told  him  his  fortune  was  made.  The  following  year,  in  April,  1821,  a 
canonry  at  Windsor  fell  vacant,  and  the  King  at  once  named  the 
new  favorite,  a  young  man  of  thirty  years  old  and  a  mere  curate,  for 
the  canon's  office.  But  Lord  Liverpool  boldly  and  decidedly  de- 
clined to  adopt  this  recommendation,  and  told  the  King  that  it 
"would  be  most  injurious  to  his  interests  and  give  great  umbrage  to 
the  Church."  He  added,  however,  that  to  help  his  Majesty  out  of 
the  difficulty,  he  was  willing  to  reconmiend  the  clergyman  for  a 
benefice  and  advance  him  afterwards. 

THE  KINO  TO  LOED  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Brighton,  April  18th,  1821. 
"It  is  with  considerable  regret  that  the  King  has  received  Lord 
Liverpool's  letter  of  yesterday,  and  the  more  as  the  King  feels  that 


♦  Tills  arrangement  naturally  roused  some  speculation,  and  it  was  often 
repeated  that  this  was  only  the  reward  for  a  more  substantial  service  than 
merely  education,  in  the  shape  of  having  saved  his  eldest  charge  from  an  im- 
provident marriage  with  a  young  Swiss  girl,  by  marrying  her  himself.  This, 
however,  it  is  only  fair  to  stafe^has  been  distinctly  denied  by  his  family;  and 
ft  must  be  said  that  the  clergyman  proved  an  excellent  divine  and  bishop, 
with  whose  career  so  shrewd  a  stroke  was  scarcely  consistent. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  739 

ever  since  the  appointment  of  Lord  Liverpool  as  his  First  Minister 
he  has  not  merely  shown  an  uniform  desire  not  to  thwart  any  views 
of  Lord  Liverpool  or  of  his  friends  in  the  disposal  of  the  patronage 
of  the  Crown;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  oblige  Lord  Liverpool,  and 
to  give  every  support  in  his  power  to  an  Administration  created  by 
himself,  the  King  has  yielded  every  personal  feeling. 

' '  In  illustration  of  which  the  King  need  only  draw  Lord  Liver- 
pool's attention  to  two  very  recent  events,  amongst  numberless 
others;  namely — the  removal  of  Lord  Fife  (a  measure  certainly  pain- 
ful to  the  King's  private  feelings),  and  the  disregard  of  the  King's 
desire  (conveyed  to  Lord  Liverpool  through  Sir  Benjamin  Bloomfield) 
*that  Mr.  B.  Paget  should  succeed  to  the  office  of  Receiver-General,' 
Notwithstanding  which,  the  appointment  of  another  individual  (how- 
ever eligible)  took  place  without  further  reference  to  the  King. 

"Under  so  extraordinary  a  proceeding  did  the  King  withhold  his 
signature  to  the  warrant  of  appointment?  or  did  the  King  call  upon 
Lord  Liverpool  to  forfeit  his  promise  or  his  word?  The  King  might 
also  add  the  instance  in  which  he  sacrificed  the  most  painful  per- 
sonal feelings  and  opinions  to  the  advice  and  earnest  desire  of  Lord 
Liverpool  '  that  the  King  should  not  accept  the  resignation  of  Mr. 
Canning,  but  suffer  him  to  remain  in  his  councils, '  in  spite  of  the 
very  unwarrantable  conduct  of  that  gentleman  (as  a  member  of  the 
Cabinet)  in  his  place  in  Parliament. 

"The  question  of  this  nomination  to  the  vacant  canonry  of 
Windsor  does  not  rest  upon  the  selection  which  the  King  has  made 
for  that  appointment,  nor  does  the  King  doubt  the  sincerity  of  Lord 
Liverpool's  desire  to  make  a  suitable  provision  in  lieu  of  that  des- 
tined by  the  King  for  Mr.  Sumner;  but  there  are  principles  para- 
mount to  all  other  considerations  which  will  ever  guide  the  King  in 
his  course  through  life.  Lord  Liverpool,  in  his  desire  to  relieve  the 
King  from  any  embarrassment  which  the  present  case  may  occasion, 
appears  solely  to  have  directed  his  view  to  the  policy  or  impolicy  of 
this  nomination,  and  wholly  to  have  disregarded  that  vital  point 
of  the  transaction  which  involves  the  good  faith  and  honor  of  his 
sovereign. 

"The  King,  therefore,  sees  no  reason  to  alter  his  determination 
of  appointing  Mr.  Sumner  to  the  vacant  canonry  of  Windsor ;  and, 
however  willing  the  King  might  be  to  give  up  his  own  opinions  to 
Lord  Liverpool's  wishes,  it  is  no  longer  a  question  of  the  propriety  of 
this  little  appointment  (as  the  King  has  already  stated),  but  whether 
the  King's  word  is  to  be  held  sacred  or  is  to  be  of  no  avail. 


740  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 

''The  King  acquainted  Lord  Liverpool  that  the  appointment  was 

given  by  himself  alone,  unsolicited  by ,  or  at  the  instance  of  any 

private  friend  of  the  King's  or  of  Mr.  Sumner's.  His  merit  and  his 
character  were  his  only  recommendations,  and  the  King  thinks  such 
recommendations  more  calculated  to  do  honor  and  to  give  satisfaction 
than  to  give  'umbrage'  to  the  Church." 

Extraordinary  offices  seemed  to  become  vacant  of  a  sudden  for 
the  special  benefit  of  the  man  whom  the  King  was  eager  to  honor. 

Lord  Liverpool,  in  reply,  vindicated  himself,  but  declined  posi- 
tively to  change  his  resolution — a  determination  infinitely  creditable 
to  his  firmness. 

But  it  is  amusing  to  read  the  excitement  produced  at  the  Castle  by 
this  contention.  "If  you  had  seen  the  King,"  wrote  his  pupil  to 
the  candidate,  "you  would  have  given  up  all  your  own  feelings 
and  have  been  entirely  interested  in  his.  I  never  saw  anything  like 
it.  He  was  quite  in  despair. "  Expresses  were  sent  to  the  clergy- 
man that  "he  might  not  suffer  more  than  could  be  avoided." 
' '  There  never  was  anything  which  threw  such  a  gloom  of  despair 
upon  all  our  faces.  But,  as  the  King  most  kindly  quoted,  when  he 
saw  my  agony,  '  Nil  desperandum, '  etc.  You  cannot  conceive  what 
he  has  suffered  on  this  occasion.  He  is  without  exception  the  best- 
hearted  man  that  ever  lived."  The  injured  but  fortunate  divine 
was  at  once  made  King's  chaplain,  and  given  a  capital  house  at 
Windsor,  and  was  informed  that  other  arrangements  were  in  pro- 
gress. This  took  the  shape  of  librarian  at  Carlton  House;  vicarship 
of  St.  Helen's,  Abingdon ;  Canon  of  Worcester  in  the  following  year. 

But  the  King  was  "mortally  wounded"  by  the  transaction,  and 
Lord  Mount-Charles,  with  perfect  truth,  declared  "he  would  never 
forget  it."  For  a  more  experienced  judge,  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
writing  to  Lord  Liverpool  a  little  later,  assured  him  that  "  the  King 
has  never  forgiven  your  opposition  in  the  case  of  Sumner.  This 
feeling  has  influenced  every  action  of  his  life  in  relation  to  his 
Government  from  that  moment;  and,  I  believe,  to  more  than  one  of 
us  he  avowed  that  his  objection  to  Mr.  Canning  was,,  that  his 
accession  to  the  Government  was  peculiarly  desirable  to  yoa  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  unjust  or  more  unfair  than  this  feeling;  and  as 
there  is  not  one  of  your  colleagues  who  did  not  highly  approve  of 
what  you  did  respecting  Sumner,  so  there  is  not  one  of  them  who 
would  not  suffer  with  you  all  the  conscfuu'ncos  of  that  act." 

What  a  picture  of  weakness  and  InlK  !    W     miyMuile  at  the  scene 


TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  741 

at  Windsor — the  camarilla's  ''agony,"  the  agitated  King,  and  the 
whole  worked  up  by  the  courtiers  and  flatterers  into  a  tempest.  The 
lucky  divine  was  consoled  by  being  made  librarian  at  Carlton  House, 
Vicar  of  St.  Helen's,  Abingdon,  Canon  of  Worcester  in  the  succeed- 
ing year.  Chaplain  in  Ordinary,  Clerk  of  the  Closet,  and  three  years 
later  was  offered  the  bishopric  of  Jamaica.  But  here  he  hesitated, 
and  consulted  the  excellent  Knighton  as  to  its  being  acceptable  to 
his  Majesty,  owning,  however,  that  he  would  "be  heartless  and 
profligate  "  to  overlook  such  objections  as  to  the  health  of  his  little 
children,  etc.  However,  he  went  down  to  see  the  King,  who 
declared  he  would  leave  him  "unbiassed."  The  King  indeed  said 
he  was  advancing  in  years,  and  did  not  now  easily  attach  himself  to 
new  faces:  he  must  now  expect  many  and  frequent  illnesses,  "  when 
it  was  a  satisfaction  to  him  to  know  that  I  was  at  hand,  that  I  suited 
him,  that  he  had  other  views  for  me. "  In  short,  he  felt  it  a  duty  to 
comply  with  the  King*s  wishes.  "I  hope,"  wrote  Mr.  Sumner  to 
his  lady,  "you  know  and  think  how  the  King  deserves  to  be  loved. 
He  could  not  talk  of  the  possibility  of  my  leaving  England,  without 
shedding  tears.  He  behaved  most  beautifully.  In  the  meantime,  I 
am  quite  sure  it  is  better,  spiritually  speaking,  to  have  been  ready 
and  desirous  to  go ;  temporally  speaking,  it  may  be  better  for  me 
to  stay." 

And  so  it  was  to  prove  with  singular  rapidity.  The  following 
year  a  stall  at  Canterbury  was  offered  by  Lord  Liverpool,  who  nicely 
suggested  that  *'  It  would  in  no  way  interfere  with  any  further  pro- 
motion;" on  which  his  Majesty  suggested  that  "he  should  be  the 
next  bishop,"  which  Sir  W.  Knighton  declared  was  done  by  the 
King  in  the  most  agreeable  way.  "So  now,  my  dear  friend," 
writes  the  physician,  ' '  you  may  begin  to  do  everything  as  if  you 
were  at  this  moment  a  bishop.  Be  so  good  as  to  get  rid  of  your 
shirt-frill  and  your  trousers.  It  is  the  King's  wish  you  should  im- 
mediately take  your  doctor's  degree." 

Next  year  he  became  Bishop  of  Llandaff.  But  this  was  a  poor 
Welsh  thing,  so  the  year  after  the  fortunate  divine  received  the  fol- 
lowing from  his  patron: 

THE  KING  TO  THE  BISHOP  OF  LLANDAFF. 

"Royal  Lodge,  November  18,  1827. 

"My  dear  Bishop, 

"  The  very  moment  I  was  informed  of  the  death  of  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  I  nominated  you  his  successor.     In  doing  this  I 


742  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

have  not  only  consulted  what  is  most  agreeable  to  my  own  feelings, 
but  what  my  conscience  tells  me  will  be  most  beneficial  to  the  see 
of  Winchester,  and  also  for  the  good  of  the  Church  in  general. 

"Yours  sincerely, 

"G.  R." 

The  following  year  his  brother  became  Bishop  of  Chester. 

When  the  King  returned  from  Hanover,  a  new  plan  for  disposing 
of  Mr.  Canning  released  the  King  from  the  prospect  of  having  his 
services  forced  upon  him.  There  was  a  plan  of  sending  him  as  Gov- 
ernor-General to  India.  Lord  Hastings  had  signified  his  wish — in 
an  informal  way,  as  it  proved — to  bfc*released  from  that  office,  and 
the  directors  were  willing  to  offer  it  to  Mr.  Canning.  The  King,  to 
use  his  father's  expression,  had  ' '  jumped  "  at  this  solution.  He  was 
so  eager  indeed,  that  when  it  was  found  that  Lord  Hastings's  resig- 
nation was  a  sort  of  vicarious  one,  and  full  of  difl[iculties  to  act  upon, 
the  King  pressed  it,  and  insisted  it  should  be  handed  to  the  direc- 
tors. In  his  eagerness  he  had  even  declared  that  otherwise  he  should 
have  found  no  objection  to  receiving  Mr.  Canning  among  his  minis- 
ters. It,  however,  came  to  nothing,  as  the  resignation  was  found  to 
be  inoperative.  Meanwhile  the  offices  had  been  filled  up  by  recruits 
from  the  Grenville  section  of  the  Opposition,  all  pro-Catholics,  and 
the  King  might  congratulate  himself  on  his  adroit  management.  As 
Canning  wrote  bitterly,  he  was  in  the  position  of  having  declined 
India,  which  was  not  vacant,  "and  there  has  been  no  other  proposal 
made  to  me  since  this  failure."  This,  it  will  be  seen,  was  the  first 
of  many  such  struggles  in  which  the  ministers  were  to  be  engaged. 

The  power  and  fertility  of  resource  shown  by  the  King  in  resist- 
ing what  was  objectionable  to  him  would  have  commanded  admira- 
tion, if  displayed  on  worthier  occasions  and  directed  by  a  probability 
of  success ;  but  it  was  his  fate  to  choose  occasions  whore  his  case 
was  weak,  and  he  usually  only  succeeded  in  protracting  his  surren- 
der. He  mistook  the  signs  of  the  crisis,  and  either  resisted  where 
he  should  have  yielded,  or  yielded  where  he  might  have  resisted. 

Yet  he  had  told  the  Irish  that  instead  of  opposing  the  union  they 
should  have  "made  terms."  His  tactics,  when  he  found  Mr.  Can- 
ning was  about  to  be  forced  upon  him,  were  ingenious,  if  not  crafty. 
The  secret  of  his  new  dislike  to  the  minister  was,  as  Canning  in- 
formed his  secretary,  a  belief  that  he,  while  withdrawing  himself 
from  the  prosecution  of  his  Queen,  had  secretly  urged  his  friends 
in  the  House  of  Lords  to  strenuous  opposition.     A\  Iw  ii  the  King 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  743 

learned  that  the  East  Indian  directors  were  anxious  to  appoint  Mr. 
Canning  Governor-General,  with  rather  suspicious  ardor  he  became 
an  eager  supporter  of  the  plan.  Mr.  Canning  himself  relates  the 
incident:  "In  June  last  there  was  a  contest  between  Liverpool  and 
the  King,  for  and  against  my  readmission  into  office.  I  then  begged 
not  to  be  pressed  upon  the  King.  On  his  Majesty's  return  from  Ire- 
land, he  expressly  forbade  Liverpool  to  open  the  subject,  and  it  was 
adjourned  till  the  return  from  Hanover.  Soon  after  the  King's  de- 
parture for  Hanover  the  chairman  of  the  Court  of  Directors  commu- 
nicated to  me  a  letter  from  Lord  Hastings,  implying  in  the  clearest 
manner  his  (Lord  Hastings's)  wish  to  hear  that  a  successor  to  him 
had  been  appointed.  I  consented  to  be  named — subject,  of  course, 
to  the  King's  being  prepared  to  approve  the  nomination. "  Mr.  Can- 
ning goes  on  to  say  that  not  many  days  after  this  communication 
Colonel  Doyle,  Lord  Hastings's  most  confidential  friend,  came  to  say 
that  the  resignation  was  a  misapprehension,  and  that  he  knew  Lord 
Hastings  had  no  intention  of  resigning.  And  presently  it  was  dis- 
covered that  such  vicarious  resignation  would  be  informal  and  have 
no  effect.  ■"  Here  was  an  end  of  the  vacancy,  which,  however,  had 
been  announced  to  the  King.  The  King  had  jumped  at  the  solu- 
tion of  difficulties  which  was  opened  to  him  by  the  appointment  to 
India.  His  Majesty  undertook  to  do  anything  in  his  power  to  make 
Lord  Hastings's  resignation  easy  to  him;  and  he  determined,  on  his 
return  to  England,  to  see  Colonel  Doyle  himself,  and  to  learn 
whether  the  resignation  so  sent  to  him  (as  has  been  described)  might 
not  now  be  made  available.  I  understand  his  Majesty  to  have  said 
at  the  same  time  that,  if  he  could  not  succeed  in  opening  India,  he 
would  waive  his  objection  to  the  arrangement  proposed  in  June.  In 
this  state  things  were  when  I  saw  Lord  Liverpool  after  the  King's 
return  from  Hanover."  He  concluded  by  declaring  that '  the  failure, 
I  presume,  everybody  will  attribute  (as  I  do  in  my  own  mind)  not  to 
the  ill-disposition  of  the  Government,  but  to  the  unaltered  resent- 
ment of  the  King."  His  Majesty  had,  however,  to  yield,  and  Mr. 
Canning  became  Foreign  Secretary. 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

"  Carlton  Palace,  Saturday  night,  July  7th,  1821. 
*'My  dear  Friend, 

"I  must  thank  you  for  your  affectionate  letter,*  which  is  very 

acceptable  to  my  feelings :  God  grant  that  you  may  long  live  to  enjoy 

*  AQkoowledgment  for  his  earldom. 


744  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  honors  so  justly  due  to  your  eminent  talents  and  distinguished 
services.  I  shall  hope  to  see  you  early  in  the  morning,  as  I  have 
much  to  say  to  you.  Always,  my  dear  Friend, 

'*  Very  affectionately  yours, 

THE  SAME. 

"Thursday  evening,  6  o'clock,  July  26th,  1821. 

"My  deab  Chancellor, 

"I  delay  not  a  moment  thanking  you  for  your  affectionate 
note.  I  have  known  you,  and  with  truth  I  do  add  that  I  have 
loved  and  esteemed  you  as  a  friend,  much  too  long  for  a  moment  to 
entertain  a  thought  that  you  would  not  have  presented  yourself  both 
at  the  levee  yesterday,  as  well  as  the  Drawing  Room  this  day,  if  it 
had  been  morally  possible  for  you  to  have  done  so.  If  there  be  any 
blame,  it  rests  with  me,  for  not  having  sent  to  inquire  after  you,  but 
which  I  desire,  you  will  not  impute  to  f orgetf ulness  on  my  side,  but 
to  the  constant  worry  and  hurly-burly  I  have  been  perpetually  kept 
in  for  the  last  fortnight. 

"  I  remain,  my  dear  Lord, 

"Always  your  most  affectionate  Friend, 

"G.  R. 

"P.S.— I  shall  rejoice,  if  you  are  able  to  come  to  me,  to  see  you 
on  Sunday  as  usual." 

THE    SAMEL 

"Brighton,  Dec.  26th,  1821. 
"My  DEAR  Friend, 

"  You  flattered  me  that  when  you  had  relaxation  from  busi- 
ness you  would  make  me  a  short  visit.  It  strikes  me  that  next  Mon- 
day and  Tuesday  are  the  two  most  probable  days  to  afford  you  such 
an  opportunity;  therefore,  if  this  should  be  so,  and  unless  you 
have  formed  any  pleasanter  scheme  for  yourself,  pray  come  to  me 
then.  I  believe  it  will  be  necessary  for  you  to  swear  in  one  or  two 
of  my  state  servants,  the  most  of  whom  you  will  find  assembled 
here ;  therefore  pray  be  properly  prepared.  I  hope  it  is  not  neces- 
sary forme  to  add  how  truly  happy  I  should  be,  if  our  dear  and  good 
friend  Lord  Stowell  would  accompany  yoiL    A  hearty  welcome,  good 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  745 

and  warm  beds,  turkey  and  chine,  and  last,  though  not  least  in  love, 
liver  and  crow,  are  the  order  of  the  day. 

"Ever,  my  dear  Lord, 

"  Most  sincerely  yours, 

"G.  R 

"P.S.— N.B.  No  Church  preferment  will  be  requested  on  the 
present  occasion." 


Excited  by  the  plaudits  that  attended  him  during  this  brilliant 
show,  the  King  now  conceived  the  plan  of  travelling  through  the 
various  portions  of  his  dominions.  His  flatterers  had,  no  doubt, 
persuaded  him  that  he  was  now  popular,  and  that  this  proceeding 
of  showing  himself  to  his  people  would  further  stimulate  their  loy- 
alty. In  this  and  the  following  year,  he  made  progresses  through 
Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Hanover,  which,  taken  with  the  coronation 
and  his  failing  health,  must  have  been  very  fatiguing  to  his  Majesty. 

The  news  that  the  King  was  coming  to  Ireland  caused  unbounded 
excitement  in  that  portion  of  his  dominions,  of  which  evidence  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  religious  parties  agreed  to  hold  a  truce 
for  the  occasion,  the  Lord  Mayor  sending  a  message  to  Lord  Fingal 
to  announce  that  ' '  King  William's  statue  should  not  be  dressed " 
on  the  usual  occasion.  All  united  in  the  joyful  preparations.  Sir 
Benjamin  Bloomfield,  who  had  been  despatched  as  avant-courier, 
was  f6ted  at  a  public  dinner  of  all  factions,  at  which  he  struck  the 
key-note  of  the  general  rapturous  strain  which  was  to  characterize 
future  proceedings,  declaring  that  ' '  no  sooner  was  the  crown  on 
his  master's  head  than  he  had  determined  to  visit  Ireland."  Lord 
Sidmouth,  the  Secretary  of  State,  though  starting  later,  arrived  at 
Phoenix  Park  a  little  in  advance,  where  was  Mr.  C  Grant,  the  Irish 
Secretary,  who  was  entertaining  Lord  Londonderry  and  the  min- 
isters in  attendance  on  the  King.  His  Majesty  started  from  Carlton 
House  on  July  31st,  1821,  "at  twenty  minutes  before  twelve,"  and 
at  half-past  five  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  where  he  instantly  went  on 
board  his  own  "yatch,*'  as  it  was  spelled  then,  the  Royal  George. 
But  a  most  tedious  and  disagi-eeable  journey  was  before  him,  and 
not  until  a  fortnight  was  he  able  to  set  foot  on  Irish  soil.  On  reach- 
ing Holyhead,  news  that  the  Queen  was  almost  in  extremis  reached 
him,  and  the  King  determined  to  go  to  his  friend  Lord  Anglesey — 
"Paget" — whose  place  was  close  by,  and  wait  for  news. 
33 


746  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

THE  KING  TO  SIR  W.    KNIGHTON. 

"  Off  Holyhead,  August  10th,  1821. 
"Dearest  Friend, 

"As  I  know  you  like, brevity  in  writing,  I  shall  endeavor  to 
be  as  concise  as  possible,  and  shall  try  to  convey  to  you  all  the 
matter  possible  in  the  smallest  compass. 

"1  mu&«  first  thank  you  for  your  kind  letters,  the  last  of  which 
I  have  now  just  received.  You  need  not  be  under  any  apprehen- 
sion that  every  regard  to  decorum  and  decency  will  not  be  strictly 
observed. 

' '  I  have  now  been  at  anchor  in  this  harbor  ever  since  Monday 
night  at  half -past  eleven,  when  we  received  the  first  intimation  of 
the  Queen's  indisposition. 

' '  On  Tuesday  at  noon,  as  I  had  heard  nothing  from  my  friend 
Lord  Sidmouth,  who  had  passed  over  to  the  other  coast  some  hours 
before,  we  took  up  our  anchorage  here.  We  had  reason  to  know 
he  had  heard  the  report  before  he  left  Holyhead;  and  it  was  deter- 
mined, as  the  best  medium-line  that  could  be  adopted  until  I  could 
hear  from  him,  that  I  should  proceed  for  twelve  hours  to  Lord 
Anglesey's. 

"Accordingly  I  wrote  to  Lord  Sidmouth  and  Bloomfield,  to 
acquaint  them  with  the  communication  I  had  received  respecting 
the  Queen,  to  account  for  the  delay  in  my  not  proceeding  to  Ireland, 
and  desiring  Lord  Sidmouth's  advice  as  to  what  I  had  best  do,  and 
that  he  would  make  all  the  arrangements  which  might  be  necessary 
under  existing  circumstances. 

"  I  returned  from  Plasnewydd  to  my  yatch  here  about  four  o'clock 
on  the  next  day  (Wednesday),  and  found  Lord  Sidmouth  just  dis- 
embarked and  ready  to  receive  me.  He  stayed  about  two  hours 
with  me  on  board,  and  then  again  took  his  passage  m  the  steam- 
boat, having  arranged  with  me,  that  if  the  accounts  from  London  of 
the  Queen  the  next  day  should  represent  her  to  be  in  an  improved 
state,  that  then  we  should  set  sail  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  land 
at  Dunleary,  and  make  my  public  entree  at  Dublin  on  that  day 
(Friday);  although  he  had  already  taken  measures  for  a  private 
entry  if  matters  should  be  worse,  as  it  was  utterly  impossible  for 
me  under  any  circumstances  not  to  proceed  now  to  Ireland,  where 
public  notice  would  be  given  that  I  should  observe  the  strictest 
privacy  for  some  days,  until  we  were  acquainted  cither  with  the 
Queen's  recovery  or  her  demise,  and  till  after  the  body  should  be 
interred. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  747 

•  Lord  Londonderry  fortunately  arrived  the  next  morning  after 
Lord  Sidmoutli  left  me — that  is  to  say,  yesterday  (Thursday),  before 
seven  o'clock  in  the  morning — and  has  remained  with  me,  and  will 
continue  to  do  so  till  I  have  set  my  foot  on  the  Irish  shore.  He 
approved  of  all  the  arrangements  I  had  made  with  Lord  Sidmouth 
as  the  best  possible,  and  with  every  view  I  had  taken  of  the  whole 
circumstance :  and  it  is  now  determined  that  either  in  the  course  of 
the  day,  or  as  soon  as  possible  as  the  wind  and  weather  will  permit 
(but  which  at  present  does  not  appear  very  encouraging),  we  are  to 
set  sail,  either  in  the  yatch  alonTs  or  by  steam,  to  Ireland;  to  make 
Howth  (about  five  miles  from  Dublin),  and  to  proceed  without  any 
sort  of  show  or  display  to  Phoenix  Park,  without  entering  or  passing 
through  Dublin  at  all.  My  arrival  there  will  then  be  publicly 
announced,  and  that  the  strictest  privacy  for  a  few  days  will  be 
observed,  as  far  as  proper  decency  and  decorum  may  require ;  and 
that  after  that  the  day  will  be  announced  when  I  shall  make  my 
public  entree,  and  when  all  public  ceremonies  and  rejoicings  wiU 
commence. 

' '  Continue,  I  conjure  you,  from  time  to  time,  and  constantly  if 
you  can,  to  let  me  hear  from  you,  be  it  only  that  '  all  is  well ;  *  for 
even  this  is  a  security  and  comfort  to  me  that  you  cannot  imagine; 
it  is  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  tell  you  how  uncomfortable  and 
how  miserable  I  always  feel  when  I  have  you  not  immediately  at  my 
elbqjv.  You  may,  then,  judge  what  I  do  now  at  this  moment  feel, 
and  what  I  have  gone  through  without  you  near  me  during  all  these 
recent  perplexities  and  difficulties.  You  are  too  well  acquainted 
with  the  warmth  of  my  feelings  towards  you  to  render  it  necessary 
for  me  to  add  a  syllable  more  upon  that  head,  dear  and  best  of 
friends,  except  that  I  am  always 

"Most  affectionately  yours, 

"G.  R." 

Here  the  une:^ected  news  of  the  Queen's  death  reached  him,  and 
Lord  Sidmouth,  fearful  of  some  unbecoming  step  being  taken, 
hurried  over  to  Holyhead  to  press  on  his  Majesty  the  necessity  of  a 
decent  retirement,  for  at  least  a  short  space.*  Nothing  could  be 
more  unfortunate ;  but  it  was  curious  that  her  illness  seems  to  have 


*  It  seems  to  have  been  an  anxious  business,  as  the  Secretary  wrote  to  Mr. 
Hobhouse  that  "he  would  not  trouble  him  with  a  detail  of  difficulties  and 
vexations  he  had  to  deal  with;  but  he  endeavored  to  reconcile  himself  to  the 
service  in  which  he  was  engaged,"  etc. 


748  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

commenced  on  the  very  day  that  the  King  set  off,  on  which  evening 
she  went  to  the  theatre  to  see  Mr.  Kean's  performance.  The  un- 
happy lady's  sorrows  had  come  to  a  close,  and  within  a  few  days 
her  remains  were  being  transported  back  to  that  Brunswick  which 
it  was  a  pity  she  ever  quitted. 

On  the  following  Sunday,  the  12th  of  August,  crowds  were  look- 
ins^  out  to  the  sea  at  where  Kingstown  now  rises,  and  Sir  Benjamin 
was  observed  to  be  hurrying  to  the  point  of  old  Dunleary  Harbor, 
then  newly  opened,  at  present  a  colliers'  shelter.  Presently  ' '  the 
Lightning  steam-packet,  Capt,  Skinner,"  was  seen  to  approach,  and 
the  anxious  crowds  rushing  forward  recognized  the  familiar,  portly 
figure.  ' '  A  quarter  before  three, "  says  a  loyal  rapturous  account, 
"they  descried  by  glasses  a  steam- vessel,  which,  from  the  circum- 
stance mentioned,  excited  strong  sensations ;  about  twenty  minutes 
after  a  second  steam-vessel  seemed  to  approach  in  the  same  course : 
no  doubt  remained  but  that  his  Majesty  or  some  word  from  him 
would  arrive  in  a  short  time.  Within  a  few  minutes  of  four  the 
steam-packet  closed  in  with  Ireland's  Eye,  and  immediately  the 
royal  carriage,  which  had  taken  Sir  Benjamin  Bloomtield  down, 
was  seen  driving  rapidly  to  the  pier-head.  At  half -past  four  the 
Lightning  steam-packet  came  to  the  projection  in  the  west  point  of 
the  pier.  A  breathless  suspension  of  two  minutes  succeeded,  the 
anxious  hearts  of  the  spectators  beating  high.  At  length  some 
person,  recognizing  his  Majesty  on  board,  cried,  '  The  King! '  when 
all  enthusiastically  exclaimed,  'The  King!  the  King!  God  bless 
him!'  Cheers  echoed  and  re-echoed,  which  his  Majesty,  on  hearing, 
stood  forward  and  warmly  returned,  taking  off  his  cap  and  winding 
it  several  times  over  his  head.  He  was  dressed  in  a  blue  frock, 
blue  pantaloons,  Hessian  boots,  a  black  cravat,  white  eilk  gloves, 
and  a  foraging  cap  with  gold  lace.  His  Majesty  was  a  little 
browned  from  the  weather.  With  him  were  Lords  Londonderry, 
Thomond,  Mount-Charles,  Francis  Conyngham,  and  Mr.  Freeling, 
Secretary  to  the  Post  Office.  A  small  ship-ladder  covered  with 
carpeting  was  fixed  to  facilitate  his  landing.  Some  of  his  suite 
preceded  his  Majesty.  When  he  reached  the  top  of  the  ladder, 
which  he  did  with  great  ability  and  without  assistance,  the  pressure 
was  so  great  that  he  was  much  incommoded.  This  could  not  be 
avoided ;  as  almost  every  person  present  stood  on  the  small  tongue 
of  land  which  projects  from  the  pier,  through  them  no  convenient 
passage  could  be  opened  without  forcing  some  persons  into  the 
water.    His  Majesty  bore  the  inconvenience  with  much  good-humor, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  749 

perceiving  the  cause.  On  seeing  the  Earl  of  Kingston,  his  Majesty- 
exclaimed,  'Kingston,  Kingston,  j^ou black-whiskered,  good-natured 
fellow,  I  am  happy  to  see  you  in  this  friendly  country.'  Having 
recognized  Dennis  Bowes  Daily,  he  cordially  shook  hands  with 
him,  who  in  the  very  act  was  deprived  of  a  watch  valued  at  sixty 
guineas  and  a  pocketbook.  Sir  Benjamin  Bloomfield  having  opened 
the  door  of  the  carriage,  his  Majesty  stepped  in ;  the  cheers  of  all 
rent  the  air.  Having  turned  round,  and  extending  forth  both  his 
hands,  he  said  with  great  emotion,  '  God  bless  you  all ;  I  thank 
you  from  my  heart.'  Seemingly  exhausted,  he  threw  himself  back 
again,  and  on  the  cheers  being  repeated,  taking  off  his  cap,  bowed 
again  and  again.  The  cavalcade  then  drove  straight  to  the  lodge  at 
the  Phcenix,  a  distance  of  about  eight  or  nine  miles.  On  reaching 
tlie  entrance  to  the  demesne,  some  halted  outside,  fearing  that  pro- 
ceeding further  would  be  aji  intrusion.  His  Majesty,  perceiving 
the  delicacy,  put  out  his  hand  and  exclaimed,  '  Come  on,  my 
friends.'  Some  of  those  who  entered,  having  walked  on  the  grass, 
were  reprimanded  by  others  for  so  doing.  '  Oh,'  said  his  Majesty, 
good-humoredly,  *  don't  mind  the  grass;  let  them  walk  where  they 
please.'  Having  alighted  from  his  carriage  at  the  hall  of  the  lodge, 
he  addressed  those  round  him,  about  a  hundred  in  number,  in  the 
following  words:  *In  addressing  you  I  conceive  I  am  addressing 
the  nobility,  gentry,  and  yeomen  of  Ireland.  This  is  one  of  the 
happiest  moments  of  my  life.  I  feel  pleased,  being  the  first  of  my 
family  that  set  foot  on  Irish  ground.  Early  in  my  life  I  loved 
Ireland — my  heart  was  always  with  them.  I  rejoice  at  being 
amongst  my  faithful  Irish  friends.  I  always  considered  them  such, 
and  this  day  proves  to  me  I  am  beloved  by  them.  Circumstances 
of  a  delicate  nature,  to  which  it  is  needless  to  advert,  have  precluded 
me  from  visiting  you  sooner.  I  have  had  a  fatiguing  voyage.  If 
I  do  not  express  myself  as  warmly  as  I  ought,  I  beg  you  will  not 
attribute  it  to  want  of  affection.  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  kind- 
ness you  evinced  towards  me  this  day;  rank,  station,  and  honor  are 
nothing;  to  feel  that  I  live  in  the  hearts  of  my  Irish  subjects  is  to 
me  the  most  exalted  happiness.  I  assure  you,  my  dear  friends,  I 
have  an  Irish  heart,  and  will  this  night  give  a  proof  of  my  affection 
towards  you,  as  I  am  sure  you  will  towards  me,  by  drinking  your 
health  in  a  bumper  of  whisky-punch.'  " 

Such  was  this  amazing  harangue,  which  produced  a  singular 
impression.  The  only  demjrenieai  was  tlio  arrival  of  the  irrepressi- 
ble Sir  William  Curtis,  who  seemad  in  this  as  in  the  Scotch  visit  to 


750  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

compete  with  the  King  for  public  attention.  It  was  found  that  with 
his  yaclit  lie  had  taken  up  the  best  "  berth  "  in  Dunleary  Harbor, 
from  wliich  he  was  promptly  removed. 

Then  set  in  a  tumult  of  excited  demonstrations,  to  which  the  im- 
pulsive King  lent  himself,  declaring  "that  he  had  never  felt  himself 
a  King  till  that  time,"  as  well  as  the  no  less  excited  crowd:  both 
acted  and  reacted  on  one  another  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 

By  the  17th,  which  time,  it  was  thought,  had  exhausted  the 
tribute  due  to  bereavement,  he  entered  Dublin  in  state.  The  pro- 
cession was  brilliant  with  banners,  music,  and  show:  his  Majesty, 
seated  in  an  open  barouche  drawn  by  eight  horses,  repeatedly 
pointing  to  an  enormous  shamrock  displayed  in  his  hat.  In  the 
midst  of  the  shouts,  he  declared  to  Sir  B.  Bloomfield  "he  might  be 
proud  of  his  country:  they  are  a  noble  peeple."  At  the  Castle 
windows,  as  he  looked  on  the  acclaiming  multitudes,  he  was  ob- 
served to  shed  tears.  Then  followed  illuminations,  reviews,  visit  to 
the  theatre,  ball  at  the  Mansion  House,  where  a  number  of  gentlemen 
improvized  new  a  body-guard,  devising  a  uniform  for  the  occasion, 
showing  they  knew  one  of  their  sovereign's  weaknesses.  "A  silk 
doublet  of  coronation  blue  reached  halfway  down  the  thigh,  white 
casimeie  breeches,  white  silk  stockings  with  blue  rosettes  at  the 
knees  and  shoe-ties  formed  the  lower  part  of  the  dress,  round  the 
waist  a  pink  silk  sash,  from  which  hung  a  rich  dress  sword  and 
sword-knot,  round  the  neck  a  white  ruflf,  under  which  lay  a  broad 
pink  ribbon,  from  which  hung  a  coronation  medal.  The  hat  was 
blue,  with  the  leaf  turned  up  before  with  a  large  plume  of  blue  and 
white  ostrich-feathers.  The  weapon  v/as  a  battle-axe,  with  a  spear- 
head of  burnished  silver.  As  the  King  passed  they  shouldered  their 
axes,  and  the  lines  had  an  imposing  effect." 

A  magnificent  circular  ball-room  of  great  size,  still  used  for  the 
Lord  Mayor's  balls,  had  been  erected.  After  a  handsome  entertain- 
ment, the  King  retired,  when  speeches  were  made  by  Lord  London- 
derry and  others,  an  alderman  being  so  far  carried  away  by  his 
feelings  as  to  give,  " The  glorious,  immortal,  and  pious  memory," 
which  had  nearly  shipwrecked  all.  The  King  was  infinitely  dis- 
pleased, but  the  matter  was  arranged.  Then  followed  a  visi':  to 
Slane,  Lord  Conyngham's  place;  an  entertainment  given  by  Trinity 
College,  set  oflf  by  music  and  such  loyal  tunes  as  "Rule  Britannia." 
"They  had  scarcely  commenced  the  first  line  of  that  inspiring  an- 
them, when  the  royal  countenance  glowed  with  peculiar  animation. 
At  the  words,  '  the  charter  of  the  land,'  his  Majesty,  slowly  raising 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  751 

his  right  arm,  and  looking  impressively  at  the  assemblage  of  persons, 
seemed  to  renew,  in  the  only  manner  in  which  the  Constitution 
■would  admit,  the  solemn  compact  that  had  been  so  recently  entered 
into  between  the  King  and  his  people.  During  the  chorus  of  each 
stanza  the  raonarcli's  feelings  uniformly  assumed  a  higher  tone, 
moving  his  hand,  and  keeping  time  with  the  orchestra,  until  the 
choir  came  to  that  part  which  prophetically  declares  tiiat  '  Britons 
never  shall  be  slaves,'  when,  in  the  glorious  fervor  of  his  wishes  for 
the  happiness  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  realm,  he  vigorously  struck 
the  table  at  every  word."  This  was  characteristic,  and  indeed  all 
his  behavior  through  these  pageants  deserved  the  praise  of  being 
truly  natural,  though  scarcely  dignified.  He  generally  wore  a  field- 
marshal's  uniform.  At  the  Rotunda  ball,  we  are  told,  "our  fair 
countrywomen  and  gallant  beaux  were  so  much  overawed  with  the 
presence  of  Majesty,  that  they  completely  bungled  their  evolutions, 
which  did  not  escape  his  penetration,  for  he  was  pleased  to  observe 
'  that  in  whatever  else  the  Irish  can  distinguish  themselves,  they 
had  no  pretensions  to  dancing.' 

"I  will  here  mention  an  anecdote,  which  is  one  of  the  many 
instances  of  his  Majesty's  condescension.  One  of  the  attendants 
happened  to  go  into  the  room  where  his  Majesty  was,  at  the  Cur- 
ragh,  to  look  for  Earl  Talbot's  hat,  when  the  man  incautiously  took 
up  the  King's  and  was  going  away  with  it;  his  Majesty  perceiving 
him,  good-humoredly  called  out,  'Stop!  stop!  my  friend,  that  is  my 
hat;  you  must  not  take  it.'  * 


*  A  little  sketch  is  given  of  his  conversation  in  his  more  moderate  humor, 
and  the  favorable  impression  he  left.  It  is  certain,  says  Mr.  Wallace,  that 
he  left  upon  the  minds  of  persons  very  competent  to  judge,  who  then  con- 
versed with  him  for  the  first  time,  flattering  impressions  both  of  his  capacity 
and  demeanor.  "  Among  those  invited  to  meet  him  were  two  individuals 
holding  office  in  Ireland,  who  had  agreed  in  being  strenuous  opponents  of  the 
union,  but  now  entertained  adverse  opinions  on  the  Catholic  claims.  One  of 
these,  a  person  equally  and  eminently  distinguishe(\  by  his  eloquence,  wit, 
and  personal  character,  sat  at  dinner  opposite  the  King.  Lady  Conyngham 
whispered  something  in  the  royal  ear.  There  was  nothing  extraordinary  in 
this:  but  their  eyes  were  directed  to  the  opposite  guest,  who  appeared  some- 
what disturbed  by  the  seeming  scrutiny.  The  King  relieved  him  by  saying; 
*  Bushe  you  would  hardly  guess  that  Lady  Conyngham  has  been  repeating  to 
me  a  passage  from  one  of  your  speeches  against  the  union.  My  early  opinion 
was,  that  yours  and  Mr.  Saurin's'  (referring  to  the  other  functionary  present) 
'opposition  to  the  measure  was  well  founded;  and  since  I  have  seen  this 
glorious  people,  and  the  effects  produced  by  it,  that  opinion  is  corfirmed; 
but,'  he  added,  as  if  correcting  himself,  *  I  9,m  sure  you  will  agree  with  me  in 


752  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

"Before  his  Majesty  left  the  race-course  at  the  Curragh,  he  pre- 
sented a  superb  whip  to  the  Duke  of  Leiuster,  and,  on  handing  it, 
turned  round  to  Capt.  Browne,  the  ranger.  'Mr.  Browne,'  said  his 
Majesty,  'I  intend  this  whip  to  be  presented  to  the  owner  of  the 
best  horse  in  Ireland,  weight  for  age,  and  I  wish  you  to  fix  the 
weight  and  draw  up  an  article  according  to  which  it  is  to  be  run 
for;  and  in  addition  to  this  whip,  which  is  to  be  run  for  every  year, 
I  give  a  stake  of  one  hundred  guineas  annually,  as  I  wish  to  en- 
courage the  breed  of  strong  horses  in  this  country.  You  will  take 
care  to  make  the  weights  very  heavy,  and  that  no  horse  younger 
than  four  years  old  will  be  permitted  to  run  for  it.'  " 

After  a  visit  to  Powerscourt,  in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  he  laid 
his  hand  on  Lord  Fingal's  shoulder,  saying:  "To-morrow  you 
shall  see  my  letter.  I  think  it  will  please."  An  allusion  to  a  sort 
of  proclamation  of  liberal  treatment  for  the  Catholics.  He  also  paid 
a  visit  to  Slane,  Lord  Conyngham's  castle. 

Finally,  on  Monday,  September  3rd,  the  King  embarked  amid 
the  most  rapturous  demonstrations  and  some  eccentric  displays. 
"At  the  edge  of  the  shore,  his  Majesty  declared,  in  answer  to  an 
address,  and  much  affected :  '  Gentlemen,  I  approached  your  shores 
with  pleasure ;  I  now  quit  them  with  regret.  May  God  Almighty 
bless  you  all  until  we  again  meet.'    Mr.  O'Connell,  with  a  deputa- 

opinion  that,  now  the  measure  is  passed,  you  should  both  feel  it  your  duty  to 
oppose  any  attempt  to  repeal  it  with  as  much  zeal  as  you  originally  opposed 
its  taking  place.'  Both  bowed  assent;  and  the  King  continued:  '  But  you  all 
committed  a  great  mistake:  you  should  have  made  terms,  as  the  Scotch  did; 
and  you  could  have  got  any  terms.'  He  then  referred,  with  perfect  familiar- 
ity, to  the  stipulations  of  the  Scotch  union.  Mr.  Saurin,  the  anti-Catholic  func- 
tionary, said:  'And  the  Scotch  further  stipulated  for  the  establishment  of 
their  national  religion.'  'You  are  right,'  said  the  King;  'they  secured  that 
point  also;  but — no,  no'  (again  hastily  checking  himself),  'you  must  give  no 
weight  to  what  I  have  just  said.  It  should  not  be  supposed  that  I  entertain 
an  opinion  from  which  inferences  might  be  drawn  that  would  lead  to  disap- 
pointment.' Mr.  Saurin  obviously  meant  that  the  Irish  Parliament,  at  the 
union,  should  have  stipulated  for  Protestant  ascendancy;  but  the  King  ap- 
peared to  understand  the  Catholic  by  the  national  religion  of  Ireland,  the 
emancipation  of  which  should  have  been  made  a  condition. 

"  Despatches  were  received  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  announcing  the 
riots  at  the  funeral  procession  of  the  Queen ;  and  he  expressed,  without  the 
slightest  reserve,  in  somewhat  contemptuous  terms,  his  dissatisfaction  at  the 
want  of  arrangement  ami  energy  on  the  part  of  the  ministers.  He  then  ad- 
verted to  the  firmness  with  which  his  father  had  acted  in  the  riots  of  1780; 
and  spoke  of  him  in  a  tone  of  sjlemn  reverence,  with  the  reality  or  well-acted 
appearances  of  strong  emotion." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  753 

tion  of  ten  others,  on  his  knees  presented  to  his  Majesty  a  laurel 
crown.  His  name  was  announced  by  Lord  Sidmouth.  The  King 
took  particular  notice  of  this  distinguished  personage,  shook  him 
cordially  by  the  hand,  and  accepted  the  tribute.  Mr.  O'Connell  was 
loudly  cheered  as  he  retired.  Before  his  Majesty  descended  the 
royal  slip,  appearing  much  affected,  he  addressed  those  around  him: 
"My  friends!  when  I  arrived  in  this  beautiful  country,  my  heart 
overflowed  with  joy;  it  is  now  depressed  with  sincere  sorrow.  I 
never  felt  sensations  of  more  delight  than  since  I  came  to  Ireland; 
I  cannot  expect  to  feel  any  superior  nor  many  equal,  till  I  have  the 
happiness  of  seeing  you  again.  Whenever  an  opportunity  offers 
wherein  I  can  serve  Ireland,  I  shall  seize  on  it  with  eagerness.  I 
am  a  man  of  few  words.  Short  adieux  are  best.  God  bless  you, 
my  friends — God  bless  you  all.'  His  Majesty  then  descending  the 
sloping  avenue  that  led  to  the  barge,  with  great  activity  jumped 
into  it.  Four  gentlemen  (two  of  them  in  riding  dresses,  with  spurs 
on)  laid  hold  of  the  rudder  and  clung  to  it.  Three  fell  into  the 
water  and  swam  to  the  shore,  among  whom  was  Sir  Richard  Steele, 
of  Kilmainham  memory.  Another,  more  persevering  than  the  rest, 
stuck  to  the  rudder  until  his  Majesty,  apprehensive  for  his  safety, 
ordered  him  to  be  conveyed  on  board  a  barge  in  attendance,  and 
thanked  him  for  his  zeal."  His  Majesty  at  last  got  on  board,  but 
had  the  mortification  of  being  detained  four  days  in  the  harbor, 
owing  to  contrary  winds.  Not  till  Friday  was  the  squadron  able  to 
put  to  sea.  The  voyage,  however,  was  to  be  most  disastrous.  The 
King  thus  graphically  tells  the  story  of  his  sufferings  and  hair- 
breadth escapes  to  his  confidant; 

the  king  to  sib  w.  knighton. 

"Deakest  Friend, 

"I  am  sure  that  you  will  be  quite  surprised,  after  the  long 
letter  which  I  hope  you  received  safe  from  me  by  this  evening's 
post,  dated  from  hence  the  day  before  yesterday,  at  receiving 
another  from  me,  and  also  from  the  same  place,  but  which  I  hope 
will  be  the  last;  for  I  have  now  determined,  by  whatever  inconveni- 
ence it  may  be  attended,  upon  proceeding  directly  by  land  for  Lon- 
don, and  we  finally  start  at  five  o'clock  to-morrow,  and  hope  to  be 
with  you  before  four  o'clock  on  Saturday  at  Carlton  House. 

"  There  is  no  time  for  a  florid  description.     We  sailed  again  yes- 
terday morning  between  four  and  five  o'clock,  with  a  most  promis- 

33* 


754  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

ing  breeze  in  our  favor,  to  make  the  Land's  End.  About  two  or 
three  in  the  evening  the  wind  shifted  immediately  in  our  teeth ;  a 
violent  hurricane  and  tempest  suddenly  arose;  the  most  dreadful 
possible  of  nights  and  of  scenes  ensued,  the  sea  breaking  every- 
where over  the  ship.  We  lost  the  tiller,  and  the  vessel  was  for 
some  minutes  down  on  her  beam-ends;  and  nothing,  I  believe,  but 
the  undaunted  presence  of  mind,  perseverance,  and  courage  of 
Paget  preserved  us  from  a  watery  grave.  The  oldest  and  most 
experienced  of  our  sailors  were  petrified  and  paralyzed:  you  may 
judge  somewhat,  then,  of  what  was  the  state  of  most  of  the  passen- 
gers: every  one  almost  flew  up  in  their  shirts  upon  deck  in  terrors 
that  are  not  to  be  described. 

"Most  affectionately  yours, 

"G.  R" 

"Royal  George  Yacht,  Milford  Haven,  Sept.  10th,  1821. 

"  My  Dear  Friend, 

"  So  many  unexpected  circumstances  have  taken  place  since 
I  wrote  to  you,  that  I  scarce  know  where  I  am  to  take  up  matters 
to  put  you  aufait  of  everything  in  all  quarters.  It  is  rather  a  diffi- 
cult task  to  undertake,  particularly  as  I  know  you  are  not  partial 
to  long  letters.  I  will,  however,  endeavor  to  do  my  best,  and  be 
as  concise  as  possible. 

"  My  last  letter  told  you  I  was  to  embark  (as  I  did)  that  day  at 
Dunleary.  We  made  since  that  two  efforts  to  stand  out  on  our 
homeward  voyage,  but  were  driven  back  by  change  of  wind. 
However,  on  Friday  last  we  stood  out  suddenly  upon  a  change  of 
wind  in  our  favor,  and  persevered;  but  we  encountered  a  most  for- 
midable tempest  for  nearly  forty-eight  hours,  such  as  has  been 
hardly  known  by  the  most  veteran  sailor,  and,  wiili  ilie  blessing  of 
God,  arrived  safe  in  this  port  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon 
of  yesterday.  Not  to  be  prolix,  but  in  order  to  give  you  some  lit- 
tle idea  of  our  state,  most  of  our  fleet  were  separated,  except  the 
Royal  Sovereign  yacht,  the  Liffey  frigate,  and  ourselves.  The 
Grecian  sloop  of  war,  reckoned  one  of  the  best  schooners  in  the 
service,  sprung  her  mast,  and  was  obliged  entirely  to  part  company 
from  us  in  distress,  and  to  make  for  the  very  first  anchorage  she 
could,  where  it  is  hoped  she  is  long  before  this  in  safety,  though  as 
yet  no  intelligence  of  lier  has  been  received. 

"  Most  even  of  our  crew  and  company  were  deadly  sick,  but  the 
very  worst  of  all  was  my  poor  self;  and  I  am  now  for  the  first  time, 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  755 

since  we  are  again  at  anchor  in  smooth  water,  risen  from  my  bed, 
and  not  without  considerable  exertion  and  inconvenience  to  m}'- 
self.  I  have  suffered  so  much  solely  for  the  purpose  of  writing  to 
you;  for  I  too  gratefully  feel  the  warmth  of  your  affectionate  heart 
towards  me  at  all  times,  not  only  not  to  neglect  you,  but  to  prove 
to  you  that  you  are  always  present  to  my  mind;  and  I  felt  quite 
sure,  that  if  any  part  of  our  history  of  the  last  week  sliould  reacli 
you,  tiiat  the  short  note  which  Francis  wrote  you  yesterday  would 
not  in  tlie  least  answer  the  purpose  of  quieting  your  affectionate 
anxieties  and  cares  about  me.  When  Fr  mcis  wrote,  it  was  in  the 
utmost  haste  to  save  the  post,  which  leaves  here  before  three  in  the 
afternoon,  that  you  might  know  something  decidedly  of  us,  and  we 
liad  then  thought^  of  pursuing  our  return  overland,  as  he  ac- 
quainted you;  but,  upon  thorough  consideration,  we  found  thi& 
scheme  next  to  impracticable — what  from  the  very  mountainous 
and  bad  state  of  the  roads  tlirougli  this  part  of  South  Wales,  the 
scarcity  of  horses,  the  dreadful  length  of  the  stages,  and,  after  all, 
the  formidable  length  of  the  journey  itself  to  London  (being  above 
two  hundred  and  seventy-two  miles),  and  this,  too,  unattended 
with  any  sort  of  comfort  or  accommodation  on  the  road,  at  any 
rate  until  we  reached  Gloucester.  Upon  the  best  calculation,  there- 
fore, we  could  not  have  reached  our  destination  at  earliest  till 
Thursday  night.  We  have  therefore  determined,  all  matters  con- 
sidered, to  summon  up  resignation  and  patience  to  our  aid,  to  wait 
the  first  steady  and  favorable  wind,  and  which  is  now  very  promis- 
ing, that  will  carry  us  round  the  Land's  End  in  about  eight  hours; 
after  which  we  shall  make  Portsmouth  at  the  very  latest  twelve 
hours  afterwards,  let  the  wind  be  then  almost  whatever  it  may. 

"In  addition  to  this,  I  must  also  say  that  it  was  quite  out  of  the 
question  my  being  able,  for  two  or  three  days  at  least,  to  encounter 
so  tedious  a  journey  by  land;  I  am  so  completely  shattered  and 
torn  to  pieces  by  the  effects  and  sickness  of  an  eight-and-forty 
hours'  tempest.  Up  to  this  moment,  then,  you  are  acquainted  with 
everything  upon  which  it  is  in  my  power  to  give  you  any  informa- 
tion by  letter.  The  veriest  minutiae  of  the  details  of  what  has  passed 
since  we  met,  you  shall  have  from  me  when  we  meet.  Now,  then, 
God  bless  you!  Ever  yours,  etc., 

"  G.  R." 

The  following  is  the  diary  of  the  voyage:  "On  the  8th.  Satur- 
day, the  wind  being  unfavorable,  the  fleet  could  not  proceed,  and 


75.6  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

was  obliged  to  lay  to  at  sea  during  the  night.  On  the  9th  the  squad- 
ron reached  Milford  Haven  at  twelve  o'clock.  On  the  11th  the 
royal  squadron  sailed  from  Milford.  The  gale  being  strong  and 
contrary,  the  fleet  encountered  many  dangers  incident  to  boisterous 
weather.  On  the  12th  it  returned  to  Milford  Haven,  and  his  Majes- 
ty, after  suffering  much  fatigue  during  his  protracted  voyage,  de- 
termined to  land.  Milford  was  illuminated  on  the  13th,  at  half-past 
five.  The  King  landed  and  commenced  his  journey  to  London. 
He  slept  at  the  Priory,  the  seat  of  the  Maiquis  of  Camden,  that 
night.  On  the  14th,  at  4  a.m.,  he  set  out  again  on  his  journey, 
and  breakfasted  at  Monmouth  with  the  Duke  of  Beaufort.  His 
Majesty  slept  that  night  at  Chapel  House,  Oxfordshire.  On  the 
15th  his  Majesty  arrived  at  his  palace  in  Pall  Mall,  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  attended  by  Lord  Graves,  after  an  absence  of  forty 
days,  twenty-two  of  which  iie  spent  in  Ireland." 

Such  was  this  eventful  progress,  the  disappointment  at  the  result 
being  of  course  in  proportion  to  the  rapturous  delight  exhibited. 
The  display  was  virtually  insincere  on  both  sides,  the  epancJiement 
de  cceur  evoked  being  unwarranted.  Lord  Byron  gave  vent  to  his 
contempt  and  bitterness  at  the  whole  proceeding  in  the  well-known 
lines,  "  The  Irish  Avatar,"  in  which  he  grossly  ridiculed  the  person 
and  the  tastes  of  the  King: 

THE  IRISH  AVATAR 

Ere  the  daughter  of  Brunswick  is  cold  in  her  grave, 
And  her  ashes  still  float  to  her  home  o'er  the  tide, 

Lo !  George  the  triumphant  speeds  over  the  wave, 
To  the  long-cherished  isle— which  he  loved  like  his  bride. 

But  he  comes  1    The  Messiah  of  Royalty  comes! 

Like  a  goodly  Leviathan  roU'd  from  the  waves  I 
Then  receive  him  as  best  such  an  advent  becomes, 

With  a  legion  of  cooks  and  an  army  of  slaves. . . . 

Is  it  madness  or  meanness  which  clings  to  thee  now? 

Were  he  God— as  he  is  but  the  commonest  clay. 
With  scarce  fewer  wrinkles  than  sins  on  his  brow — 

Such  servile  devotion  might  shame  him  away. . . . 

Spread,  spread  for  Vitellius  the  royal  repast. 
Till  the  gluttonous  despot  he  stuffed  to  the  gorge, 

And  the  roar  of  his  drunkards  proclaim  him  at  last, 
The  Foiuth  of  the  fools  and  oppressors  called  "  George." 

The  wildest  hopes  were  naturally  excited,  and  a  passage  in  his 
letter  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  ambiguously  expressed,  seems  to 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  757 

have  been  construed  as  a  promise  of  immediate  relief  for  the  Cath- 
olics. "All  classes  and  descriptions  of  his  Irish  subjects  have 
made  the  deepest  impression  on  his  mind,  and  he  looks  forward  to 
the  period  when  he  shall  revisit  them  with  the  strongest  feeling  of 
satisfaction.  His  Majesty  trusts  that,  in  the  meantime,  not  only 
the  spirit  of  loyal  union,  which  now  so  generally  exists,  will  re- 
main unabated  and  unimpaired,  and  that  every  cause  of  irritation 
may  be  avoided  and  discountenanced,  mutual  forbearance  and 
good-will  observed  and  encouraged,- and  a  security  be  thus  afforded 
for  the  continuance  of  that  comfort  amongst  themselves,  which  is 
not  less  essential  to  his  Majesty's  happiness  than  to  their  own,  and 
which  it  has  been  the  chief  object  of  his  Majesty,  during  his  resi- 
dence in  this  country,  to  cherish  and  promote."  This  was  no  more 
than  a  benevolent  desire  for  peace  among  the  opposing  factions. 

A  great  deal,  however,  was  built  on  his  studiously  courteous 
reception  of  the  Catholics,  who  were  received  in  the  closet,  which 
caused  consternation  among  many  of  the  old  "true  blue"  order. 
The  impression  made  on  the  Duke  of  Montrose  is  worth  recording. 
"It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,"  he  writes  to  Lord  Eldon;  "also, 
the  command  over  themselves  which  the  whole  nation  have  had, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  At  the  theatre,  though  full  of  en- 
thusiasm, they  had  a  quietness  and  a  desire  to  conduct  themselves 
with  propriety  I  never  saw  before.  I  have  seen  no  drunkenness, 
no  unregulated  marks  of  affection  and  loyalty  in  the  city;  else- 
where, indeed,  they  have  pressed  upon  the  King  to  see  and  to  touch 
him,  a  little  inconveniently,  and  mixed  perhaps  with  some  super- 
stition, as  if  some  good  would  happen  to  them  in  some  way  or 
other  from  having  touched  the  King  or  his  clothes.  The  manner  in 
which  his  Majesty  has  been  received  has  had  a  great  effect  on  his 
Majesty's  feelings,  and  requires  great  tact  not  to  hurry  his  Majes- 
ty into  expressions  which  discretion  may  lament,  or  into  compari- 
sons more  open  perhaps  than  politic;  also,  perhaps,  into  grounds 
of  expectation  and  hope  which  can  hardly  be  realized."  There 
was  sound  sense  in  these  forecasts.  Within  a  short  time  there 
was  disgust  on  the  one  side  at  unfulfilled  hope,  and  on  the  other 
a  sense  that  his  bourgeois  familiarities  and  graciousness  had  been 
ill-repaid. 


758  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  y. 

1821. 

In  his  absence  occurred  the  death  of  the  unfortunate  Queen, 
whose  troubled  career  was  no  doubt  hurried  to  a  close  owing  to  the 
recent  mortification  she  had  encountered.  It  had  been  almost 
settled  that  she  was  to  undertake  a  sort  of  tour  in  Scotland — it  may 
be  presumed  a  counter-move  to  the  Irish  expedition  of  her  consort. 
There  was,  Sir  Henry  Holland  says,  a  strange  sort  of  irrational 
bravery  in  her  nature,  which  made  her  disregard  all  common  pre- 
cautions, not  merely  as  to  public  opinion,  but  even  where  personal 
risk  was  concerned.  An  acute  internal  iuflammntion  had  gone  on 
for  a  couple  of  days  without  any  attempt  at  checking  it.  ♦She  went, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  the  theatre;  and  it  was  on  an  accidental  visit  of 
her  physician.  Dr.  Holland,  that  the  first  notice  was  taken  of  the 
malady.  Bulletins  were  now  regularly  issued,  but  by  the  end  of 
tiie  week  recovery  was  found  to  be  hopeless.  Her  faithful  friends 
gathered  round  her  dying  bed;  Lord  and  Lady  Hood  (who,  how- 
ever, were  quitting  her  service,  the  poor  lady  having  selected  a  new 
favorite,  the  Rev,  Mr.  Wood,  asonof  the  alderman),  Lady  Anne  Ham- 
ilton, Mr,  Wilde,  Dr.  Lushington,  and  the  two  counsel,  Brougham 
and  Denman— the  former  quitting  the  sickbed  of  his  child  to  come 
to  her,  Mr.  Denman  describes  what  he  saw  with  much  true  feel- 
ing. She  lay  on  a  sofa,  a  handkerchief  round  her  head,  her  face 
flushed,  her  eyes  bright,  while  she  gave  instructions  for  her  will. 
From  the  first  she  had  but  little  hope,  and  indeed  was  eager  to 
quit  the  world  that  had  been  so  troubled  for  her;  and  Lord  Hood 
assured  Mr.  Denman  that  the  speech  reported  in  the  newspapers 
was  often  on  her  lips-  "  I  shall  quit  life  without  regret."  She  was 
constant  and  cheerful  throughout,  even  heroic,  without  being  the- 
atrical. On  the  Tuesday  she  grew  suddenly  worse,  and  towards 
evening  an  access  of  fever  coming  on,  mortification  having  set  in, 
she  with  much  veliemence  of  manner  and  excitement  denounced 
the  conspiracies  and  persecution  tli.it  bad  att(Mi<l((l  ber,  but  pres- 
ently became  Cdlm,     Seeing  Dr.  Holland  beside  her,  siie  said  with 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  759 

a  smile:  "Well,  my  dear  doctor,  what  do  you  think  now?"  She 
took  leave  of  her  friends,  thanking  them  for  their  kindness,  and  in 
a  not  undignified  fashion  passed  away  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  night 
of  August  ?,  1821.  By  her  will  and  codicils  what  fortune  she  pos- 
sessed was  left  to  her  protege  Austin,  with  remembrances  to  various 
friends  and  dependants.  Some  debts— indeed  £15,000  for  her  house 
— she  commended  to  the  care  of  the  Government.  She  desired  that 
she  should  be  interred  at  Brunswick,  and  that  the  inscription, 
*^  Here  lies  Caroline  of  Brunswick,  the  injured  Queen  of  England," 
be  put  on  her  cofRn.  If  we  can  trust  the  profuse  accounts  of  her 
conversations,  one  of  her  last  acts  w^as  to  declare  her  forgiveness  of 
Dumont's  calumnies.  Mr.  Wilde,  afterward  Lord  Chancellor,  was 
with  her  to  the  last,  and  told  Mr.  Denman  that  in  her  delirium  the 
name  of  Bergami  was  never  mentioned.* 

The  exciiement  and  grief  at  Hammersmith  during  these  events 
was  prodigious — expresses  passing  and  repassing,  the  people  crowd- 
ing at  the  gates  to  learn  the  news.  The  wiiole  kingdom  was  pro- 
foundly moved.  Lord  Castlereagh's  blunt  opinion  was,  that  it  was 
"to  be  regarded  as  the  greatest  of  all  possible  deliverances  for  his 
Majesty  and  the  country."  But  though  this  might  be  so,  her  inter- 
ment was  to  bring  his  Majesty  the  most  serious  trouble  and  incon- 
venience. 

It  was  evident  that  the  funeral  would  be  seized  on  as  an  opportu- 
nity for  a  public  demonstration,  which  the  Government  were  natur. 
ally  eager  to  check.  They  resolved,  therefore,  w-hile  paying  her  the 
honors  of  a  "lying  in  state,"  guards  of  honor,  etc.,  that  the  body 
should  not  be  taken  through  the  City  proper,  but  be  brought  round 
by  devious  and  private  ways.  But  the  various  partisans  of  the 
Queen,  female  as  well  as  male,  were  determined  that  some  capital 
should  be  made  out  of  the  display.  A  foolish  correspondence 
was  published  between  the  Prime  Minister  and  Lady  Hood,  the 
latter  demanding  that  the  funeral  should  be  put  off  till  she  got  her 
mourning  ready — that  there  should  be  no  guards,  but  the  people 
should  be  trusted.  On  the  day  of  the  funeral — which  was  on  the 
day  week  of  her  death — the  unseemly  proceedings  began  by  a 
wrangle  between  the  executors  and  the  undertakers.  Dr.  Lushing- 
ton  made  formal  protest,  urging  the  indecent  haste  shown,  the 


*  Some  Methodists  were  singing:  hymns  on  the  river  opposite  her  house,  and, 
as  they  raised  their  voices,  a  violent  gust  of  wind  bvu^t  open  the  door  of  her 
room.    At  that  moment  she  expired. 


760  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

forcing  into  the  procession  a  guard.  "Touch  the  body  at  your 
peril!"  exchiimed  the  eminent  counsel.  "You  will  not  use  vio- 
lence?" replied  the  undertaker,  who  also  had  to  endure  much  abuse 
of  the  strongest  from  Mr.  Wilde.  Both  he  and  the  undertaker 
declared  they  would  use  force  to  carry  out  their  views,  but  wiser 
counsels  prevailed,  and  the  procession  set  out  at  about  eight  o'clock. 
It  must  be  said  that,  unler  the  circumstances,  the  affair  was  con- 
ducted handsomely.  A  hearse  emblazoned  with  escutcheons  and 
drawn  by  eight  horses,  heralds,  twelve  mourning  coaches,  and  six 
squadrons  of  troopers,  made  a  handsome  show.  But  there  was  a 
deluge  of  rain  that  never  ceased.  The  arrangements,  no  doubt  due 
to  the  dull  Lord  Sidmouth— v^^ere  from  the  starting-point  carried  out 
with  a  mixture  of  obstinacy  and  weakness  that  led  to  disastrous 
results.  It  had  been  determined  that  at  Kensington  the  procession 
should  turn  off  the  main-road,  ascending  the  steep  Church  Street, 
and  so  gain  the  Bayswater  Road.  But  on  arriving  at  this  point,  it 
was  found  that  an  enormous  barricade  of  overturned  wagons,  etc., 
had  been  formed,  which  w^as  literally  impassable.  The  procession 
halted,  while  messengers  were  despatched  for  instructions  to  the 
Prime  Minister.  Towards  eleven  there  arrived  a  Bow  Street 
magistrate  at  the  head  of  a  troop  of  Life  Guards,  and  who  decided 
that  it  was  impossible  to  force  the  obstruction.  Amid  yells  of 
triumph  from  the  mob,  the  word  was  given  to  move  on  to  the  gate 
next  to  Knightsbridge  Barracks,  where  it  was  proposed  to  cross  the 
Park.  Here  it  became  evident  that  the  passionate  excitement  of  the 
mob  would  lead  to  mischief,  for  they  clung  to  the  gates  and  refused 
to  let  them  be  opened.  Again  the  authorities  had  to  yield,  and  the 
crowd,  flying  on  before,  were  found  to  have  formed  a  fresh  obstruc- 
tion at  Park  Lane,  where  the  next  passage  upwards  was  to  be 
attempted.  The  officers  in  command,  as  well  as  the  magistrate, 
had  received  the  most  imperative  instructions  not  to  go  through  the 
City,  and  were  determined,  or  rather  were  obliged,  to  carry  them 
out  at  all  costs.  The  only  resource  appeared  to  be  to  open  the  Park 
gates  and  make  for  the  gate  where  the  Marble  Arch  now  stands. 
Thus  foiled,  the  crowd  made  for  the  gate,  which  they  closed,  and 
threw  up  a  barricade  in  the  direction  of  the  Edgeware  Road,  along 
which  the  procession  was  to  be  taken.  The  railings  were  torn  down 
and  converted  into  pikes;  the  soldiers  were  attacked  furiously  with 
brickbats  and  stones,  and,  showing  much  good  temper,  were  at  last 
obliged  to  fire,  killing  two  persons  and  wounding  several  others. 
On  this  the  mob  fell  back  sullenly,  but,  as  will  be  seen,  were  not 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  761 

beaten.  For  his  share  in  this  transaction,  Sir  Kobert  Wilson,  having 
remonstrated  with  the  otBcers  in  command  in  unbecoming  language, 
was  dismissed  from  the  army.  No  doubt  this  was  a  severe  step, 
but  not  more  than  was  warranted  by  his  behavior.  Even  after  the 
collision^  Lord  Liverpool,  who  directed  all  the  proceedings,  sent 
repeated  instructions  to  the  magistrate  to  carry  out  the  original  pro- 
gramme, which  the  military  all  through  persisted  could  have  been 
done,  but  after  the  bloodshed  at  the  Park,  those  in  charge  did  not 
wish  to  risk  another  collision.  The  reason  they  were  so  eager  not 
to  pass  through  the  City,  was  the  foolish  idea  that  the  body  would 
be  seized  and  detained  there  in  consequence  of  the  executors'  pro- 
test against  the  "indecent  haste  "  exhibited.  It  is  curious  to  find 
that  they  were  also  afraid  the  Lord  Mayor  would  not  admit  the 
military.  The  procession,  having  made  its  way  to  Tottenham  Court 
Road,  had  succeeded  thus  far  in  carrying  out  their  programme — 
though  indeed  it  was  a  strange  funeral  progress,  marked  at  every 
step  by  violence,  ill-will,  stones,  and  bloodshed.  Here  there  was 
found  another  enormous  barricade.  Attempts  were  made  to  turn 
the  obstacle,  but  the  result  was  that  the  procession  was  driven  down 
to  Drury  Lane,  and  presently  forced  to  enter  the  City  at  Temple 
Bar.  The  people  having  thus  gained  the  victory,  the  body  was 
taken  triumphantly  through  the  City,  being  met  by  the  Lord  Mayor 
and  authorities. 

It  took  a  couple  of  days  to  get  to  Harwich,  where  on  the  embarka- 
tion there  was  a  fresh  unbecoming  scene,  though  not  an  actual  dis- 
turbance At  Colchester  an  altercation  took  place  in  the  church 
as  to  screwing  on  the  plate  with  the  inscription,  "Injured  Queen 
of  England,"  which  the  undertaker  objected  to,  but  which  Dr.  Lush^ 
ington  insisted  on.  The  entrance  into  Harwich  is  described  by  the 
Queen's  friends  as  offering  a  most  degrading  spectacle:  "  The  under- 
taker leading  on  a  lame  horse,  ten  of  his  assistants  following  in  pairs 
— a  miserable  spectacle,  both  as  to  cattle  and  dress:  some  with 
shoes,  some  with  gaiters,  some  in  spurs,  others  not."  Unfortunately 
there  is  always  something  mean  even  in  the  most  pretentious  of 
these  ceremonials — nothing  is  more  degrading  than  the  "  behind  the 
scenes  "  of  these  things.  But  it .  does  not  appear  that  the  rites  that 
attended  the  hapless  Caroline  to  her  grave  were  worse  than  others. 
The  coffin  was  put  on  board  a  man-of-war,  but  it  was  then  seen 
that  another  plate  and  inscription  had  been  substituted.  Oa  the 
24th  of  August  it  reached  Brunswick,  and  was  there  interred  with 
due  state  and  ceremony  at  nightfall. 


762  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

The  whole  obstructive  attitude  of  the  executors  was  indeed  un- 
reasonable, and  justified  Lord  Sidmouth  in  describing  it  as  factious. 
Their  particular  grievance  was  the  "  indecent  haste  "  with  which 
within  a  week  the  obsequies  were  pressed  on,  and  the  mode  in 
which  the  direction  was  assumed  by  Government.  But  the  case  of 
the  Government  was  unanswerable.  The  time,  within  three  days, 
had  actually  been  fixed  by  the  Queen  herself  in  her  will.  The  Gov- 
ernment was  defraying  all  expenses,  and  the  King,  as  her  husband, 
had  the  undoubted  right  of  making  what  arrangements  he  thought 
fit.  Even  all  these  were  to  be  subservient  to  the  public  peace.  That 
the  charges  of  wishing  to  perform  the  ceremonies  meanly  and  of 
wishing  to  give  her  maimed  rites  were  unfounded,  is  shown  by  the 
order  of  the  programme. 

The  Government  was  much  troubled  by  these  untoward  events. 
It  is  amusing  to  find  Lord  Sidmouth,  who  was  attending  the  King 
in  Dublin,  advising  "that  the  tables  should  be  turned,  and  we 
must  become  the  accusers  of  the  complainants,  instead  of  suffering 
the  complainants  to  be  the  accusers."  Otherwise  he  is  convinced 
"  the  G'»vernment  will  suffer  severely  in  estimation  and  character." 
The  police  magistrate  was  dismissed.  A  contrast  was  the  behavior 
of  Lord  Liverpool,  who  wrote  eagerly  to  Dublin  to  propose  a  gen- 
eral mourning,  which  he  said  would  gracefully  wind  up  the  un- 
happy business.  But  the  King  would  not  agree  to  this.  He  was 
displeased,  too,  at  the  body  not  being  embarked  in  the  river,  but 
the  Admiralty  had  objected.  Lord  Liverpool  again  pressed  that 
the  mourning  should  be  general,  and  pronounced  tliree  weeks  too 
short;  but  the  King  declined  to  alter  his  i-esolution. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  IV.  763 


CHAPTE.^  VI. 

1821—1823. 

In  this  year  also  the  King  set  off  to  visit  Hanover.  Sir  "William 
Knighton  attended  his  Majesty,  and  wrote  to  his  own  family  re- 
ports of  his  progress.  They  got  to  Brussels  on  Thursday  the  28th 
of  September.  "The  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lords  Londonderry 
and  Clancarty  were  in  waiting  to  receive  us.  In  about  half  an  hour 
after  our  arrival  the  King  of  the  Netherlands,  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
and  Prince  Frederick  paid  their  respects  to  his  Majesty.  We  were 
all  introduced.  We  then  sat  down  to  dinner,  amounting  to  twenty- 
eight  persons.  I  had  one  of  my  bad  headaches;  but  I  am  now 
quite  well.  The  truth  is,  I  have  so  much  to  do  I  am  almost  worked 
to  death.  Sir  B.  precedes  us.  My  King,  God  bless  him!  never 
gives  me  a  moment.  The  pen  is  never  out  of  my  hand  by  day,  and 
it  is  his  wish  that  I  sleep  in  his  dressing-room  at  night;  so  that  he 
has  access  to  me  at  all  hours.  You  will  not,  therefore,  be  surprised 
that  you  do  not  get  long  letters  from  me." 

On  Monday  the  1st  of  October  he  writes:  "This  has  been  a 
busy  and  an  interesting  day.  Early  this  morning  we  quitted  Brus- 
sels for  this  place.  We  reached  the  little  village  of  Waterloo  about 
twelve  o'clock,  accompanied  by  Prince  Frederick  of  Holland,  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  Lord  Clancarty,  and  a  number  of  persons  of 
minor  distinction.  The  King  went  into  the  little  church  of  the 
village,  examined  all  the  tablets  of  inscription  upon  the  walls,  then 
visited  the  willow-tree  under  which  was  buried  the  shattered  limb 
of  Lord  Anglesey,  and  seemed  greatly  impressed  witli  all  around 
him.  The  day  was  very  unfavorable — it  rained  torrents;  but,  not- 
withstanding this,  the  King  went  to  the  plain  of  Waterloo,  accom- 
panied by  the  duke,  and  examined  every  part  of  the  various  posi- 
tions." This  seems  to  have  left  a  vivid  impression  on  the  King's 
mind.  He  often  used  to  describe  the  ground  and  the  battle,  as  it 
had  been  explained  to  him,  and  after  libitions  of  his  favorite 
liqueurs,  would  delude  himself  that  he  had  actively  taken  part  in 


764  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  operations  of  the  glorious  day*  At  Dusseldorf  "the  whole 
garrison  marched  out  by  torchlight  to  serenade  the  King  on  his 
arrival.  The  effect  was  beautiful:  I  never  heard  such  bands.  The 
style  in  which  they  played  'God  save  the  King'  was  enough  to 
electrify  one.  I  get  but  little  sleep.  I  am,  however  (thanks  be  to 
the  Almighty!),  quite  well.  You  may  -judge  what  I  have  to  do. 
Sir  B.  is  at  Hanover,  or  nearly  so,  by  this  time.  Our  suite  consists 
of  nearly  forty  horses,  besides  the  escort;  and  all  this  moves  with- 
out the  slightest  confusion.  I  have  now  two  large  Prussian  grena- 
diers at  my  bedroom  door." 

On  Saturday  the  6th  of  October  they  were  at  Osnaburg,  where 
he  was  received  with  great  rejoicings,  illuminations,  reviews,  and 
even  tears.  Sir  William  tells  us  it  was  some  sixty  years  since  the 
loyal  Hanoverians  had  seen  their  King.  On  the  10th  he  made  his 
grand  entry  into  Hanover  on  horseback.  Then  followed  levees 
and  drawing-rooms.  There  were  battues  and  other  festivities,  a 
hasty  coronation,  but  the  natural  result  of  these  pleasures  soon  de- 
clared itself. 

"Here  I  am,  full  of  anxiety  and  wretchedness,"  writes  the  Court 
physician  on  the  4th  of  October.  "The  King  has  got  a  most  severe 
and  uncomfortable  fit  of  the  gout.  This  attack  commenced  two 
days  since.  I  still  entertain  hopes  that  I  shall  be  so  far  able  to  get 
it  under  that  we  may  begin  our  journey  on  Thursday  week.  This 
will  be  two  days  later  than  I  expected;  but  still  I  hope  to  save  this 
by  the  route  we  intend  to  take.  I  have  had  an  anxious  time  of  it, 
I  can  assure  you;  but  I  do  not  regret  it." 

He  soon  got  better,  and  Monday  the  29th  was  able  to  set  off  for 
home.  At  Gottingen  there  was  a  tournament,  and  an  address  from 
the  University  of  so  feeling  a  character  that  "the  King  burst  into 
tears."  At  a  civic  ball,  however,  he  was  in  great  spirits,  dancing  a 
polonaise  with  the  wife  of  Herr  Von  Schimmelpennick  and  waltz- 
ing with  the  burgomaster's  daughters.  Notwithstanding,  Mr.  Fre- 
mantle  reported  that  his  3lajesty  returned  "bored  with  the  Ger- 
mans and  disgusted  with  his  Hanoverians,  and  that  his  fit  of  the 
gout  was  but  a  pretext  to  get  rid  of  them." 

It  was  noted  that  since  his  dangerous  voyage  from  Ireland,  his 
Majesty  had  shown  sfgns  of  a  new- born  religious  feeling.  On  his 
way  to  London  from  Milford  after  the  storm  he  had  met  Lord  and 


*  On  one  occasion,  boasting  that  he  had  led  his  own  regiment  dou  n  a  great 
hill,  he  earnestly  appealed  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  as  to  his  recollections 
of  the  feat.    The  reply  was:  "  Very  steep,  your  Majesty." 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  765 

Lady  Harcourt.  He  got  out  of  liis  carriage  and  sat  with  them  in 
theirs,  on  the  public  highway,  recounting  all  his  perils  at  sea.  The 
lady,  as  she  told  her  friends,  was  quite  edified  at  his  pious  acknowl- 
edgments of  his  escape,  and  there  was  quite  a  change  to  be  noticed  in 
his  conduct.  His  physician,  too,  writing  on  the  German  expedi- 
tion, notes  various  occasions  on  which  service  was  performed. 
Connected  with  this  feeling  is  an  amusingly  scrupulous  letter  on 
the  appointment  of  an  Irish  Archbishop : 

THE   KING   TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

' '  [Most  secret  and  confidential.  ] 

"  Carlton  House,  Thursday  night,  12.30,  May  16th,  1822. 
'*Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"I  have  been  thinking  very  seriously  on  the  subject  relative 
to  the  Primate  of  Ireland,  and  I  cannot  make  up  my  mind  that 
either  you  or  the  Lord  Lieutenant  are  right  in  the  conclusion  which 
you  both  seem  disposed  to  come  to  as  to  the  individual  to  be  exalted 
to  that  sacred  station. 

"I  am  too  far  advanced  in  life  not  to  give  subjects  of  this  de- 
scription the  most  serious  and  attentive  consideration.  It  is,  alas! 
but  too  true  that  policy  is  too  often  obliged  to  interfere  with  our 
best  intentions;  but  I  do  think,  where  the  head  of  the  Church  is 
concerned,  especially  at  such  a  moment,  we  ought  alone  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  religious  duty.  Do  not  be  surprised  at  this  scrupulous 
language,  for  I  am  quite  sincere.  I  think  that  you  w^ould  do  well 
to  inquire  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  if  no  English  bishop 
on  the  bench  can  be  found  fitting  and  suitable  for  such  an  impor- 
tant trust;  and  if  not,  if  no  dignitary  of  the  Church  in  this  country 
can  be  selected  for  that  purpose  (for  you  will  remember  that  Dr. 
Howley  was  most  justly  at  once  made  Bishop  of  London);  let  us 
have  piety  and  learning  if  possible.  Besides,  I  do  not  like,  I  can- 
not reconcile  myself  to  have  the  primacy  of  Ireland  filled  by  an 
Irishman,  for  let  us  not  forget  the  particular  circumstances  in 
which  we  are  at  present  placed.  I  have  no  confidence  in  Lord 
Wellesley's  opinion  upon  this  subject.  I  shall  say  no  more,  but  I 
desire  you  to  give  this  your  deliberate  consideration. 

"  Believe  me  your  sincere  friend, 

"  G.  R." 

It  is  to  be  also  noted  that  effusive  declarations  of  the  Irish  voyage 
now  often  suggested  themselves  as  requiring  some  fulfilment,  and  it 


766  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

was  significant  that  Sir  M.  Tierney  went  about  declaring  that  it  was 
an  injustice  to  the  King  that  tlie  claims  of  tlie  Catholics  should  be 
refused.  The  King  was  also  out  of  humor  with  his  ministers  as  to 
baronetcies,  and  on  his  desire  to  make  Lord  Conyngham  Master  of 
the  Horse,  the  ministry  objected,  on  which  ' '  a  violent  quarrel  "  took 
place. 

The  King,  who  had  visited  Ireland  and  Hanover,  now  felt  that  he 
must  confer  a  similar  honor  on  an  important  portion  of  his  domin 
ions.  Indeed,  the  Scotch  had  already  expressed  some  jealous  dis- 
satisfaction at  the  preference  given  to  another  portion  of  the  kingdom, 
and  the  Sovereign — who  was  now,  and  not  unnaturally,  beginning 
to  fancy  himself  the  ' '  idol  of  his  people  " — was  eager  to  receive 
fresh  instalments  of  the  welcoming  acclamations  of  his  subjects. 
A  visit  to  Edinburgh  was  therefore  settled  upon. 

That  nation,  with  a  more  wealthy  middle  class,  and  a  more  mag- 
nificent nobility,  far  exceeded  the  Irish  in  the  splendor  of  their 
preparations  for  his  reception.  The  whole  kingdom  became  alive 
with  preparations,  for  which  some  antique  remnants  of  chivalric 
customs,  newly  kindled  by  the  enthusiasm  of  Walter  Scott,  were 
admirably  adapted,  in  the  view  of  scenic  effect.  The  preparations 
were  of  the  most  elaborate  character — new  roads  were  made,  old  and 
ugly  buildings  thrown  down,  painting  and  decorations  set  on  foot, 
while  for  the  Lord  Provost  a  magnificent  equipage  or  coach,  with 
six  horses,  was  got  ready;  costumes  and  fancy  uniforms,  imagina 
tively  accepted  as  connected  with  old  days  of  chivalry,  were  devised ; 
Celtic  guards,  etc. ;  while  Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote  ballads  to  kindle 
the  enthusiasm.* 

His  Majesty  embarked  at  Gravesend  on  Saturday,  August  10th, 


•CARLE,   NOW  THE  KING'S  COME  I 

BY  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT,   BART. 

Being  new  Words  to  an  auld  Spring. 
The  news  has  flown  frae  mouth  to  mouth, 
The  North  for  ance  lias  bang'd  the  South; 
The  Deil  a  Scotman's  die  o'  drouth, 

Carle,  now  the  King's  come! 

CHORUS. 

Carle,  now  the  King's  come! 
Carle,  now  the  King's  come! 
Thou  Shalt  dance,  and  I  will  sing, 
Carle,  now  the  King's  come! 
And  so  on  for  nearly  forty  stanzas. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  767 

1822,  amid  tumultuous  exclamations  of  joy  and  loyalty.  The  royal 
yachts,  the  Lord  Mayor's  barge,  and  a  fleet  of  attendant  boats,  were  all 
moored  off  the  hospital,  and  formed  a  scene  of  extraordinary  bril- 
liancy and  color.  The  Royal  George  and  the  Royal  Sovereign  were 
to  take  him  down  the  river,  while  a  squadron  of  war- vessels  awaited 
him  at  the  open  sea.* 

The  King  embarking,  as  was  latterly  his  wont,  with  a  benediction 
— "God  bless  you  all!" — retired  to  his  cabin  to  change  his  dress, 
and  presently  appeared  on  the  deck  in  full  naval  uniform,  and 
*•  wearing  a  cocked  hat."  His  yacht  was  taken  in  tow  by  a  steam- 
tug,  and  he  set  off  amid  extraordinary  excitement.  Not  till  Wednes- 
day did  the  vessels  reach  Leith.f  As  soon  as  it  was  descried  all 
Edinburgh  poured  out  to  line  the  hills  and  try  and  get  a  glimpse  of 
the  visitor ;  but  the  King  determined  not  to  land  until  the  following 
morning.  Visitors  however  arrived,  among  them  Sir  W.  Scott, 
whom  he  greeted  with,  ' '  The  man  in  Scotland  I  most  wished  to  see. 
Let  him  come  up."  As  on  the  Irish  visit,  whisky  celebrated  the 
arrival,  and  his  Majesty  called  for  some  prime  Glenlivat,  in  which 
he  made  Sir  Walter  pledge  him.:}:    The  latter  was  the  bearer  of  a 

*  The  modest  accommodation  of  a  royal  yacht  in  those  days  offers  a  con- 
trast to  what  is  required  now.  ''  The  quarter-deck  of  this  royal  yacht  scarcely 
exceeded  in  decoration  that  of  one  of  our  crack  frigates.  The  King's  dining- 
cabin  is  a  room  about  twenty -three  feet  wide  and  full  seventeen  feet  deep. 
A  door,  opposite  to  that  by  which  we  had  entered,  conducted  us  through  a  pas- 
sage about  three  feet  and  a  half  wide  and  seven  feet  and  a  half  long,  to  the 
King's  state-cabin,  or  drawing  room,  which  we  {supposed  to  be  about  twenty 
feet  wide  and  fifteen  or  sixteen  deep.  To  the  left  of  the  passage,  entered  by  a 
door  from  the  st£,te-cabin,  was  fie  King's  bedchamber,  measuring  about 
thirteen  feet  one  way  and  the  length  of  the  passage  the  other.  The  ceiling 
•was  about  six  feet  and  a  half  fiom  the  deck,  and  the  royal  apartments, 
though  richly  and  tastefully  fitted  up,  did  not  appear  to  contain  a  single 
superfluous  piece  of  furniture.  In  the  two  bookcases  of  the  state-cabin  were 
several  stanJard  works.  The  Royal  George,  we  understand,  measures  three 
hundred  and  thirty  tons,  and  was  built  in  1817,  at  Deptford  dockyaid,  from  a 
design  by  Sir  Henry  Peake,  one  of  the  surveyors  of  the  navy.  The  King's 
trip  to  Ireland  last  year,  it  seems,  afforded  indubitable  proofs  of  the  superior- 
ity of  her  construction.  In  the  two  days*  gale  which  his  majesty  experienced 
on  his  return,  the  yacht  shipped  scarcely  any  water;  while  the  attendant 
frigates  were  '  plunging  bows  and  bowsprits  under.'  " 

+  One  of  the  avant-conriers  was  the  inevitable  Sir  William  Curtis,  in  his 
yacht,  Die  jonge  Vrow  Rebecca  Maria. 

J  The  enthusiastic  poet,  who  was  in  a  sort  of  rapture  the  whole  time, 
beggpd  for  the  glass,  and  put  it  in  his  pocket;  but  on  his  return  found  his 
brother-poet  Crabbe  waiting,  and  in  his  excitement  forgot  the  precious  relic, 
ftnd  sat  down  upon  it,  crushing  it  to  pieces. 


768  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

badge  or  decoration,  made  to  the  order  of  the  ladies  of  Edinburgh, 
and  which  he  promised  to  wear.  A  bottle  of  wine  was  graciously 
thrown  into  another  vessel,  in  which  his  Majesty's  health  was 
drunk:  a  guinea  was  offered  for  the  empty  bottle,  and  refused. 
Two  noblemen  begged  to  be  allowed  to  keep  the  glasses  which  the 
King  had  handed  to  them. 

Sir  William  Knighton  gives  this  little  account  of  the  scene:  "Yes- 
terday was  the  day  of  our  arrival.  The  weather  continued  wet, 
stormy,  and  uncomfortable  during  the  whole  night  at  Leith  Roads; 
the  yacht  at  anchor  had  an  uncomfortable  motion.  I  saw,  for  the 
first  time,  "Walter  Scott,  who  came  on  board  immediately  on  our 
coming  to  anchor.  He  has  no  trace  in  his  countenance  of  such 
superior  genius  and  softness  of  mind  as  the  beauty  of  his  writings 
displays ;  but  the  moment  he  speaks  you  discover  a  correctness  of 
understanding  and  a  display  of  intellect  marked  by  the  utmost 
accuracy  of  thought.  Speaking  of  the  incessant  rain,  he  said  in  his 
Scotch  phraseology,  '  All  I  can  say  is,  I  am  perfectly  ashamed  of  it.' 
The  King  then  desired  him  to  take  a  glass  of  cherry  brandy,  which 
ne  graciously  handed  to  him  himself.  Walter  Scott,  when  he  had 
drunk  it,  craved  a  great  favor  from  his  Majesty,  that  he  might  be 
permitted  to  put  the  glass  in  his  pocket  to  keep  it  as  a  relic,  to  his 
feelings  above  all  value.  The  King's  landing  yesterday  was  most 
impressive  and  magnificent.  By  all  accounts,  more  than  a  million 
of  people  had  collected  together  on  the  occasion. " 

On  the  following  day  the  King  entered  Edinburgh,  being  met  by 
a  magnificent  procession,  in  which  all  the  oki  offices  of  honor  were 
represented,  and  to  set  off  which  picturesque,  if  fanciful,  dresses 
were  devised.  There  was  the  Lord  Lyon  with  a  crown  on.  White 
Rod,  Celtic  guards,  while  his  Majesty  himself  appeared  in  his 
admiral's  uniform.  "  He  was  heard  to  declare  that  the  Scotch  were 
a  nation  of  gentlemen."  At  the  close  of  the  proceedings  he  arrived 
at  Holyrood,  where  the  old  regalia  of  Scotland  were  offered  by  the 
"Knight  Marischal;"  then  a  pair  of  "barbed  arrows"  were  pre- 
sented on  behalf  of  the  "Royal  Archers,"  who  had  dresses  for  the 
occasion.  The  day  was  finished  at  Dalkeith  Palace,  where  the 
young  Duke  of  Buccleuch — then  about  sixteen  years  old — received 
the  King,  who,  however,  brought  his  own  cooks  and  household. 

Then  followed  levees  and  drawing-rooms  of  extraordinary  mag- 
nificence. His  Majesty  appeared  in  a  suit  of  Stuart  tartan,  though 
he  was  not  a  little  annoyed  at  the  gaucherie  of  his  admirer.  Sir  W. 
Curtis,  who  was  arrayed  in  a  suit  of  the  same  material  and  clan,  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  769 

from  his  bulk  seemed  a  sort  of  parody  of  his  august  patron  At  the 
drawing-room  the  King  appeared  as  a  field-marshal.  Then  followed 
a  performance  at  the  theatre  of  "Rob  Roy,"  and  a  banquet,  at 
which  he  was  observed  to  partake  of  turtle  and  grouse  soups,  stewed 
carp,  and  venison,  in  the  first  course,  and  in  the  second,  of  grouse 
and  apricot  tart.     He  drank  moselle,  champagne,  and  claret. 

He  made  a  characteristic  speech,  in  the  delivery  of  which  "the 
voice  of  his  Majesty  was  evidently  affected  by  his  feelings.  There 
was  a  blandness  in  it,  a  pathos,  which,  more  than  even  the  words, 
spoke  to  the  heart  of  every  one  present.  Throughout  his  Majesty's 
utterance  was  most  distinct;  but,  as  he  proceeded,  there  was  an 
increase  of  energy;  and,  in  concluding,  he  placed  his  hand  upon  his 
heart,  and  expressed  himself  with  powerful  emphasis."  During  the 
loyal  songs,  he  not  only  beat  time  to  the  chorus,  but  "  accompanied 
it  with  his  voice."  A  more  edifying  spectacle  was  his  visit  to 
church  of  a  Sunday  morning.  It  was  noted  that  "he  lifted  a 
psalm-book,  and  stood  during  the  reading."  * 

The  music  and  dancing  seemed  to  give  him  great  enjoyment, 
which  he  signified  by  ' '  looking  up  at  the  band  and  snapping  his 
fingers."  The  celebrated  Gow  orchestra,  which  performed  at  Al- 
mack's,  was  here,  and  his  Majesty  used  pleasantly  to  despatch  his 
young  host  on  errands  to  the  chef  d'oi^cJiestre,  "with  the  benevolent 
view  of  disengaging  him  from  the  more  arduous  duties  of  the  table. 
*  Come,  Buccleuch,'  said  his  Majesty,  slapping  him  on  the  shoulder, 
'  you  are  the  youngest  man  in  the  company,  and  must  make  yourself 
useful. '  A  glass  of  liqueur  having  been  offered  to  the  young  duke 
immediately  after  dinner,  the  King  observed  it,  and  said  with  a 
gracious  smile,  'No!  no!  it  is  too  strong  for  his  grace  to  drink.' 
After  dinner  his  Majesty  rose  from  his  seat,  and,  advancing  close  to 
the  band,  graciously  condescended  to  address  Mr.  Gow  for  the  space 
of  several  minutes.     Among  other  flattering  remarks,  he  observed: 


*  "The  spectacle  of  a  monarch  proceeding  to  humble  himself  in  adoration 
before  the  King  of  kings  could  scarcely  fail  with  a  rational  people  to  act  as 
an  example — as  an  incentive  to  devotion,  rather  than  as  the  signal  of  clamor- 
ous rejoicing.  When  the  royal  carriage  was  near  to  the  Cross,  a  few  boys 
took  off  their  hats,  as  if  about  to  cheer  his  Majesty ;  but  some  old  men  dis- 
suasively  held  up  their  hands,  and  the  most  prompt  obedience  was  yielded  to 
the  signal.  This  circumstance  was  much  noticed  by  the  King,  who  tmned 
round,  seemingly  pleased,  and  made  some  observation  respecting  it  to  his 
attendants.  Indeed,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  was  no  part  of  the 
behavior  of  his  Scottish  subjects  which  was  more  admired  by  his  majesty 
than  their  conduct  on  this  solemn  occasion." 
33 


770  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

*  From  my  earliest  years  I  have  always  been  fond  of  Scottish  music, 
and  have  often  listened  to  it  with  pleasure,  but  have  never  had  so 
great  a  treat  as  this  evening.  I  am  happy  to  see  the  representative 
of  Neil  Gow  in  this  place;  and  long  may  he  live  to  delight  his 
friends!'  Gow  was  quite  confounded  with  such  a  marked  proof  of 
the  royal  regard — his  heart  swelled,  and  his  lips  faltered;  but,  sen- 
sible that  some  acknowledgment  was  due,  which,  if  not  courteous, 
ought  at  least  to  be  emphatic,  he  made  an  effort  to  ejaculate  the 
words,  'God  Almighty  bless  your  Majesty!' which  fell  upon  the 
royal  ear  in  indistinct  murmurs.  When  the  King  had  withdrawn, 
Gow  in  some  degree  recovered  his  composure,  and  was  heard  to 
utter,  '  I'm  perfectly  contented  to  die  now! '  " 

On  the  29th  of  August  the  King  took  his  departure.  His  last 
words  on  quitting  Dalkeith  being  his  favorite  benediction,  "God 
bless  you  all !"  * 

*  One  of  those  fantastic  exhibitions  which  he  delighted  in  and  encouraged, 
attended  his  departure.  "In  Ireland  last  year  he  was  visited  by  a  poor 
diminutive  Irish  cripple  of  the  name  of  O'Brien,  who  came  from  the  south 
coast  in  a  miniature  cutter  of  his  own  constructing,  not  more  than  four  feet 
in  length,  and  in  which  (his  legs  and  the  greater  part  of  his  body  being  curi- 
ously stowed  under  the  deck)  he  encountered  rather  a  stormy  sea  in  coasting 
along  into  Dublin  Bay.  He  got  safely  alongside  the  royal  yacht,  however, 
and  appeared  in  his  tiny  bark  before  his  majesty,  who,  pleased  with  the 
novel  effort  of  the  dwarfish  and  adventurous  Si,ilor,  gave  orders  that  ten 
sovereigns,  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  provisions,  should  be  presented  to  him. 
The  completion  of  this  spirited  expedition  justly  entitled  the  obscure  navi- 
gator to  preferment,  and  he  was  promoted  by  the  sailors  to  the  rank  of  com- 
aiodore,  by  which  title  he  has  been  familiarly  distinguished  ever  since.  On 
the  occasion  of  his  Majesty's  recent  visit  to  Scotland,  O'Brien  deemed  it 
proper  to  repeat  his  demonstrations  of  loyalty  and  attachment;  and  for  this 
purpose  he  shipped  himself  and  his  craft  to  Scotland,  but  it  was  upset  and 
lost,  and  the  King  kindly  ordered  a  new  one  for  him." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IK  771 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1832-1824 

But  while  he  was  engaged  in  his  junketing  to  Scotland  a  very- 
serious  event  had  occurred.  This  was  the  death  of  Lord  London- 
derry.* It  was  curious  that  while  he  was  in  Ireland  he  should  have 
lost  his  Queen,  and  while  in  Scotland  his  Minister.  Naturally  this 
death  threatened  serious  annoyance  for  the  King.  He,  as  his  min- 
isters also,  felt  that  Mr.  CanniDg  alone  must  fill  the  vacancy.  Lord 
Liverpool  suggested  that  the  matter  should  stand  over  till  the  Scotch 
progress  should  be  concluded.  Lord  Liverpool  was  probably  not 
sorry  that  the  occupations  of  a  different  kind  to  which  his  Majesty- 
was  pledged  for  the  next  week  or  two  would  give  him  time  gradu- 
ally to  accustom  his  mind  to  the  contemplation  of  what  he  himself 
must  have  seen  to  be  so  desirable  as  to  be  almost  unavoidable ;  and 
therefore  in  his  first  communication  proposed  to  postpone  all  dis- 
cussions on  the  subject  till  the  King  should  return  to  London.  The 
King's  reply  approved  the  delay. 


*  On  leaving  the  King,  a  gentleman  (Sir  J.  Beckett)  said  to  him  carelessly: 
"  So  you  purpose  leaving  us  for  the  Congress?"  "  Purpose !"  was  the  answer; 
"so  you  are  in  the  conspiracy  against  me,  to  prevent  me  going?"  The  other 
was  confounded,  and  knew  not  what  to  answer.  But  to  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton his  behavior  was  more  strange.  He  had  noticed,  he  said,  his  sUence  and 
depression.  "  Just,"  he  continues  in  his  memorandum,  "  as  he  was  starting 
for  the  Netherlands  at  four  o'clock,  he  took  me  into  his  house  to  talk  to  me 
about  the  same  story  that  he  told  to  you  and  to  Lord  Liverpool ;  and,  strange 
to  say,  he  imagined  from  my  manner  at  the  last  Cabinet,  and  afterwards 
walking  home  with  him,  that  I  had  heard  something  against  him,  and  believed 
it.  He  thought  the  same  of  the  Duke  of  York.  And  he  told  me  some 
strange  story  of  a  man  telling  him  this  day  that  his  horses  were  waiting  for 
him  when  he  was  coming  out  of  Carlton  House  ....  as  a  proof  that  the 
person  who  had  ordered  up  his  horses  thought  there  was  so  much  against 
him  that  he  ought  to  fly  the  country.  He  then  rang  the  bell  to  ask  about  his 
horses."  He  then  cried  excessively.  The  Duke  adds:  "I  fear  he  has  men- 
tioned this  story  to  more."  The  Duke  at  once  sent  to  Dr.  Bankhead,  Lord 
Londonderry's  medical  adviser,  who  went  to  him,  cupped  him,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  him  down  to  his  country  place,  also  going  himself.    He  tells 


772  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

THE  KING  TO  LORD   LIVERPOOL. 

"[Private.] 

'*  Royal  George  Yacht,  Leith  Roads, 

"  August  15, 1822. 
"Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

'•  I  cannot  express  the  painful  grief  which  I  feel  at  your 
melancholy  communication;  melancholy  indeed,  both  for  myself 
and  others  who  knew  the  inestimable  value  of  this  superior  and 
excellent  person. 

"The  ways  of  Providence  are  so  inscrutable  to  us  poor  blind 
creatures  that,  on  occasions  of  this  description,  the  agony  of  one's 
mind  is  lost  in  amazement.  You,  my  lord,  will  not  be  surprised 
that  I  should  feel  this,  I  think  you  have  judged  rightly  in  not 
coming,  and  I  quite  approve  that  no  arrangements  should  be  thought 
of  till  my  return  to  town.  Your  sincere  friend, 

"George  R. 

"  P.S. — I  write  one  word  more,  to  desire  that  you  will  favor  no 
intentions  respecting  the  blue  ribbon." 

But,  as  Mr.  Yonge  says,  a  couple  of  days  afterwards  he  followed 
up  his  first  letter  by  a  second,  showing  a  curious  desire  to  elude  the 
proposal  which  he  foresaw  must  be  made  to  him,  by  getting  Can- 
ning, if  possible,  out  of  the  way  before  it  could  be  mentioned. 

THE  SAME  TO  THE  SAME. 

"[Most  private.] 

"  Dalkeith  Palace,  August  I7th,  1822. 
' '  Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"Notwithstanding   the   hurry    and  agitated  confusion   in 

which  I  am  necessarily  kept,  yet,  as  you  may  suppose,  I  cannot  help 

considering  very  deeply  the  distress  and  embarrassment  in  which 

the  tragedy  that  followed.  About  seven  o'clock  on  the  Monday  morning  the 
maid  called  to  him,  saying  Lord  Londonderry  wished  to  see  him.  He  found 
him  in  his  dressing-room,  standing  opposite  the  window,  with  his  face  to  the 
ceiling.  The  doctor  ran  towards  him,  saying:  "My  dear  Lord,  why  do  you 
stand  so?"  Upon  which,  without  turning,  he  answered:  "Bankhead,  let  me 
fall  upon  your  arm;  it  is  all  over,"  In  the  agony  of  the  moment  Dr.  Bank- 
head  caught  him  on  his  arm,  and,  dreadful  to  relate,  saw  a  short-bladed  knife 
In  his  right  hand,  fiercely  clinched,  with  which  he  had  deeply  divided  the 
carotid  artery.  And  from  the  sudden  effusion  of  blood  he  instantly  fell  from 
Bankhead's  arms  on  his  face  upon  the  floor,  and  was  instantly  dead  without 
a  struggle. 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV.  773 

my  Government  must  be  placed  by  the  death  of  my  esteemed  and 
valued  friend  Lord  Londonderry. 

' '  The  immediate  object  of  my  writing  to  you  this  letter  is  not  to 
make  any  proposal  at  present  with  a  view  of  supplying  the  lament- 
able void  produced  by  the  untimely  death  of  this  excellent  states- 
man, but  to  desire  that  you  will  not  interrupt,  and  on  no  account 
impede  the  arrangements  which  are  already  settled  respecting 
India,  as  it  is  my  decision  that  they  should  remain  final  and  un- 
alterable. 

"  I  am  induced  to  say  thus  much  to  you  for  the  purpose  of  guard- 
ing you  against  any  new  negotiations  with  the  individual  in 
question.  Believe  me,  your  sincere  friend  always, 

"G.  R" 

MB.  PEEL  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  [Most  private.] 

"  Edinburgh,  August  20tli,  1822. 
"Dear  Lord  Lrterpool, 

"  I  think  it  right,  at  least  it  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  my 
mind,  to  mention  to  you  something  which  passed  with  the  King 
yesterday. 

"On  going  into  the  closet  to  him  before  the  addresses  were  pre- 
sented, he  said  to  me,  *  I  will  now  tell  you  what  I  purposely  post- 
poned telling  you  until  forty-eight  hours  after  I  had  done  it,  that  I 
have  written  to  Lord  Liverpool  informing  him  that  it  is  my  decided 
intention  that  all  the  arrangements  with  respect  to  India  should 
remain  as  they  w^ere  settled  before  Lord  Londonderry's  death,  and 
that  there  should  be  no  delay  in  completing  them.'  The  King  added, 
'  I  hope  you  think  I  have  done  right. '  I  replied  that  I  w^as  sensible 
of  his  kindness  in  not  having  previously  mentioned  his  intention  to 
write  to  3''ou,  and  that  I  hoped  he  would  excuse  me  if  I  declined 
giving  any  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  his  letter  to  you,  or  saying 
a  word  upon  any  point  connected  with  it. 

"  Believe  me,  dear  Lord  Liverpool,  yours  most  truly, 

"Robert  Peel." 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  ELDON. 

••  Royal  George  Yacjit,  Leith  Roads, 

"  August  15th,  \^  pt.  8  P.M.,  1822. 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"I  have  this  moment  heard  from  Liverpool  of  the  melan- 
choly death  of  his  and  my  dear  friend,  poor  Londonderry.     On 


774  THE  LIFE'  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Friday  was  the  last  time  I  saw  him:  my  own  mind  was  then  filled 
with  appreliensions  respecting  him,  and  they  have,  alas!  been  but  too 
painfully  verified.  My  great  object,  my  good  friend,  in  writing  to 
you  to-night»  is  to  tell  you  that  I  have  written  to  Liverpool,  and  I 
do  implore  of  you  not  to  lend  yourself  to  any  arrangement  what- 
ever, until  my  return  to  town.  This,  indeed,  is  Lord  Liverpool's  own 
proposal ;  and,  as  you  may  suppose,  I  have  joined  most  cordially  in 
the  proposition.  It  will  require  the  most  prudent  foresight  on  my 
part  relative  to  the  new  arrangements  that  must  now  necessarily 
take  place.  You  may  easily  judge  of  the  state  of  my  mind. 
Ever  believe  me,  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  King  fancied  that  this  transparent 
artifice,  this  affected  eagerness  that  the  arrangements  of  the  late 
Secretary  should  be  carried  out,  would  escape  observation. 

When  the  King  returned  to  town,  however,  a  very  serious  strug- 
gle began,  and  he  showed  that  he  was  determined  to  resist  the  in- 
troduction into  his  Cabinet  of  the  person  he  so  disliked.  The 
Prime  Minister,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was  at  this  time  ill, 
and  the  Cabinet  generally,  with  the  exception  of  the  Chancellor, 
felt  that  there  was  no  other  course  to  be  taken.  The}^  were,  more- 
over, aided  by  the  camarilla  influence.  It  was  lamentable  to  find 
the  King  invg,riably  taking  issue  on  matters  where  resistance  was 
perfectly  idle ;  but  there  are  weak  minds  which  are  deluded  into 
supposing  that  such  a  struggle  in  which  they  are  worsted  is  a  vic- 
tory instead  of  a  humiliation.  He  had  some  reliance  on  the  Duke 
of  Wellington,  to  whom  he  despatched  Sir  W.  Knighton  for  advice 
and  consultation;  "the  gentleman,"  the  Duke  says,  "whom  the 
King  had  been  so  kind  as  to  send  to  him."  To  him  he  gave  the 
most  substantial  and  sensible  reasons  for  submission,  based  on  Can- 
ning's talents,  and  his  opinions  being  in  the  main  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Government.  As  to  the  Chancellor's  objections,  if  Canning 
had  spoken  harshly  of  him,  so  had  he  of  Canning.  As  to  the 
King's  "feelings, "the  Duke  addressed  his  Majesty  in  this  bold  and 
manly  strain-  "  Then  your  Majesty's  feelings.  Your  Majesty  con- 
ceives that  Mr.  Canning  has  offended  you,  and  that  your  Majesty's 
honor  requires  that  you  should  resent  this  offence.  If  it  were  a 
case  between  two  individuals,  they  should  lay  aside  their  private 
feelings  for  the  good  of  the  ]>ublic.  But  when  it  came  to  be  a 
point  between  the  King  and  one  of  his  subjects,  then  the  honor  of 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV.  775 

your  Majesty  consi^s  in  acts  of  grace  and  mercy,  and  I  am  con- 
vinced that  your  Majesty's  honor  is  most  safe  in  extending  your 
grace  and  favor  to  Mr.  Canning." 

THE  KING  TO   THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Carlton  House,  September  5,  1822. 
"My  deak  Friend, 

"I  -was  very  glad  to  learn  by  the  friend  whom  I  sent  to  your 
bedside  yesterday,  that  you  were  rather  better,  and  I  hope  that  I 
shall  have  your  further  amendment  confirmed  by  him  to-day. 

"  He  gave  me  a  most  faithful  and  detailed  account  of  your  opin- 
ion and  kind  feelings  under  the  painful  embarrassment  in  which  we 
are  at  present  placed,  and  I  must  confess  that  it  has  produced  a 
stronger  conviction  on  my  mind  than  anything  that  has  been  pre- 
viously urged  by  others.  If  I  could  get  over  that  which  is  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  my  private  honor,  all  might  be  well ;  but 
how,  my  friend,  is  that  to  be  effected?  I  have  a  perfect  reliance 
in  your  dutiful  affection  towards  me  as  your  Sovereign;  I  have  the 
most  unbounded  confidence  in  your  sentiments  of  regard  towards 
me  as  your  friend;-  my  reliance  therefore  in  you  is  complete.  I 
am,  with  great  truth,  Your  affectionate, 

"G.  R." 

THE   SAME. 

"  Carlton  House,  SeptemTber  7, 18S5. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"If  you  are  quite  well  enough  to  come  out  to-day,  of  conTse 
I  shall  be  most  anxious  to  see  you;  but  let  me  desire  of  you  in  tlie 
strongest  manner  not  to  leave  your  room  at  any  hazard. 

"  I  have  written  to  Lord  Liverpool  to  say  I  shall  defer  my  intet- 
view  with  him  until  I  shall  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you.  My 
friend,  whom  I  again  send  with  this,  will  receive  from  you,  in  the 
interim,  any  new  sentiments  or  opinions  that  further  reflection  may 
have  induced  you  to  form  on  the  painful  subject  under  considera- 
tion. I  am  most  sensibly  impressed  with  your  dutiful  and  affec- 
tionate attention  to  my  interests  and  happiness.  Believe  me,  wdth 
great  truth,  Your  affectionate, 

"G.  R.» 

The  Chancellor,  whose  clinging  to  office  seemed  to  delude  him 
into  the  most  extraordinary  compromises,  had  talked  of  resigning. 


776  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

He  now,  however,  round  himself  alone  in  the  Cabinet  in  his  oppo- 
sition. His  explanation  of  his  situation  to  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton is  truly  amusing,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  the  episode  is 
lightly  touched  in  Mr.  Twiss's  biography.  "  I  saw  the  King,"  he 
writes  to  the  Duke,  "this  morning  (Septembers),  and  he  was  in- 
clined to  tell  me  what  he  was  about  to  tell  Lord  Liverpool,  and  to 
ask  my  advice.  I  stated  that  it  was  not  proper  for  me  to  give  ad- 
vice on  a  thing  that  I  did  not  concur  in.  I  could  not  induce  myself 
to  act  according  to  the  advice  you  gave  me  this  morning.  In  truth, 
I  know  not  how  any  person  who  has  seen  the  King  in  the  distress 
in  which  I  have  seen  him  during  this  week,  and  has  heard  what 
has  fallen  from  his  lips  during  this  week,  could  in  any  way  further 
this  measure."  At  the  same  time  he  owns  that  the  Duke's  words 
"had  led  to  some  improvement  in  my  own  conduct."  He  would 
like  to  see  him  again! 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"[Private.] 

"  Carlton  House,  September  8, 1822. 
"Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"I  send  you  the  enclosed  note;  by  this  you  will  see  that  1 
have  sacrificed  my  private  feelings,  as  you  and  other  members  of 
the  Cabinet  have  represented  to  me  that  it  is  what  you  consider  to 
be  for  the  good  of  the  public  service.  I  have  on  every  occasion,  as 
in  this  instance,  shown  my  regard  and  sincerity  towards  my  Gov- 
ernment, and  I  therefore  look  with  confidence  to  a  similar  return 
This  is  the  greatest  sacrifice  of  my  opinions  and  feelings  that  I 
have  ever  made  in  my  life. 

"Believe  me,  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

THE  SAME. 

"  Cariton  House,  September  8, 1822. 

"  The  King  has  given  the  fullest  consideration  to  the  proposition 
submitted  by  Lord  Liverpool  relative  to  the  admission  of  Mr.  Can- 
ning into  the  King's  Government. 

"The  King  has  always  been  justly  impressed  with  the  value  of 
Mr.  Canning's  talents,  and  the  King  had  taught  himself  to  believe 
that  such  talents  might  and  ought  to  have  been  exercised  for  the 
benefit  of  his  Sovereign  and  his  country. 

"  When  Mr.  Canning  thought  proper  to  tender  his  resignation  to 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  777 

the  King,  and  to  retire  from  the  King's  councils,  the  King  ex- 
pressed to  Mr.  Canning  his  regret  that  the  country  was  to  be  de- 
prived of  his  services. 

"  It  was  at  this  period  of  time  that  the  King  had  reason  to  view 
with  surprise  tlie  line  of  conduct  which  Mr.  Canning  then,  and 
afterwards,  thought  proper  to  adopt. 

"The  King  forbears  to  enter  into  details;  the  King  is  aware 
that  the  brightest  ornament  of  his  crown  is  the  power  of  extend- 
ing grace  and  favor  to  a  subject  who  may  have  incurred  his  dis- 
pleasure. 

"The  King  therefore  permits  Lord  Liverpool  to  propose  Mr. 
Canning's  readmission  into  the  Government,  and  the  King  desires 
that  the  communication  may  be  made  to  Mr.  Canning  by  the  trans- 
mission of  this  note.  G.  R. " 

LORD  LIVERPOOL  TO  THE  KING. 

"  [Private.] 

♦'  Coombe  Wood,  September  8, 1882. 

"  Lord  Liverpool  has  this  moment  had  the  honor  of  receiving 
your  Majesty's  letter,  and  he  feels  himself  quite  overcome  with  the 
generosity  and  goodness  manifested  by  your  Majesty,  in  the  sacri- 
fice which  your  Majesty  has  condescended  to  make  of  your  personal 
feelings,  to  the  consideration  of  what  has  been  humbly  represented 
to  your  Majesty  by  so  many  of  your  confidential  servants,  as  the 
advantage  of  the  public  service. 

"Your  Majesty  may  most  fully  rely  upon  the  deep  impression 
which  this  act  of  confidence  and  kindness  of  your  Majesty  cannot 
fail  to  make  upon  the  minds  of  Lord  Liverpool  and  of  all  those 
with  whom  your  Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  communi- 
cate upon  this  most  trying  occasion. 

"Lord  Liverpool  will,  in  obedience  to  your  Majesty's  commands, 
communicate  to  Mr.  Canning  your  Majesty's  letter,  by  which  your 
Majesty  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  consent  to  his  admission 
into  your  Majesty's  service." 

Lord  Liverpool  was  "quite  overcome  by  the  generosity  and 
goodness"  of  his  Majesty.  But  it  is  curious  to  find  that  not  until 
three  days  later,  and  after  an  interview,  did  he  communicate  the 
King's  letter  to  Canning;*  whib  the  latter  did  not  send  his  reply 

*  Lord  Lirerpool's  doubts  in  sending  the  King's  letter  are  shown  in  his  own 
to  Canning.  He  urged  on  him  "  that  after  the  severe  calamity  which  the 
King  and  the  country  have  sustained,  and  imder  all  circumstances  of  the 


778  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOmE  IV. 

to  his  Majesty  for  yet  two  more  days.  The  King's  letter  is  dated 
September  8th,  and  Canning's  reply  the  13th.  The  meaning  of  this 
delay  in  Mr.  Canning's  case  arose  not,  as  Mr.  Yonge  supposes,  from 
a  disinclination  to  resign  his  Indian  appointment,  but  from  indig- 
nation. He  took  particular  offence  at  the  words  "grace  and  fa- 
vor," as  did  also  his  wife,  and  he  wrote  an  angry  reply  to  Lord 
Liverpool,  which  he  intended  should  be  shown  to  the  King.  How- 
ever, Mr.  Charles  Ellis  and  Lord  Grenville,  on  hearing  of  this, 
hurried  to  him,  and  by  the  most  earnest  arguments  succeeded  in 
dissuading  him  from  sending  the  document. 


MR.  CANNING  TO   THE  KING. 

*'  Gloucester  Lodge,  September  13th,  1822. 

"Mr.  Canning  apprehends  that  it  might  be  considered  as  disre- 
spectful to  the  King  to  omit  taking  notice  of  the  letter  from  his 
Majesty  to  Lord  Liverpool,  which  Lord  Liverpool  was  specially 
directed  to  transmit  to  Mr.  Canning. 

"Mr.  Canning  therefore  acknowledges,  with  all  thankfulness  and 
humility,  the  King's  spontaneous  signification  of  his  Majesty's 
'  grace  and  favor,'  and  he  is  particularly  grateful  for  his  Majesty's 
great  condescension  in  specifying  the  precise  period  of  time  at  wiiich 
Mr.  Canning  had  the  misfortune  to  'incur  his  Majesty's  displeas- 
ure,' as  he  is  confident  that,  if  he  were  not  restrained  by  liis  Majes- 
ty's declared  wish  from  entering  into  details,  he  could  make  it  clear 
that  in  the  transactions  of  that  period  ho  had  not  the  remotest  inten- 
tion of  giving  any  offence  to  his  Majesty. 

"Mr.  Canning  has  only  further  to  express  his  luimblo  acknowl- 
edgments to  his  Majesty  for  the  confidence  so  -(MUMoiKly  manifest- 
ed in  the  very  nature  of  the  proposal  whieli  liis  Mnjc^ty  has  aullior- 
ized  Lord  Liverpool  to  make  to  him.  a  (•onii(haic<>  wliidi  ii  will  be 
Mr.  Canning's  earnest  and  constant  endeavor  to  deserve." 


present  crisis,  a  sense  of  public  duty  must  preclude  you  from  inakinfr  any 
difficulty  as  to  taking  your  part  in  the  councils  of  the  Kin-s  ( ;i.\  nimuuit  at 
home  at  this  time.  I  know  enough  of  his  Majesty's  (lisp,,^!;  imi  ,ni(i  mag- 
nanimity to  be  satisfied  that,  however  his  feelings  may  liavr  Im.h  udnnded 
by  some  past  o<-<-urr(MH'cs.  tlic  onuses  of  which  hav.-  i\o\\-  ^-oiie  by,  he 
would  never  h.'ivf  .■Musmt.Mi  to  admit  you,  or  any  oiu-.  int..  liis  councils,  imless 
he  had  determined  lo  ulTord  to  the  individual  the  fullest  confidence  that 
might  be  nece.s.sary  for  the  discharge  of  the  important  dut  ics  of  ilie  high  and 
arduous  situation  which  he  might  be  called  uj)on  to  fill." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  779 

There  is  something  ironical  in  the  quotation  of  the  words  '  grace 
and  favor,'  and  the  affected  gratitude.  The  King,  however,  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  informed  of  the  real  reason  for  the  delay, 
which  he  was  surprised  at. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"  Carlton  House,  4  p.m.,  September  13th,  1822. 
"  My  Deak  Friend, 

"  I  am  glad  to  find,  by  my  friend,  that  you  are  better  to-day; 

and  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  indisposition  is  nearly  over. 

"Lord  Liverpool  has  just  been  with  me,  and  the  affair  respecting 

Canning  may  be  considered  as  concluded.     The  reason  given  for 

the  delay  was  what  you  kindly  sent  to  me  this  morning;  viz.— the 

sentiment  expressed  in  my  letter,  which  either  you  or  I  should  have 

settled  in  .five  minutes.     I  was  glad  to  find  there  was  no  other 

crotchet  or  proposition  behind.     This  ends  the  last  calamity.    My 

reliance  is  on  you,  my  friend;  be  watchful  therefore.     God  bless 

you. 

"  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R" 

It  always  seemed  a  little  mysterious  why  the  King,  after  so  in- 
dulgently condoning  Mr.  Canning's  behavior  on  the  Queen's  trial, 
should  have  taken  offence  at  his  conduct  in  the  later  proceedings 
connected  with  it.  Mr.  Greville,  who  is  generally  well  informed, 
heard  from  an  intimate  friend  of  Canning's  that  the  resentment  was 
owing  to  the  payments  for  the  Milan  Commission,  which  Lord  Lon- 
donderry promised  should  be  charged  to  the  State,  but  which  Can- 
ning insisted  should  be  defrayed  "by  the  King  himself  But  there 
was  another  and  better  reason  to  be  stated  presently. 

All  being  thus  happily  composed,  an  interview  with  the  King 
followed,  of  which  Mr.  Canning  says  coldly:  "  I  have  reason  to  be 
contented  with  the  King's  behavior  at  our  first  interview;  and  I 
have  learned  from  good  authority  that  his  Majesty  professed  to  have 
been  'pleased  and  satisfied'  with  mine."  It  is  amusing  to  hear  the 
King's  account.  He  told  Madame  de Lieven  "that  having  consent- 
ed to  receive  him,  he  behaved,  as  he  always  did,  in  the  most  gentle- 
manlike manner  he  could,  and  that  on  delivering  the  seals  to  him, 
he  said  to  him  that  he  had  been  advised  by  his  ministers  that  his 
abilities  and  eloquence  rendered  him  the  only  fit  man  to  succeed  to 
the  vacancy  which  Lord  Londonderry's  death  had  made,  and  that 


780  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

in  appointing  him  he  had  only  to  desire  that  he  would  follow  in  the 
steps  of  his  predecessors."  There  was  something  clever  in  this 
speech.  By-and-by  it  will  be  seen  how  this  step  was  for  the  King's 
good,  and  how  this  admirable  foreign  minister  was  to  raise  his  coun- 
try to  a  high  position  abroad  by  his  fearless  resolute  conduct  in  his 
dealings  with  the  representatives  of  other  countries. 

Lord  Liverpool  had  written  on  the  subject  of  sending  Lord  W. 
Bentiuck  to  India,  and  on  some  other  political  steps.  He  received 
this  reply : 

THE  KENG  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"[Private.] 

"  Keeper's  Lodge,  October  8th,  1822. 
"Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"  I  coincide  completely  with  you  in  the  opinion  that  it  would 
be  highly  unadvisable  that  Lord  William  Bentinck  should  be  the 
successor  of  Lord  Hastings. 

"  With  respect  to  the  other  suggestions  you  have  offered  me  for 
my  consideration,  I  must  fairly  acknowledge  to  you  that  I  think 
they  are  all  attended  with  more  or  less  difficulty,  and  any  one  of 
them  in  the  abstract  likely,  if  not  certain,  of  being  followed  by  seri- 
ous inconvenience  in  the  result. 

"  I  can  have  no  hesitation  in  stating  as  my  opinion,  that  the  pres- 
ent Speaker  would  be  a  very  proper  person  to  go  to  India.  As  to 
Mr.  Wynne,  if  he  is  deemed  the  properest  person  to  fill  the  vacan- 
cy in  the  Chair  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  supposing  him  to 
attain  it,  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  he  and  all  his  connec- 
tions (taking  into  view  the  two  very  highest  and  most  marked  favors 
which  I  have  conferred  within  the  short  space  of  two  years  upon 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham)  ought  to  be  content;  and  that  if  they  are 
not  so  in  consequence,  nothing  that  ever  I  can  do,  or  my  Govern- 
ment ever  can  or  may  do,  will  satisfy  their  immeasurable  preten- 
sions. 

"  With  regard  to  the  admission  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  into 
the  Cabinet,  I  am  certain  that,  independent  of  any  other  objection 
to  which  it  is  so  palpably  open,  it  would  be  one  of  the  most  unpop- 
ular measures  that  the  Government  could  have  recourse  to;  and 
here  I  must  candidly  state  to  you  an  opinion  which  I  have  long 
entertained,  that  my  Cabinet  (from  a  variety  of  circumstances)  has 
become  by  far  too  numerous;  and  at  the  same  time  that  I  do  admit, 
that  in  the  present  instance  (were  it  to  take  place)  this  would  not 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  781 

be  increasing  the  number  of  those  who  compose  the  Cabinet  at 
present,  still  I  think  you  ought  well  to  consider,  upon  any  vacancy 
occurring  in  several  of  those  offices  which  have  lately  been  made 
Cabinet  situations,  before  you  suJQter  them  to  be  filled  up  with  the 
like  important  trust  being  attached  to  them. 

**  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

THE   SAME. 

«  [Private.] 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Windsor  Park,  October  9th,  1822. 

"  Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"  I  hope  you  will  find  that  I  have  not  delayed  the  return  of 

the  messenger  very  long. 

"I  shall  certainly  not  object  to  the  nomination  of  Lord  Amherst 

to  the  station  of  Governor-General  in  India,  if  he  be  the  individual 

that  is  the  most  desired  by  the  Board  of  Directors ;  at  the  same  time 

you  cannot  but  be  sensible,  that  for  many  reasons  he  could  have  no 

pretensions,  and  indeed  in  no  way  could  he  be  the  object  of  my 

own  selection. 

"  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

The  strangely-constituted  disposition  of  George  IV.  often  dis- 
played itself  in  his  dislike  to  various  ministers  even  holding  the 
more  subordinate  positions,  to  whom  he  objected  as  being  forced 
upon  him.  It  being  now  proposed  to  promote  Mr.  Huskisson,  he 
offered  some  objections;  but  in  this  showed  a  certain  sagacity,  as  it 
would  be  strengthening  Mr.  Canning  in  the  Cabinet,  whose  friend 
he  was.  Lord  Liverpool,  however,  and  the  others  seem  to  have 
arranged  that  the  King  was  to  be  humored,  by  foregoing  the  plan 
and  by  yielding  to  his  Majesty's  objections;  and  it  was  agreed  with 
Mr.  Huskisson  that  he  was  reculer  pour  mieux  sauter. 


THE  KING  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

*  [Private.] 

"  Pavilion,  Brighton,  January  3, 1823. 
"My  dear  Liverpool, 

"  I  have  great  pleasure  in  acquiescing  in  your  proposal  re- 
specting Mr.  Vansittart,  and  in  whatever  way  it  may  be  agreeable 
to  him  to  be  raised  to  the  peerage,  I  am  most  ready  to  assent  to  it. 
I  beg  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  acquaint  him  that  I  am  fully 


782  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBQE  IV. 

sensible  of  the  value  of  his  past  services,  and  the  high  estimation  in 
which  I  hold  his  private  character. 

"  I  think  your  selection  of  Mr.  Robinson  as  Mr.  Yansittart's  suc- 
cessor well  judged,  and  one  very  likely  to  give  great  satisfaction  to 
the  country  gentlemen. 

*'  I  hope  Mr.  Robinson  will  feel  the  tribute  of  affection  and  re- 
gard that  has  been  paid  to  the  memory  of  his  and  our  friend  poor 
Lord  Londonderry  by  your  selection. 

"  To  Mr.  Huskisson's  appointment  I  have  no  objection;  I  think 
that  you  are  quite  right  in  abridging  the  number  in  your  Cabinet; 
but  I  leave  it  entirely  to  your  decision  if  you  should  think  the  ad- 
mission of  Mr,  Huskisson  into  the  Cabinet  for  the  good  of  the  pub- 
lic service  not  to  hesitate  to  do  so,  but  upon  this.  I  rely  with  great 
confidence  on  your  honest  and  prudent  judgment.  Who  is  to  suc- 
ceed Mr.  Huskisson?  for  that  you  have  not  mentioned.  I  beg  to 
offer  you  and  Lady  Liverpool  *  the  compliments  of  the  season. 
"Believe  me,  with  great  regard, 

*•  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

There  was  another  who  had  grave  misgivings  as  to  what  was 
going  on — "Old  Baggs,"  the  Lord  Chancellor.  What  first  seriously 
staggered  him  was  this  introduction  of  Mr.  Huskisson,  Mr.  Can- 
ning's friend,  into  the  Cabinet,  Lord  Sidmouth,  one  of  the  last  of 
the  "  True  Blues,"  was  leaving.  Lord  Liverpool  had  "  backslided, " 
He  was  almost  the  sole  survivor  of  the  supporters  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. "Really,"  he  exclaims,  "this  is  rather  too  much— turning 
out  one  man  and  introducing  another  in  the  way  all  this  is  done,  is 
telling  the  Chancellor  that  he  should  not  give  them  the  trouble  of 
disposing  of  him,  but  should  (not  treated  as  Chancellor)  cease  to  be 
a  Chancellor,  What  makes  it  worse  is,  that  the  great  man  of  all  has 
a  hundred  times  most  solemnly  declared  that  no  connection  of  a 
certain  person's  should  come  in.  There  is  no  believing  one  word 
anybody  says;  and  what  makes  the  matter  still  worse  is,  that  every- 
body acquiesces  most  quietly,  and  waits  in  all  humility  and  patience 
till  their  own  turn  comes.  I  have  written  to  Liverpool  (before  this 
news  came,  and  therefore  not  on  the  ground  of  tliis  fact)  that  I  have 
no  wish  to  remain  Chancellor;  and,  to  say  the  truth,  I  think  those 


*  In  the  preceding  autumn  Lord  Liverpool  had  married  Miss  Chester,  a 
niece  of  the  first  Lord  Bagot. 


TBB  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IK  783 

who  do  remain,  and  especially  that  ofHcer,  stand  a  very  good  chance 
of  being  disgraced."  The  "great  naan  "  was  of  course  his  "dear 
master,  "with  whom  he  was  much  discontented,  and  on  whom,  in 
letters  to  his  family,  he  could  be  sarcastic  enough.  To  his  Majesty 
personally,  however,  he  was  lavish  in  professions  of  devotion. 

("  Probably  July  21,  1823.) 
"All  the  world  here  is  running  on  Sundays  to  the  Caledonian 
Chapel  in  Hatton  Garden,  where  they  hear  a  Presbyterian  orator 
from  Scotland,  preaching,  as  some  ladies  term  it,  charming  matter, 
though  downright  nonsense.  To  the  shame  of  the  King's  ministers 
be  it  said,  that  many  of  them  have  gone  to  this  schism  shop  with 

itching  ears.      Lauderdale  told  me  that  when  Lady is  there, 

the  preacher  never  speaks  of  an  heavenly  mansion,  but  an  heavenly 
pavilion.    For  other  ears  mansion  is  suflicient.     This  is  a  sample  !'» 

THE  KING  TO   LORD  ELDON. 

"August  18,  1823. 

"JMy  dear  Friend, 

"  I  have  now  to  thank  you  for  two  letters:  the  expressions  in 
the  first  bespeak  so  well  those  kind  and  affectionate  feelings  of  your 
heart  towards  me,  and  so  long  known  to  me,  as  to  ensure  you  a 
thorough  reciprocity  on  my  part  towards  yourself.  With  respect 
to  the  letter  which  I  received  from  you  this  morning,  I  can  only  say 
that  I  hope  you  will  not  neglect  availing  yourself  of  the  very  first 
moment  of  release  that  you  can  seize  from  all  your  arduous  and 
laborious  occupations,  to  indulge  in  a  little  tranquillity  and  repose 
in  the  country,  and  which  I  pray  God  may  be  the  means  of  very 
long  preserving  a  life  so  very  invaluable,  both  to  me  as  a  friend  as 
well  as  to  the  public  service. 

"  With  sincere  affection  I  remain  always, 

"G.  R" 

Not  to  be  beguiled,  however.  Lord  Eldon  wrote  to  his  venerable 
brother: 

"The  appointment  of  Lord  Francis  Conyngham  in  the  Foreign 
Office  has,  by  female  influence,  put  Canning  beyond  the  reach  of 
anything  to  affect  him,  and  will  assuredly  enable  him  to  turn  those 
out  whom  he  does  not  wish  to  remain  in.  The  King  is  in  such 
thraldom  that  one  has  nobody  to  fall  back  upon.     The  person  that 


784  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV. 

has  got  .  .  .  after  having  in  conversations,  I  believe,  uttered  noth- 
ing that  was  kind  about  Canning,  was  one  of  his  voters  for  his 
Cabinet  office.  The  devil  of  it  is,  there  is  no  consistency  in  anybody. 
Again,  upon  ne  cede  malis,  it  is  better  to  go  out  than  to  be  turned 
out!  which  will  assuredly  be  the  case.    God  bless  you. 

"Eldon." 

In  the  following  year  (1834)  came  the  alarming  proposal  to  pass 
an  Act  allowing  the  Catholic  Earl  Marshal  of  England  to  perform 
his  office,  on  merely  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance.  This  was  surely 
compromising  the  great  principle  of  ascendency  and  introducing 
"the  thin  edge  of  the  wedge."  The  King  appears  to  have  been 
rather  unceremoniously  treated  in  this  matter,  or  gave  out  that  he 
was.  But  the  ministers  could  not  have  introduced  such  a  measure 
without  his  sanction.  He  took  the  extraordinary  course  of  calling 
the  Chancellor  to  his  aid  against  his  ministers.  Seeing  that  the 
Chancellor  had  given  notice  of  a  motion  to  put  the  bill  off  for  three 
months,  accounts  for  the  irritable  tone  of  the  letter  to  his  sudden 
adhesion.  Lord  Colchester  had  asked  him  whether  he  was  going  to 
oppose  it.  He  replied  that  "he  did  not  know  that,  but  he  thought 
that  it  ought  not  to  proceed  now." 

"  Carlton  House,  June  23, 1834. 

"The  King  desires  to  apprise  the  Lord  Chancellor,  that  the  King 
has  learnt,  through  the  medium  of  the  newspapers,  what  has  been 
passing  in  Parliament  relative  to  the  office  of  Earl  Marshal  of 
England. 

"  The  King  cannot  suppose  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England 
can  approve  of  the  King's  dispensing  with  the  usual  oaths  attached 
to  that,  or  any  other  high  office;  but  if  the  King  should  be  mistaken 
in  this  supposition,  the  King  desires  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  will 
state  his  reasons  in  writing,  why  the  King  should  be  expected  to 
give  his  consent  to  such  an  unusual  and  unprecedented  measure. 

"G.  R." 

Yet  on  the  following  evening  we  find  the  Lord  Chancellor  earnestly 
advocating  the  measure !  On  the  next  evening  he  met  his  Majesty 
at  a  magnificent  entertainment  at  Apsley  House.  "  We  did  not," 
he  says,  "  get  there  till  past  eight— all  the  turtle  gone,  alas  !  Ditto, 
all  the  fish — very  splendid; — open  window  on  my  left  side — got  a 
cold  thereby.    In  the  evening  himdreds  came—one  in  fifty  was  as 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  785 

many  as  I  knew.  The  King  went  in  great  state  with  an  escort  of 
horse.  I  think  that  job  and  prorogation  to-day  will  lay  him  up. 
...  At  dinner  yesterday,  1.  The  King.  2.  Duke  of  York.  3. 
The  Lady.  4,  5.  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Wellington.  6,  7.  Count 
Lieven  and  Lady.  8.  Prince  Polignac.  9.  Dutch  Ambassador.  10. 
Chancellor.  11.  Marquis  Conyngham.  12.  His  son.  13.  His 
daughter.  14.  Liverpool.  15.  Bathurst.  16.  Melville.  17,  18. 
Lord  and  Lady  Warwick.  19,  20.  Lord  and  Lady  Gwydir.  21. 
Lord  Glenlyon.  22.  Mr.  Canning.  23.  Mr.  Robinson.  24.  Lord 
Maryborough.  25.  Lord  Westmoreland.  26.  Mr.  Peel.  And  two 
more,  I  forget  who." 

In  such  good-humor  was  his  Majesty,  that  when  the  Chancellor 
gave  his  dinner  later,  "  he  sent  me  a  message  by  the  Duke  of  York, 
that  he  would  have  dined  if  he  had  been  asked.  He  should  cer- 
tainly have  been  asked  if  I  had  been  aware  that  he  would  have 
condescended  to  permit  me  to  send  him  an  invitation.  I  have  not 
heard,  however,  of  his  dining  out  since  the  Crown  descended  upon 
him.  Perhaps  it  is  better,  great  as  the  honor  would  have  been,  that 
I  did  not  know  that  he  would  have  conferred  it:  for  as  to  these 
things,  such  a  condescension  would  have  excited  a  good  deal  of 
jealousy  in  some  men's  minds." 

"Parliament's  last  day  is  over,  and  well  over.  The  King  went 
to  the  House,  and  was  amazingly  well  received  in  going  and  return- 
ing. .  .  .  Mamma  took  a  view  of  the  show  in  her  carriage.  The 
King  espied  her,  and,  bowing  to  her  in  going,  gave  her  no  less  than 
three  acknowledgments  of  the  same  kind  in  returning."  But  not- 
withstanding this,  his  faithful  loyalty  was  sinking  lower  and  yet 
lower. 

At  the  prorogation  it  was  remarked  that  his  Majesty  "  looked 
very  heavy,  languid,  morbid,  and  livid :  the  crown  pressing  heavily 
on  his  brows."  He  was  indeed  in  a  wretched  state — his  legs  swell- 
ing, with  all  the  symptoms  of  dropsy. 

"I  dined  with  the  Duke  of  York,"  goes  on  the  Earl,  "  who  spoke 
of  the  conduct  of  the  Artillery  at  this  review  in  terms  which  it 
would  have  delighted  the  Dyneleys  to  hear.  Our  Sovereign  Lord 
the  King  did  not  attend.  No  weather  would  have  prevented  George 
III,  from  bemg  at  the  head  of  his  troops." 

"There  was  what  is  called  a  grand  review  in  Hyde  Park  yester- 
day, July  11th,  1824.  The  Duke  of  York  was,  I  hear,  very 
popular,  and  prodigiously  cheered.  My  royal  master  was  in  Carlton 
House,  i.e.,  within  half  a  mile  of  this  scene,  but  did  not  approach 


786  TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

it.  It  is  astonishing  what  is  lost  by  this  sort  of  dealing,  and  it  is 
grievous  that  the  popularity  which  might  be  so  easily  earned  and 
acquired  at  so  small  an  expenditure  of  time  and  trouble,  should  not 
only  not  be  secured,  but  a  feeling  of  disgust  and  reproach  be  engen- 
dered towards  a  person  with  respect  to  whom  a  very  different  feel- 
ing must  and  ought  to  be  created My  royal  master  is 

amusing  himself,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  add,  amusing  some  others, 
pretty  publicly,  at  Windsor.  In  the  overturn  there  the  other  day, 
in  sight  of  the  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  Admiral  Sir  E.  Nagle 
fell  on  Sir  A.  Barnard,  and  hurt  him.  The  admiral  was  only 
distressed  by  his  small  clothes  being  rent  in  pieces.  He  was  one  of 
the  King's  choice  favorites. 

"At  about  eleven,  November  15th,  Sir  William  Knighton  called 
upon  me,  ordered,  as  he  said,  to  give  me  the  King's  affectionate 
regards;  and,  if  all  Sir  William  said  is  Gospel  truth,  very  affection- 
ate indeed  they  must  be.  He  still  remains  with  too  much  gout  to 
come  to  town,  but  hopes  to  manage  it  by  Saturday,  to  have  the 

Recorder's  report To-day  we  have  Cabinet  in  Downing 

Street,  and  Council  at  Carlton  House,  to  try  if  we  can  make  a  good 
speech  for  the  King.  But  there  are  too  many  hands  at  work  to 
make  a  good  thing  of  it,  and  so  you  will  think,  I  believe,  when  you 
read  it. 

"The  King's  speech  was  settled  yesterday,  in  the  ante- room  to  his 
bedroom,  he  having  too  much  gout  to  come  downstairs.  His  ann, 
in  which  part  of  the  disorder  is,  was  slung  in  a  black  handkerchief, 
and  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  good  deal  of  pain.  I  don't  much  admire 
the  composition  or  the  matter  of  the  speech.  My  old  master,  the 
late  King,  would  have  said  that  it  required  to  be  set  off  by  good 
reading  It  falls  to  my  lot  to  read  it,  and  I  should  read  it  better  if 
I  liked  it  better."  All  these  attestations  of  feeling  are  amusing 
enough. 

At  this  time  the  ambitious  Secretary  pressed  to  be  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Privy  Council,  "as  a  comfort  to  the  King,"  and  found  a 
patron  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  urged  that  as  he  was  in  such 
confidential  relation  with  the  King,  he  must  know  all  secrets,  politi- 
cal and  personal,  and  yet  was  not  sworn  to  secrecy.  There  was  a 
nice  point  involved  here.  Lord  Liverpool  objected  that  a  private 
secretary  had  no  official  recognition,  and  that  no  King,  until  his 
late  Majesty,  had  one,  and  that  was  owing  to  his  blindness.  Mac- 
Mahon  and  Bloomfiold  had  indeed  both  been  Privy  Councillors, 
but  "we  thought  it  wrong,  as  it  conferred  authority  and  conse- 


UNIVilHSITY 

OF 

TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  787 

quence  where  there  should  be  none.  George  III.,  than  whom  no 
one  understood  matters  of  this  kind  better,  put  his  on  the  footing  of 
our  Under-Secretary  of  State.**  The  oath  seems  rather  a  far-fetched 
idea,  as  both  the  position  and  an  honorable  understanding  implied 
secrecy,  as  much  as  an  oath. 

It  will  have  been  noted  that  an  important  part  has  been  taken  in 
these  transactions  by  this  official,  "the  gentleman  whom  the  King 
was  kind  enough  to  send  "  to  the  Duke,  and  who  was  now  attaining 
an  extraordinary  influence,  if  not  control,  over  the  King.  This  was 
Sir  William  Knighton,  who  had  this  year  been  created  Keeper  of  the 
Privy  Purse  on  the  fall  of  the  favorite,  Bloomfield. 

Nothing  indeed  is  more  curious  than  the  domination,  steadily 
maintained  all  through  his  life,  of  favorites  over  the  nature  of  the 
King;  some  working  on  his  prejudices,  others  on  his  fears,  others, 
again,  on  his  affections.     To  those  who  reigned  he  got  accustomed. 

Sir  John  MacMahon  was  perhaps  the  most  familiar  name  of  all 
the  favorites.  He  was  *' originally  bred,"  we  are  told,  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Clements,  and  "his  mother  also  resided  in  the  same  house." 
He  obtained  "a  pair  of  colors"  from  Lord  Moira,  repaired  to  Bath, 
then  the  Irishman's  hunting-ground,  where  he  married,  and  through 
one  of  the  royal  Dukes  obtained  the  entree  to  Carlton  House.  Never 
was  there  so  adroit  or  useful  an  auxiliary.  His  qualifications  were 
remarkable.  "He  made,"  we  are  told,  "a  most  graceful  and  ele- 
gant bow,  which  he  regulated  in  due  proportion  to  the  rank  and 
influence  of  those  he  addressed.  His  voice  was  exactly  modulated 
so  as  to  soothe  and  to  please,  for  it  exhibited  those  undertones  which 
never  disturb  the  nerves  of  the  great  and  powerful.  He  also  wrote 
a  letter  in  the  politest  style  possible ;  nor  was  he  unacquainted  with 
the  arts  of  rendering  himself  useful  on  every  possible  occasion," 
Valuable  lessons  here  for  such  as  wish  to  rise  in  this  profession. 
Render  yourself  "useful  on  every  possible  occasion:"  far  better  and 
more  secure  bond  than  regard  or  faithful  service. 

For  some  thirty  or  forty  years  this  gentleman  kept  his  post, 
becoming  "Privy  Seal,"  "Keeper  of  the  Privy  Purse,"  Privy 
Councillor,  being  finally  created  a  baronet.  The  amount  of  his 
influence  may  be  conceived  when  he  arranged  that  this  honor 
should  be  in  remainder  to  his  brother,  as  he  himself  had  no  chil- 
dren. This  brother,  being  a  distinguished  officer,  was  a  K.C.B., 
while  a  third  brother,  an  Irish  judge  as  distinguished,  was  also 
created  a  baronet.  It  shows  there  must  have  been  ability  in  the 
family.     There  was  a  little  talk  when  his  patron  appointed  him  to 


788  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT. 

be  paymaster  of  the  sixteen  hundred  widows  of  the  anny.  Mr. 
Raikes  revealed  him  in  a  characteristic  sketch.  "George  the 
Fourth,"  he  says,  "never  had  any  friends:  he  selected  his  confidants 
from  his  minions.  MacMahon  was  an  Irishman  of  obsequious  man- 
ners ;  he  was  a  little  man,  his  face  red,  covered  with  pimples,  always 
dressed  in  the  blue  and  buff  uniform,  with  his  hat  on  one  side,  copying 
the  air  of  his  master,  to  whom  he  was  a  prodigious  foil,  and  ready  to 
execute  any  commissions,  which  in  those  days  were  somewhat  com- 
plicated." While  a  third  spectator  thus  oddly  draws  him:  "In per- 
son he  was  small,  and  devoid  of  beauty.  His  face,  too,  was  seamed 
and  scarred  with  the  small-pox;  but,  as  his  conversation  was  pleas- 
ant and  he  possessed  all  the  graces,  any  impression  arising  from  a 
transient  view  soon  wore  off."  But  the  hard  living  of  the  court 
soon  brought  decay,  and  Mr.  Grantley  Berkeley,  who  is  still  living, 
described  the  faithful  personal  attendant  grown  old,  with  palsied 
hand  struggling  to  carry  the  glass  of  old  port  to  his  lips.  In  1815 
he  felt  that  it  was  time  to  retire.  The  courtier  of  this  class  will  be 
found  almost  always  "in  harness"  to  the  last,  save  of  course  in  the 
case  of  sheer  helplessness  from  old  age.  He  is  scarcely  ever  dis- 
missed, for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  rid  of  him. 
It  can  be  imagined  what  a  blow  to  the  old  courtier  was  his  with- 
drawal, and  how  accountable  it  might  almost  seem  for  his  death, 
that  followed  in  1817,  He  left  behind  him,  it  is  stated  in  the 
necrology  of  the  day,  ' '  a  large  fortune,  which  never  could  possibly 
have  been  obtained  from  the  income  of  his  several  places."  The 
amount  of  his  personal  property  was  £90,000,  an  enormous  sum, 
which  might  fairly  invite  the  speculation  just  alluded  to.  But  the 
old  man  was  true  to  his  principles  to  the  last,  and  by  his  long  prac- 
tice seemed  to  have  worked  himself  into  a  belief  in  the  virtues  of 
his  master.  There  was  a  sort  of  deputy  agent  named  Marrable,  who 
was  employed  in  those  "confidential"  matters  with  which  his 
Majesty  was  always  engrossed,  and  of  him  writes  the  aged  equerry 
in  his  will:  "To  Thos.  Marrable,  a  dear  and  esteemed  friend, 
£2000,  and  with  my  last  prayers  for  the  glory  and  happiness  of  the 
best-hearted  man  in  the  world,  the  Prince  Kegent,  I  bequeath  him 
the  said  Thomas  Marrable,  an  invaluable  servant."  The  £90,000 
would  have  been  a  more  acceptable  bequest. 

MacMahon's  death  caused  the  introduction  of  a  new  favorite,  who 
was  of  more  p)Owerful  calibre,  and  who  gradually  came  to  rule  in 
the  most  despotic  fashion.  Appointed  about  the  Court  at  the  par- 
ticular request  of  Lord  Wellesley,  he  at  once  made  an  impression- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  789 

The  Prince  liad  met  with  an  accident  to  his  foot  at  Oatlands,  and 
consulted  Knighton,  whom  he  pronounced  to  "be  the  best-man- 
nered medical  man  he  had  ever  seen."  This  excited  a  good  deal  of 
jealousy,  and  stories  and  remarks  about  the  Princess  of  Wales  were 
retailed  to  the  Prince  to  injure  him — the  Prince's  countenance  at  the 
levee  "betraying  displeasure."  However,  he  triumphed  over  all, 
was  made  a  baronet ;  but  he  formed  an  alliance  with  MacMahon, 
who  made  him  his  executor,  while  a  skilful  and  proper  stroke  gave 
him  the  succession.  Among  his  friend's  papers  he  found  some 
documents  of  "a  singularly  delicate  nature,"  referring  to  Queen 
Caroline  and  the  late  Lady  Jersey,  which  he  took  at  once  to  the 
Regent,  "without  comment  or  condition. "  The  Prince  appointed 
him  administrator  of  his  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  gave  him  his  Grand 
Cross  of  the  Guelph,  and  made  him  his  most  confidential  adviser. 
He  could  not  have  found  a  more  useful  or  more  unwearied  assistant. 
He  brought  all  his  complicated  money  embarrassments  into  perfect 
order,  going  on  distant  journeys  to  the  Continent  to  arrange  these 
matters.  Meanwhile,  however,  another  favorite  had  arisen. 
"Bloomfield  was  a  handsome  man,"  says  Mr.  Raikes,  "and  owed 
his  introduction  at  Court  to  his  musical  talents;  he  was  a  lieutenant 
in  the  Artillery,  and  by  chance  quartered  with  his  regiment  at 
Brighton.  The  Prince,  who  was  always  fond  of  music,  then  gave 
frequent  concerts  at  the  Pavilion :  some  one  happened  to  mention 
that  a  young  officer  of  Artillery  was  a  proficient  on  the  violoncello ; 
an  invitation  was  sent,  the  royal  amateur  was  pleased,  the  visits 
became  more  frequent,  a  predilection  ensued,  and  the  fortune  of  the 
young  lieutenant  was  assured."  Nothing  could  be  done  without 
him.  But  the  various  factions  at  Court  undermined  him,  and  his 
reign  was  not  a  long  one,  and  the  picture  of  his  decay  and  fall  is 
truly  instructive.  When  other  influences  set,  either  from  his  inde- 
pendence, or  more  probably  because  his  place  was  desired  for  one 
of  the  family,  nothing  more  pitiable  could  be  conceived  than  his  situa- 
tion. Every  one  noticed  the  coolness,  the  "snubs,"  and  the  imper- 
turbable complacency  of  the  victim,  who  for  a  time  declined  to 
become  conscious  of  what  was  intended.  Mr.  Greville  was  among 
those  looking  on,  and  saw  the  stages  of  the  game.  He  was  no  longer 
necessary  to  the  King,  who,  however,  was  still  "civil "  to  him.  He 
bore  this  treatment  in  a  manly  way.  Presently  there  was  a  tendency 
indeed  to  hustle  him  out  of  office,  but  this  the  discarded  favorite 
would  not  "stand."  He  soon  showed  them  he  was  not  to  be  bul- 
lied, and  by  a  determined  bearing,  and,  as  Mr.  Greville  says,  f  orti- 


790  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV. 

fied  by  the  possession  of  some  Court  secrets,  soon  brought  them  to 
terms,  and  was  actually  despatched  as  minister  to  Sweden.  The 
dismissed  favorite  is  rarely  thus  handsomely  dealt  with,  as  the  fact 
of  his  being  discarded  proves  that  he  is  powerless  even  to  make 
terms. 

When  Bloomfield  fell  Knighton  was  made  Private  Secretary  and 
Keeper  of  the  Privy  Purse.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  the  later  days  of 
the  reign  he  had  outlived  his  favor,  but  he  was  not  to  be  dislodged :  no 
camarilla  could  disturb  him.  His  office-  must  have  been  in  those 
later  days  of  an  ungrateful  kind,  for  the  King  seemed  to  resent  his 
tutelage,  even  though  in  his  interest.  To  the  last,  however,  he 
maintained  his  position.  He  was,  indeed,  of  stern  stuff,  and  held 
his  position  long  after  his  favor  had  been  exhausted.  He  ruled  by 
the  influence  a  strong  mind  has  over  a  weak  one,  and  soon  made  i* 
appear  that  he  was  indispensable,  and  that  it  would  be  inconvenient 
to  get  rid  of  him.  He  had  taken  on  him  the  duty  or  task  of  arnmg- 
ing  the  King's  much  involved  affairs,  and,  holding  all  the  tlireads, 
applied  himself  resolutely  and  with  success  to  the  settlement.  It 
was  no  doubt  to  him  that  was  owing  the  cancelling  of  the  Dutch 
Bonds,  now  undischarged  for  so  many  years.  With  untiring  energy 
he  would  set  off  in  the  depth  of  winter  and  in  all  weathers  to  Berlin 
and  Hanover — now  arranging  the  Duke  of  York's  debts;  now  the 
Duke  of  Brunswick's.  In  political  matters  and  those  connected 
with  a  ministerial  crisis,  he  would  contrive  with  great  adroitness  to 
soothe  the  King's  mind  and  lead  him  gradually  to  whatever  con- 
summation was  devoutly  to  be  wished  by  the  parties  concerned; 
and  we  find  him  settling  with  ministers  what  was  to  be  suggested 
and  what  was  likely  to  do.  Three  letters  written  in  this  very  year 
give  a  great  idea,  not  merely  of  how  far  he  could  go  in  carrying  out 
his  wishes,  but  of  the  mode  he  adopted  for  carrying  them  out,  which 
seems  to  have  amounted  to  a  threat  of  leaving  liis  Majesty  to  his  own 
resources.  The  first  is,  for  a  professional  courtier,  singularly  adroit. 
The  independent  and  even  haughty  tone  was  well  calculated  to  draw 
forth  an  apologetic  answer. 

"  June  10,  1822. 

"  Sir, 

**  I  yesterday  received  from  Lord  F.  C.  a  message  that  it  was 
your  Majesty's  desire  to  see  me  at  the  Lodge  this  morning. 

'•  My  first  duty  and  impression  was,  of  course,  to  obey  your 
Majesty's  most  gracious  commands;  but  circumstances  have  arisen, 
connected  with  your  Majesty's  interests,  which  oblige  me  to  remain 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  791 

in  town,  and  to  forego  that  pleasure  which  is  always  so  acceptable 
to  my  feelings,  namely,  that  of  throwing  myself  at  your  Majesty's 
feet. 

"I  am  so  surrounded  with  cares  on  your  Majesty's  account,  so 
separated  from  every  kind  of  support  but  what  I  derive  from  my 
own  intellectual  efforts,  that  when  I  say  happiness  and  myself  are 
strangers,  I  do  not  mention  it  in  the  language  of  complaint,  but 
only  to  hope  that  when  I  venture  to  oppose  any  of  your  Majesty's 
commands,  your  Majesty  will  believe  it  always  arises  from  those 
feelings  of  devotion  and  honesty  which  are  the  true  characteristics 
of  my  nature  towards  your  Majesty, 

"  I  am  aware  it  of  ten  happens,  humble  as  I  am,  that  it  alone  falls 
on  me  to  raise  the  voice  of  opposition  towards  some  of  your 
Majesty's  schemes.  This,  I  fear,  must  gradually  tend  to  separate 
your  Majesty's  mind,  as  far  as  agreeableness  of  feeling  is  concerned, 
from  me:  nevertheless,  I  do  hope  that  your  Majesty  will  believe  I 
am  on  every  occasion  influenced  with  the  purest  affection  and  most 
unsullied  attachment  towards  your  Majesty's  person." 

It  is  signed  with  his  initials  merely.  The  next  was  written  a  month 
later. 

FROM  THE  KING. 

*'  Carlton  House,  "Wednesday  morning,  eight  o'clock,  July  11,  1822. 
**  You  may  easily  imagine,  warm  and  sincere  as  my  affections  are 
towards  you,  I  have  had  but  little  restsince  we  separated  last  night. 
The  feeling  that  I  may  possibly  and  unfortunately,  in  a  hurried 
moment,  when  my  mind  and  my  heart  were  torn  in  fifty  different 
ways  from  fifty  different  causes,  have  let  an  unjust  or  a  hasty 
expression  escape  me  to  any  one,  most  especially  to  you,  whom  I 
so  truly  love,  and  who  are  so  invaluable  to  me  as  my  friend,  is  to 
me  a  sensation  much  too  painful  to  be  endured:  therefore  let  me 
implore  you  to  come  to  me,  be  it  but  for  a  moment,  the  very  first 
thing  you  do  this  morning;  for  I  shall  hate  myself  until  I  have  the 
opportunity  of  expressing  personally  to  you  those  pure  and  genuine 
feelings  of  affection  which  will  never  cease  to  live  in  my  heart  so 
long  as  that  heart  itself  continues  to  beat.  I  am  much  too  unhappy 
to  say  more,  but  I  am  ever  your  affectionate  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

This,  for  a  king,  was  certainly  apologetic.  During  the  voyage 
to  Scotland  Knighton  was  in  the  most  confidential  relations  with 


792  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

him,  occupying  the  cabin  next  his  Majesty,  proving  himself  an 
indispensable  right-hand  man,  as  it  is  called,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
never  sparing  himself,  sitting  up  late  to  answer  letters,  and  saving 
his  Majesty  as  much  trouble  as  possible.  This  naturally  strength- 
ened their  relations.  On  his  return,  finding  that  it  was  impossible 
to  keep  the  King  to  his  engagements,  as  to  expense,  etc.,  which 
was  strictly  necessary  for  the  arrangement  of  his  affairs,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  extracting  from  him  the  following  unprecedented  docu- 
ment, which  was  to  be  his  warrant  for  dealing  with  all  concerned; 


"Royal  Lodge,  October  26, 1822. 
"We  hereby  authorize  and  direct  Sir  William  Knighton,  Bart., 
Keeper  of  our  Privy  Purse,  to  give  notice  to  our  several  tradesmen, 
that  they  are  not  to  receive  orders,  or  to  furnish  any  articles  of  fur- 
niture, etc.,  or  to  incur  any  expense  whatsoever  from  their  different 
trades,  where  such  expense  is  to  be  provided  for  by  our  said  privy 
purse,  without  receiving  a  specific  order  in  writing  for  that  purpose 
from  the  said  Sir  William  Knighton,  Bart.,  and  we  do  also  give  our 
authority  to  the  said  Sir  William  Knighton,  Bart.,  and  order  and 
direct  him,  during  our  will  and  pleasure,  to  undertake  the  entire 
management  of  our  private  affairs,  with  a  view  to  the  observance 
of  the  most  strict  and  rigid  economy,  that  we  may  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  relieving  ourselves  from  certain  embarrassments  which  it 
is  not  necessary  to  mention  further  in  detail.  We  do  therefore  rely 
with  confidence  on  the  said  Sir  William  Knighton  for  the  strict  per- 
formance and  fulfilment  of  all  our  wishes  on  this  head. 

"G.  R."* 


♦  Mr.  Dickie,  the  clerk  at  Coutts'  Bank,  who  regulated  the  king's  accounts, 
on  his  death-bed  gave  the  following  testimony  to  Knighton's  services:  "He 
managed  and  guarded  his  pecuniary  concerns  with  an  indefatigable  care, 
and  such  a  peculiar  understanding,  that  had  I  not  myself  been  a  witness,  I 
could  scarcely  have  credited  it.  There  were  times  when  Sir  William  thought 
that  he  was  getting  over  difficulties,  when  large  accounts  came  in  of  which 
he  was  not  aware,  like  thunder-claps.  He  has  more  than  once  on  such  oc- 
casions, in  my  presence,  most  respectfully  but  firmly  remonstrated  with  his 
Majesty  upon  the  impossibility  of  managing  his  affairs  with  any  satisfaction, 
or  indeed  propriety  of  conduct,  if  such  unforeseen  expenditure  occurred. 
Sir  William's  words,  tone,  and  manner  acted  like  magic  upon  the  King.  His 
Majesty,  like  a  sensible  man,  seemed  obliged  from  his  heart;  his  whole  de- 
meanor showed  it;  and  I  myse.f  at  such  a  novel  scene  was  struck  with 
asto^xish^ent."— See  also  Greville,  i,  72. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT.  793 

Owing  to  the  practice  of  uttering  his  complaints  to  strangers  and 
foreigners,  the  King  indeed  must  have  been  a  perpetual  source  of 
annoyance  to  liis  ministers.  Tims  we  find  that  at  the  levee  on 
April  21  he  expressed  toM.  de  Marcellus  his  approval  of  the  French 
policy  in  Spain.  A  few  days  later  The  Times  commented  on  this 
indiscreet  proceeding  with  great  violence,  hinting  that  if  the  King 
had  spoken  as  described,  lie  must  be  suffering  from  something  more 
than  gout  or  mere  physical  maladies.  M.  de  Marcellus  seized  the 
opportunity  to  write  a  sympathetic  letter  to  Mr.  Canning,  which 
much  pleased  the  King.  At  a  ball  the  King  indiscreetly  referred 
to  this  matter,  unburdening  his  grievances  to  Marcellus,  the  French 
minister.  "If  the  ministers,"  he  said,  "declared  me  to  be  mad,  I 
might  recover  my  senses,  but  they  would  lose  their  places.  At  any 
rate,  for  the  wellfare  of  mankind,  we  ought  not  to  wish  any  other 
people  to  have  our  institutions.  What  does  pretty  well  for  us  would 
be  worthless  elsewhere.  Remember  this,  Marcellus;  it  is  my  unal- 
terable conviction." 
84 


704  THSl  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  Vm. 

1823—1835. 

Most  characteristic  of  the  King  was  the  course  of  secret  opposi- 
tion and  tracasseiHes,  by  which  he  chose  to  indemnify  himself  for 
having  been  obliged  to  accept  a  minister  like  Canning,  whom  he 
disliked.  He  affected  to  give  his  whole  confidence  and  friendship 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  On  him,  and  on  "him  only,"  did  he 
rely. 

THE  KING   TO    THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"  March  19, 1828. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"  Sir  William  has  faithfully  related  to  me  all  your  sensible, 
wise,  and  judicious  observations  respecting  the  state  of  our  foreign 
policy.  My  feelings  are  in  complete  unison  with  your  own  on  this 
most  important  and  vital  question.  My  confidence  is  in  you,  and 
you  only,  and  in  placing  my  friendship  and  affection  in  you,  and 
with  you,  I  feel  safe,  happy,  and  comfortable.  I  could  not  resist 
writing  you  these  few  lines,  to  assure  you  that  I  am,  with  very  great 
regard,  Your  very  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

These  "  feelings  "  were  further  inflamed  by  the  appearance  of  Mr. 
Canning  at  a  dinner  given  in  the  following  year  by  the  Radical  Lord 
Mayor,  Waithman ;  an  obelisk  to  whose  memory  now  stands  at  Lud- 
gate  Circus.  This  seemed  certainly  an  indiscreet  step,  as  only  he 
and  an  inferior  member  of  the  Cabinet  attended. 


the  king  to    lord  LIVERPOOL. 

"Windsor  Castle,  May  1, 1824. 
"The  King  very  much  regrets  that  the  conduct  of  some  of  the 
members  of  his  Government  impels  the  King  to  communicate  to 
Lord  Liverpool  his  feelings  upon  this  subject. 

•*  The  appearance  at  the  dinner  of  the  Lord  Mayor  at  the  Mansion 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV.  7^ 

House  of  two  of  the  members  of  the  King's  Government  unques- 
tionably calls  for  explanation. 

' '  The  entertainment  was  that  which  belongs  to  the  Lord  Mayor 
himself,  and  not  to  the  Corporation. 

•'  The  public  life  of  the  individual  filling  the  oflBce  of  Chief  Mag- 
istrate of  the  City  of  London  has  been  marked  by  a  continued  series 
of  insults  to  the  Government,  to  the  monarchy,  and,  above  all,  per- 
sonally to  the  King  himself.  This  is  not  matter  of  opinion,  for 
several  of  his  acts  are  on  record,  and  are  notorious  to  the  world. 

"Mr.  Canning  could  not  be  ignorant  of  this,  and  had  also  long 
known  that  his  visit  to  the  Mansion  House  would  in  the  highest 
degree  be  offensive  and  personally  disagreeable  to  the  King;  that,  as 
Mr.  Canning  was  there  almost  alone,  his  presence  marked  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  and  of  conduct  between  the  other  members  of  the 
Cabinet  and  himself. 

"The  King  therefore  thinks  that  he  has  just  reason  to  complain, 
that  in  a  case  in  which  there  was  no  official,  or  indeed  any,  duty  to 
be  performed,  and  no  necessity  consequently  existing,  why  the 
King's  expressed  wishes  and  his  known  feelings  should  have  been 
so  entirely  disregarded. 

"The  King  desires  to  remind  Lord  Liverpool,  that  when  at  his 
particular  desire,  and  that  of  other  members  of  the  Cabinet,  the 
King  yielded  to  Mr.  Canning's  readmission  into  the  Government  in 
the  prominent  situation  which  he  now  fills,  the  King  consented  to 
forget  and  to  bury  in  oblivion  all  that  had  previously  passed,  and  of 
which  the  King  felt  he  had  so  much  reason  to  complain. 

"  The  King  is  quite  satisfied  that  he  has  since  acted  with  the  most 
uniform,  condescending,  conciliatory,  and  confidential  kindness 
towards  Mr.  Canning.  The  King  desires  to  observe  the  return  is 
now  before  Lord  Liverpool. 

"The  King  has  always  shown,  under  all  the  fortuitous  events 
that  have  happened,  an  honest,  steady,  and  sincere  desire  to  pre- 
serve his  present  Government ;  but  the  King  owes  it  to  himself  and 
to  his  own  honor  to  state  that  (notwithstanding  the  same  desire 
exists)  the  King  will  never  consent  that  his  Government  shall  be 
degraded  by  such  attempts  to  acquire  popularity;  and,  finally, 
whenever  the  King  sees  anything  in  the  conduct  of  any  member  of 
his  Government  calculated  to  be  injurious  to  the  King's  service,  or 
personally  offensive  to  his  honor  and  feelings,  the  King  will  always 
feel  it  his  duty  frankly  to  declare  it  to  his  minister. 

"G.  R" 


796  I'HE  t^tF^  or  GEOnOE  TV. 

The  minister  tried  to  soothe  him  by  quoting  the  precedent  of  Mr, 
Pitt  and  assuring  him  that  he  would  represent  the  matter  to  his  col- 
league, who,  he  was  certain,  would  regret  having  done  anything  to 
give  his  Majesty  pain — excuses  of  the  most  conventional  kind,  as, 
indeed,  the  King  considered  them.  When  no  letter  arrived  from 
Mr.  Canning,  he  grew  very  indignant,  for  "it  was  observed,"  as  Sir 
W.  Knighton  wrote  to  the  Duke,  that  "as  to  the  outrage  offered  to 
his  feelings.  Lord  Liverpool  might  with  as  much  propriety  have 
referred  to  the  days  of  Adam  as  to  those  of  Mr.  Pitt,  for  the  purpose 
of  extenuating  Mr.  Canning's  conduct."  The  precedent,  however, 
had  more  force  than  this.  But  his  confidential  physician,  whom  the 
King  little  suspected  to  be  in  communication  with  the  other  camp, 
was  declaring  to  the  Duke  that  he  thought  no  excuses  would  have 
any  effect.  However,  Mr.  Canning  wrote,  expressing  his  concern, 
and  the  matter  was  allowed  to  drop. 

The  King  was  beginning  to  try  what  the  French  call  the  "system 
of  the  bascule  "  with  his  ministers.  It  will  be  noted  how  he  distin- 
guishes "our  friend  "  from  the  rest.  What  the  paper  referred  to  is 
not  clear.  No  wonder  the  Duke  of  Wellington  at  last  lost  all 
patience,  and  wrote  to  one  of  the  King's  familiars  who  would  repeat 
it,  "that  the  transaction  of  the  King's  business  became  a  most  diffi- 
cult and  arduous  task,  almost  impossible  to  be  performed.  Some 
misfortune  would  happen,"  he  prophesied,  "which  will  occasion 
his  Majesty  a  great  deal  of  trouble." 


THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  April  80, 1884. 
"  My  DEAR  Friend, 

"I  have  been  very  ill:  indeed  I  am  still  very,  very  weak,  and 
therefore  I  need  not  tell  you  what  a  painful  effort  it  has  been  to  me 
to  write  the  enclosed,  which  I  transmit  to  you  and  to  our  friend 
Lord  Bathurst,  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  it  jointly  to  Lord 
Liverpool  on  his  arrival  in  town,  that  it  may  be  submitted  to  the 
Cabinet.  I  really  could  not  rest  till  I  got  this  off  my  mind,  for  I 
cannot  tell  you,  my  dear  friend,  nor  Bathurst,  how  much  this  has 
disturbed  me.  You  and  Lord  Bathurst  are,  of  course,  to  read  the 
ttnclosed. 

"  Ever  your  affectionate  Friend." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  797 

THE  KING  TO    LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  May  1st,  1824. 
"Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"I  transmit  you  the  enclosed  for  your  serious  and  best  con- 
sideration ;  I  have  sent  a  copy  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lord 
Bathurst,  two  personal  friends  both  of  my  own  and  of  yours,  that 
they  may  in  conjunction  with  yourself  know  my  sentiments.  I 
have  been  very  ill,  and  am  still  unable  to  leave  my  bed.  I  am  glad 
to  hear  that  your  own  health  is  improved,  and  I  hope  that  you  have 
not  returned  to  business  prematurely. 

"  I  am  glad  that  the  arrangements  for  that  worthy  man,  the  Dean 
of  Hereford,  going  to  Chester  are  completed.  You  may  be  quite  at 
ease  about  his  pecuniary  embarrassments. 

' '  I  wish  you  would  give  the  living  of  Brighton,  which  now  falls 
in  to  the  Crown,  to  the  chaplain  of  our  friend  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton. The  gentleman's  name  is  DriscoU,  a  most  repectable  and 
good  orthodox  clergyman.  He  was  with  the  Duke  during  the 
whole  of  the  war,  and  is  therefore  surely  entitled  to  our  considera- 
tion. I  wish  you  to  have  the  entire  merit  of  this,  as  the  Duke  is 
very  delicate  upon  the  subject. 

"  Your  sincere  Friend, 

''G.  R." 

It  should  be  considered  that  there  had  always  existed  a  coldness, 
if  not  hostility,  between  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Mr.  Canning, 
which  the  King  with  seme  craft  was  turning  to  profit.  The  Duke 
invariably  addressed  Canning  as  "My  dear  Mr.  Canning" — indeed 
it  is  evident  from  all  the  memoirs  of  the  time  that  he  now  cordially 
disliked  him.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  the  effusive  partialit)"^ 
of  the  King  should  not  be  wholly  unacceptable  where  it  helped  to 
check  the  growing  power  of  his  colleague,  whose  suspicions,  we 
find,  were  awakened  at  certain  rather  *' underhand"  proceedings,  as 
he  considered  them,  on  the  part  of  the  King  and  the  Duke,  This 
arose  more  immediately  in  connection  with  Canning's  grand  caup  of 
the  recognition  of  the  South  American  Colonies,  on  which  the  Duke 
had  formed  a  strong  opinion  opposed  to  the  Government  plan.  The 
recognition  of  Buenos  Ayres  had  been  made  and  agreed  to  by  all 
his  ministers  in  July,  1824;  but  in  December  it  became  necessary  to 
consider  the  recognition  of  the  rest,  Mexico  and  Colombia  particu- 
larly, and  here  the  Duke  was  inclined  to  carry  his  disapproval  so 
far  as  to  resign.    Lord  Liverpool  tried  to  dissuade  him,     The  King 


798  TBE  LIFE  OF  GEOROB  TV. 

addressed  a  vehement  remonstrance,  in  wliieh  he  set  forth  his 
objections  to  the  plan.  This,  as  he  told  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
"he  meant  to  be  a  solemn  protest  against  the  measures  of  hia 
servants  " — an  idle,  childish  form  which  he  fancied  in  other  more 
important  matters  was  as  good  as  action.  He  "chuckled,"  how- 
ever, as  Mr.  Canning  said,  on  a  little  embarrassment  which  he  hoped 
his  Cabinet  had  got  into  in  reference  to  an  intended  prosecution  of 
Mr.  O'Connell.  He  asked  the  Duke  how  they  could  take  this 
course,  when  they  were  actually  going  to  make  a  treaty  with 
Bolivar,  who  was  much  in  the  same  position.  The  Duke  was 
puzzled  and  could  give  no  answer,  at  least  "without  hair-splittings." 
Mr.  Canning  wrote  pleasantly  that  it  might  be  fancied  that  therefore 
the  King  wished  the  prosecution  to  be  stopped.  The  workings  of 
the  King's  mind  seem  to  have  furnished  intense  amusement  to  his 
ministers.  The  strong  force  by  which  he  had  been  driven  to 
sanction  these  measures  inclined  him  to  give  vent  to  his  feelings  in 
a  most  singular  proclamation  or  manifesto  of  his  opinions  and 
grievances  in  gloho — his  general  dissatisfaction  at  the  whole.  This 
course  he  adopted  on  several  occasions,  and  was  always  met  with  a 
hint  to  put  his  objections  in  shape  by  finding  other  ministers  and 
declining  to  sanction  the  proceedings  of  his  present  servants. 

In  this  long  protest  was  a  profession  of  political  faith,  and  a  curi- 
ous reassertion  of  the  principles  held  when  he  was  Prince  of  Walea 
The  document,  Mr.  Wynne  writes,  was  dictated  by  foreign  influence 
— no  doubt  that  of  Madame  de  Lieven. 

Mr.  Canning  was  quite  certain  that  the  King  was  acting  under 
this  influence.  "I  am  quite  aware,"  he  says,  "that  the  King  has 
strong  prejudices  on  this  subject.  ...  I  think  he  should  be  set 
right  upon  this  point,  as  well  as  made  to  feel  that  the  opinions 
which  he  sometimes  avows  on  the  subject  of  legitimacy  would 
carry  him  to  the  full  length  of  the  principle  of  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  and  Prince  Metternich."  This  appeal  was  dated  on  the  8th 
of  December.  When  Lord  Liverpool  went  to  Windsor  on  the  16th 
he  was  asked  significantly  by  his  Majesty :  "  Were  they  unanimous?" 
And  on  the  following  day  the  minister  received  this  protest  or  mani- 
festo— a  singular  composition : 

THE  KING  TO    LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Royal  Lodjfe,  Dec.  17, 1824. 
"  The  King  cannot  allow  to  pass  unnoticed  the  minutq  of  Cabinet 
transmitted  by  Mr,  Canning  on  the  15th  instant. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV.  799 

"The  King  always  wishes  to  concur  with  the  opinions  of  his 
Cabinet.  It  is,  therefore,  with  deep  regret  that  the  King  finds  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  differing  from  the  majority  of  the  Cabinet 
upon  the  present  occasion. 

"  The  King  considers  that  the  system  of  policy  of  his  Government 
upon  this  subject  has  been  erroneous,  and  that  instead  of  seeking  for 
opportunities  to  promote  even  that  policy,  such  as  it  is,  the  measures 
now  recommended  should  have  been  forced  upon  us  by  circum- 
stances not  to  be  avoided  or  controlled, 

"However,  the  King  will  not  oppose  himself  to  the  measures  con- 
sidered for  the  benefit  of  his  subjects,  and  for  the  promotion  of  the 
navigation  (?)  of  the  country,  by  those  to  whom  the  King  has  given 
his  confidence. 

"The  King  wishes  that  these  measures  should  stand  on  the  ground 
of  the  interests  of  his  subjects  and  not  as  measures  of  war  or  retali- 
ation against  other  Powers ;  and  that  they  should  not  be  put  forth  to 
the  world  as  having  any  other  objects  in  view  than  those  which  the 
King  has  stated  as  his  motive  for  assenting  to  them. 

"  The  King  wishes  that  his  allies  and  the  King  of  Spain  should  be 
informed  of  the  present  intention,  previous  to  its  being  carried  into 
effect,  and  in  such  language  and  manner  as  may  make  the  commu- 
nication as  little  obnoxious  as  possible." 

He  was  inspired  to  renew  the  matter.  The  plan  he  thought  of 
was  the  extraordinary  one  of  requiring  each  member  of  the  Cabinet 
to  forward  to  him  his  separate  opinion  on  the  point.  This,  as  one 
of  the  ministers  observed,  pointed  to  an  attempt  at  breaking  up  the 
Cabinet.  They  were  easily  able,  by  an  adroit  reply,  to  turn  this 
clumsy  movement,  answering  him  with  respectful  gravity. 

THE  KING  TO  LOED   LIVERPOOL. 

"  Carlton  Hoiise,  January  27th,  1825. 
"The  King  thinks  it  right  to  draw  the  attention  of  his  Cabinet  to 
the  sentiments  and  opinions  contained  in  the  accompanying  paper. 
The  King  therefore  desires  that  Lord  Liverpool  will  lay  the  paper 
before  the  Cabinet  for  the  purposes  required.  G.  R. " 

[enclosure.] 

"The  line  of  policy  pursued  by  the  King's  Government,  under 
the  King's  direction  at  the  close  of  the  late  war^  which  terminated 


800  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

under  such  happy  circumstances,  was  unanimity  of  co-operation  with 
the  great  Continental  Powers,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  putting  an 
end  to  the  then  existing  hostilities,  but  for  preserving  the  future 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  Europe. 

"The  late  Lord  Londonderry,  in  conjunction  with  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  so  effectively  accomplished  this  great  and  desirable  ob- 
ject, that  this  country  took  a  position  that  she  had  never  before 
held. 

"The  King  supposes  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  anarchy  pro- 
duced through  the  world  by  the  French  Revolution,  has  left  us  a 
record  so  instructive,  that  the  councils  of  the  British  Government 
should  never  fail  to  be  regulated  by  the  wholesome  remembrance  of 
that  terrible  event. 

"  That  we  should  therefore  regard  with  the  most  anxious  suspicion 
every  attempt  to  revive  the  example  of  British  America,  which 
ended,  unhappily  for  Great  Britain,  in  a  separation  from  the  mother- 
country.  France  treacherously  assisted  that  rebellion's  successful 
enterprise,  and  by  her  fatal  policy  gave  the  first  impulse  to  that 
revolution  which  entailed  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  such  compli- 
cated misery  on  the  whole  of  Europe.  The  revolutionary  spirit  of 
past  years,  although  lulled  and  suspended,  is  by  no  means  extin- 
guished; and  it  would  be  wisdom  to  look  to  the  ultimate  conse- 
quences which  the  result  of  our  intended  recognition  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  South  American  provinces  may  probably  produce 
on  the  evil  and  discontented,  who  are  controlled,  even  at  this  moment, 
with  difficulty,  by  the  established  power  of  regular  governments. 

"Let  us  also  look  at  home,  and  observe  the  dangerous  attempts 
which  the  active  firebrands  of  Ireland  are  at  this  time  pursuing  under 
the  deceptive  pretence  of  Catholic  emancipation.  The  rebellious 
and  organized  schemes  so  actively  afloat  in  that  unhappy  country 
axe  only  a  part  of  the  same  system  promoted  by  the  same  evil  spirit 
which  gave  rise  to  the  calamities  of  the  French  Revolution. 

"The  Liberalism  of  late  adopted  by  the  King's  Government  ap- 
pears to  the  King  to  be  a  substantial  part  of  that  creed  which  was 
hailed  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  those  revolutionary  days  when 
it  required  all  the  talent  and  firmness  of  Mr.  Pitt  to  put  it  down ; 
and  the  support  which  that  great  statesman  received  from  the  King's 
revered  and  excellent  father  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  using  his 
great  ability  with  such  effect  as  enabled  him  successfully  to  resist 
the  desolating  storm. 

"The  King  has  long  Iktu  wwwvc  that  tlic  priiu  ipl<s  promulgated 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY.  801 

by  the  King's  early  friends  were  at  that  period  the  bane  which 
threatened  the  destruction  of  our  happy  Constitution,  and  with  it 
our  internal  peace  and  happiness ;  and  if  the  King  withdrew  himself 
from  his  early  friends  for  the  good  of  the  country,  can  the  present 
Government  suppose  that  the  King  will  permit  any  individuals  to 
force  upon  him,  at  this  time,  a  line  of  policy  of  which  he  so  entirely 
disapproves,  and  which  is  in  direct  opposition  to  those  wise  princi- 
ples which  the  King's  Government  has  for  so  many  years  supported 
and  uniformly  acted  upon? 

' '  The  King  would  wish  to  ask  Lord  Liverpool  whether  he  sup- 
poses the  great  abettors  of  this  Spanish- American  question,  connected 
with  the  Opposition,  give  their  support  to  a  recognition  of  the  Span- 
ish provinces,  in  relation  to  the  great  mercantile  advantages  which 
this  measure  may  offer  to  this  country,  or  from  their  love  of  democ- 
racy in  opposition  to  a  monarchical  aristocracy. 

' '  The  King  has  no  difficulty  in  answering  this  question :  and  let 
the  opportunity  arise,  the  same  line  of  conduct  would  be  as  promptly 
applied  by  these  gentlemen  to  the  emancipation  of  our  own  colonial 
possessions,  or  to  any  other  of  the  remote  colonial  settlements,  at 
present  under  the  dominion  of  the  British  Crown. 

"  The  King  cannot  but  be  aware  that  this,  as  well  as  every  other 
kingdom,  must  have  its  own  latent  sources  of  wealth  and  power, 
peculiar  to  itself,  the  cultivation  of  which  becomes  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  its  individual  prosperity ;  but  the  King  desires  to 
observe  that  the  policy  or  wisdom  which  is  to  balance  the  interest  of 
kingdoms  is  not  to  be  found  in  party  divisions. 

"The  King  has  too  much  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  separation 
from  our  Allies,  so  justly  and  so  honestly  referred  to  by  the  Emperor 
of  Austria,  will  very  soon  lead  to  consequences  that  will  end  in  dis- 
turbing the  tranquillity  of  Europe. 

"Why  was  the  Quadruple  Alliance  formed?  To  carry  into  exe- 
cution, not  only  the  maintenance  of  the  treaties  of  peace  connected 
with  the  settlement  of  Europe  (just  then  concluded),  but  also  for  the 
purpose  of  controlling  the  ambitions  and  the  jealousies  of  the  great 
Allied  Powers  themselves  in  relation  to  each  other. 

"The  Jacobins  of  the  world  (now' calling  themselves  the  Liberals) 
saw  the  peace  of  Europe  secured  by  this  great  measure,  and  have 
therefore  never  ceased  to  vilify  the  principle  of  the  Quadruple  Alli- 
ance. The  late  policy  of  Great  Britain  has  loosened  these  beneficial 
ties,  by  demonstrating  a  restless  desire  of  self-interest  in  direct  oppo- 

34* 


802  TBE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

sition  to  these  wise  and  comprehensive  principles,  in  which  the 
peace  and  general  interests  of  Europe  were  bound  together. 

*'The  King  desires,  therefore,  distinctly  to  know  from  his  Cabi 
net  individually,  seriatim,  whether  the  great  principles  of  policy 
established  by.  his  Government  in  the  years  1814,  1815,  and  1818, 
are  or  are  not  to  be  abandoned. 

"  The  answer  to  this  question  will  enable  the  King  to  satisfy  him- 
self of  the  steps  necessary  to  be  taken  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
this  country  from  being  again  involved  in  a  ruinous  and  disastrous 
war.  G.  R." 

The  foreign  influence  ever  working  on  the  King's  mind  appears 
to  have  been  highly  irregular.  He  would  have  constant  interviews 
with  the  Metternichs,  Esterhazys  (to  say  nothing  of  Madame  de 
Lieven),  during  which  he  delivered  himself  on  his  situation,  asked 
sympathy,  and  uttered  those  long  harangues  to  which  he  was  so 
addicted. 

The  extraordinary  request  to  have  separate  opinions  from  each 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  pointed  to  an  attempt,  as  we  have  said,  at 
breaking  up  the  Cabinet.  As  they  met  for  the  purpose  of  obeying 
his  commands,  they  must  have  been  scarcely  able  to  control  their 
amusement.  Their  answer  gave  him  but  cold  comfort.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  sort  of  ironical  strain  through  it,  though  this  arises  from 
the  unanswerable  character  of  the  statement.  Mr.  Canning  wrote  a 
special  explanation  to  the  King,  on  the  ground  that  an  insinuation 
was  made  that  hitherto  there  had  not  been  that  full  and  faithful 
confidence  and  communication  with  the  Allies.  He  then  entered 
on  a  long  resume  of  his  policy.  The  King  had  thus  almost  .suc- 
ceeded in  his  plan  of  at  least  making  the  opposing  elements  in  the 
Cabinet  declare  themselves. 

To  this  exposition  there  was,  it  appears,  some  qualifying  words 
which  were  omitted,  owing,  Mr.  Canning  says,  to  his  "  being  ill  and 
tired  to  death  with  Westmoreland's  discussions."  And  this  the  King 
"dexterously  seized  on,  declaring  himself  satisfied  with  the  pledge 
given  by  his  ministers  (of  reciprocal  confidence  with  the  Allies),  and 
throwing  all  responsibility  uporf  the  mode  of  action  upon  it. " 

THE  KING   TO  LORD    LH^ERPOOL. 

"  Carlton  House,  Januarj'  30th,  1825. 
*'The  King  has  received  from  Lord  Liverpool  tho  declaration  of 
the  Cabinet  in  reply  to  the  King's  paper. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV.  803 

**  The  King  has  only  to  observe  that  if  an  earnest  desire  of  '  main- 
taining the  system  of  confidence  and  reciprocal  communication  with 
the  Allies '  be  fully  and  faithfully  acted  upon,  it  is  all  that  the  King 
can  require. 

"The  King  readily  admits  Lord  Liverpool's  statement  that  the 
recognition,  at  this  time,  of  the  South  American  provinces  was  cer- 
tainly in  opposition  to  the  King's  own  judgment;  but  the  King 
hopes,  as  the  step  has  been  taken,  that  it  will  prove  a  measure  full 
of  the  beneficial  results  which  are  anticipated,  by  adding  to  the 
prosperity  of  this  country  without  interfering  with  the  general  peace 
and  tranquillity  of  Europe." 

In  his  irritation  at  these  events,  the  King  was  enabled  to  find 
some  relief  in  indulging  his  "religious  feelings."  He  was  naturally 
embarrassed  when  public  reference  was  made  to  his  Concordat  as 
King  of  Hanover  "with  Pope  Leo,  by  Bull,  dated  March  26th, 
1824,  for  regulating  the  dioceses  and  endowments  of  Roman  Cath- 
olic bishops  and  chaplains  in  the  Kingdom  of  Hanover,  with  a 
domestic  election  of  bishops,  etc.,  subject  to  a  royal  veto  and  papal 
confirmation;  such  as,"  Lord  Colchester  says,  "if  established  in 
England,  with  '  the  spiritual  authority  '  therein  reserved,  would  be 
tantamount  to  a  counter-reformation;  and  be  (according  to  Lord 
Liverpool's  declaration,  in  his  last  speech  on  the  Roman  Catholic 
question)  a  violation  of  the  King's  coronation  oath  in  this  country." 

This  was  awkward  enough;  indeed,  the  whole  question  was  to 
involve  all  concerned  in  inconsistencies  and  compromises.  The 
King  addressed  himself  to  Lord  Liverpool  for  comfort. 

THE  KING  TO  LORD   LrVERPOOL. 

"  King's  Lodge,  Feb.  25, 1825. 

"  The  King  sends  his  kind  regards  to  Lord  Liverpool,  and  is 
more  distressed  than  can  well  be  expressed  at  the  absurd  note 
which  has  been  lately  published  in  Germany,  relative  to  the  Catho- 
lic Association,  in  reference  to  the  local  circumstances  of  that 
country.  The  King  had  no  knowledge  of  such  an  intention,  or  it 
would  most  certainly  not  have  happened, 

"The  King  desires  that  Lord  Liverpool  would  send  for  Count 
Mttnster,  that  he  may  explain  the  details  of  the  affair.  The  King 
is  afraid  that  whatever  inconvenience  may  arise  from  this  late 
declaration  has  its  origin  in  the  line  of  policy  and  original  stipula- 


804  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

tions  entered  into  by  our  much  regretted  friend,  poor  Lord  London- 
derry, so  long  since  at  the  Congress  held  at  Vienna.  The  King 
wishes,  however,  distinctly  to  state  to  Lord  Liverpool  that  on  the 
subject  of  Catholic  emancipation,  the  King's  revered  father's  opin- 
ions are  ever  before  him  and  ever  will  be,  to  the  King's  latest 
existence. 

'•G.  R." 

Lord  Liverpool  replied  dryly  that  he  "never  supposed  the  paper 
connected  with  any  alteration  in  your  Majesty's  mind." 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

"  Carlton  House,  Wednesday  morning,  May  18,  1825, 
"Dear  Lord  Liverpool, 

"I  congratulate  you  most  sincerely  on  your  successful  efforts 
of  last  night.  God  be  thanked.  Your  speech  was  indeed  most 
powerful.     I  hope  you  will  not  suffer  from  the  great  exertions. 

"Your  very  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  805 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1825. 

When  the  Catholic  question  was  once  more  brought  forward — 
perhaps  the  most  serious  of  the  many  stniggles  that  immediately 
preceded  the  settlement  of  the  question — the  Duke  of  York,  when 
presenting  an  anti-Catholic  petition,  took  occasion  to  deliver  his 
well-known  apostrophe,  which  was  to  enjoy  the  honor  of  being 
printed  on  pocket-handkerchiefs,  and  also  in  letters  of  gold  to  be 
framed  and  hung  up  in  loyal  houses.  The  topics  of  this  unbecom- 
ing appeal  were  the  usual  ones,  but  there  were  personal  references 
in  the  worst  taste,  while  others,  taking  a  rather  theatrical  tone, 
were  outside  argument. 

*' What  the  effect  of  the  proposal  of  such  measures  was  at  that 
day  (the  late  King's),  your  lordships  know.  The  apprehension 
that  the  Sovereign  might  be  called  upon  to  differ  with  his  Parlia- 
ment in  the  discharge  of  his  duty — to  adhere  to  his  coronation  oath, 
the  compact  he  had  made  at  the  altar  of  God — led  to  affliction" — 
(here  he  could  not  proceed) — "and  to  the  temporary  dismissal  of 
the  best,  the  honestest,  and  the  wisest  minister  he  ever  had.  1 
have  opposed  the  concessions  of  popular  power  from  the  first 
moment  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  make  them.  I  have  so  acted 
throughout,  under  a  conviction,  whenever  I  have  been  called  upon 
to  act,  that  Iwas  bound  so  to  act.  I  shall  continue  to  oppose  such 
concessions  to  the  utmost  of  my  power.  My  lords,  allow  me  to 
call  your  attention  to  what  must  be  the  state  of  the  King  upon  the 
throne,  who  has  taken  this  coronation  oath" — (here  he  read  the 
oath).  "  The  dread  of  being  called  upon — of  having  it  even  pro- 
posed to  him — to  act  contrary  to  his  understanding  of  that  oath, 
led,  or  materially  contributed,  to  his  late  Majesty's  sufferings  in  the 
last  ten  years  of  a  life" — (here  he  could  not  proceed,  and  was  in 
tears:  after  a  pause  he  said) — "My  lords,  if  you  have  taken  oaths, 
and  differ  about  the  meaning  of  them,  those  who  think  proposed 
measures  contrary  to  their  sense  of  their  oaths  are  overborne  by  a 
majority — they  do  their  duty — they  act  according  to  their  oaths — 


806  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

the  measure  is  carried  witliout  their  violating  their  compact  with 
God.  But  recollect  that  it  is  not  so  with  the  individual  who  is  the 
Sovereign.  He  has  a  right — if  he  is  convinced  that  it  is  his  duty — 
to  refuse  his  assent  when  the  measure  is  proposed  to  him.  His 
refusal  is  a  constitutional  bar  to  the  measure — his  consent,  if  given 
contrary  to  his  understanding  of  his  oath,  is  that  for  which  he 
must  ever  be  responsible.  My  lords,  I  understand  my  duty  in  this 
place  too  well,  to  be  stating  what  any  other  person  may  or  may  not 
feel  with  respect  to  these  proposed  measures,  what  any  other  per- 
son may  or  may  not  propose  to  do,  or  to  forbear  doing.  I  speak 
for  myself  only;  for  myself  only  I  declare  my  opinions  and  deter- 
minations. But  I  apprehend  that  I  may  be  in  this  place  allowed  to 
call  your  attention  to  observations  upon  what  may  be  the  state  of  a 
sovereign  to  whom  measures  may  be  proposed ;  who  is  not  to  con- 
sider what  oath  might  have  been  administered  to  him,  and  taken 
by  him  but  who  has  taken  an  oath." 

A  characteristic  comment  on  this  deluding  "self-righteousness" 
of  fanaticism  is  to  be  found  in  a  letter  of  Lord  Eldon's,  a  week  or 
two  later:  "  The  D.  of  Y.  is  at  Newmarket.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that,  in  his  highly  important  and  lofty  situation,  he  spends  so  many 
days  with  blacklegs,  and  so  many  nights  at  cards,  among  which  we 
know  there  are  knaves,  as  well  as  what  are  better  company  for 
him,  kings  and  queens." 

"Monday,  May  2.3, 1825. 

"We  had  a  most  sumptuous  and  splendid  set-out  at  the  Duke  of 
York's  on  Saturday— twenty-four  rejoicing  Protestants  round  the 
table — and  such  a  magnificent  show  of  plate  as  even  eclipses  the 
King's  exhibition  of  that  article,  and,  as  it  appears  to  me,  eclipses 
all  of  the  same  article  which  all  the  monarchs  of  Europe  liave 
presented  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  We  drank  the  '48.  the  year 
1688,  and  the  glorious  and  immortal  memory  of  William  the  Third 
— but  without  noise  or  riot. 

"  I  saw  the  King  yesterday,  who  is  much  better,  and  not  a  little 
relieved  in  point  of  anxiety  by  the  vote  on  the  Catholic  question. 
So  much  for  the  present;  but  politics  may  possibly  soon  present 
some  other  troublesome  matter,  for  it  is  in  the  nature  of  politics  to 
be  restless,  and  to  furnish  plague  after  plague." 

••  Wednesday,  May  25,  1825. 
"I  forgot  to  tell  you  yesterday  that  we  have  got  a  now  favorite 
toast.     Lady  Warwick  and  Lady  Braybrooke  (I  think  that  is  \tq^ 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV.  807 

name)  would  not  let  their  husbands  go  to  the  House  to  vote  for 
the  Catholics  ;  so  we  Protestants  drink  daily,  as  our  favorite  toast, 
*  The  ladies  who  locked  up  their  husbands. ' " 

The  Duke's  inflammatoiy  language  was  the  subject  of  much  com- 
ment. There  can  be  no  doubt  the  King  was  pleased  with  it,  though 
he  good-humoredly  affected  to  complain  of  that  awkward  reference 
to  his  successor — "in  whatever  situation  he  might  be."  The  royal 
brothers  had  met  on  the  Sunday  preceding,  and  when  the  King 
opened  the  subject  of  the  Catholic  claims,  the  Duke  begged  of  him 
not  to  mention  the  subject  until  some  days  had  gone  by ;  for,  as  he 
told  Lord  Eldon,  he  was  detei-mined  to  take  the  whole  responsibility 
of  this  protest.  The  effect  was  extraordinary.  It  kindled  again  the 
bigotry  of  the  country,  which  was  rather  flickering,  and  stimulated 
the  King  to  new  deliverances. 

"Two  days  afterward,"  says  Lord  Colchester,  "the  Duke  of 
York,  at  the  levee,  told  Lord  Sidmouth  that  '  the  King  had  declared 
that  he  would  not  give  the  royal  assent  to  such  a  bill ;'  a  declara- 
tion made,  not  publicly,  but  not  unknown  to  the  Duke  of  York. 
The  Chancellor  told  me  he  had  had  a  long  audience  of  the  King  this 
morning,  in  which  his  Majesty  went  through  the  whole  of  his  political 
life  as  connected  with  opinions  upon  the  Roman  Catholic  question, 
and  represented  himself  to  have  been  ever  uniformly  against,  or  at 
least  that  he  had  never  been  for,  increasing  the  powers  of  the  Roman 
Catholics ;  and  that  he  was  now  very  anxious  upon  the  subject,  and 
exceedingly  disturbed  at  the  progress  of  the  bill  depending  in  the 
House  of  Commons." 

And  on  receiving  the  congratulations  of  the  archbishops  and  bishops 
at  the  Drawing  Room,  he  "took  notice  of  the  delicacy  with  which 
all  mention  was  avoided  of  the  great  constitutional  question  lately 
under  discussion ;  and  declared  that  he  considered  the  Church  and 
the  monarchy  as  essentially  united;  and  that  they  must  stand  or  fall 
together.  He  said  also  to  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  "this  will  cor- 
roborate what  my  brother  (the  Duke  of  York)  has  said.' " 

The  bill  was  rejected  in  the  House  of  Lords  by  a  majority  of  forty- 
eight. 

At  this  time  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  enjoying  the  highest 
favor  of  the  King,  who  was  exhibiting  his  regard  by  the  greatest 
kindness  and  the  most  tender  solicitude.  Towards  Christmas  in 
1826  the  office  of  Constable  of  the  Tower  fell  vacant. 


808  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Royal  Lodge,  December  21st,  1828. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 

**  I  must  tell  you  that  I  feel  a  pride,  whenever  the  opportunity 
offers,  of  showing  not  only  the  affection  I  have  for  you,  but  the 
gratitude  which  this  country  owes  you.  The  glory  of  my  reign  is 
so  identified  with  you  that  the  one  cannot  be  separated  from  the 
other.  It  is  like  yourself  to  think  so  little  of  yourself,  and  as  you  do 
not  choose  to  hold  the  office  of  Constable  of  the  Tower  and  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Plymouth  together,  take  that  which  will  be  most  agree- 
able to  your  own  feelings.  If  you  do  not  take  that  of  Constable  of  the 
Tower,  I  will  then  bestow  it  on  Field  Marshal  Earl  Harcourt,  now, 
from  his  great  age,  the  father  of  the  whole  army.  In  that  case  I  shall 
appoint  my  old  and  attached  friend  and  servant.  Sir  William  Kep 
pell,  to  succeed  him  in  the  Government  of  Portsmouth,  to  whom  I 
have  long  owed  this  debt  of  proper  feeling.  Upon  your  taking  the 
Constableship,  then  Earl  Harcourt  shall  go  to  Plymouth,  and  my 
intentions  towards  Keppell  will  still  be  fulfilled  by  the  Governor- 
ship of  Portsmouth.  I  have  given  you  this  detailed  explanation  to 
set  you  quite  at  your  ease,  and,  believe  me,  ever  yours  affectionately, 

•*G.  R. 

"P.S.— Give  me  one  line,  with  your  decision,  as  soon  as  you  can. 
Alas!  my  poor  brother." 

In  a  manly  letter  the  Duke  wrote  to  decline  keeping  the  Governor- 
ship of  Plymouth,  on  the  ground  that  his  officers  "would  form  a 
very  injurious  notion  of  him  if  they  found  that  he  was  competing 
with  them  for  honors."    The  other  post,  however,  he  accepted. 

This  eagerness  to  propitiate  the  Duke  was  not  unlikely  to  have 
been  connected  with  an  extraordinary  idea  which,  on  the  death  of  his 
brother,  had  taken  possesion  of  him,  namely,  to  assume  the  com- 
mand of  the  army.  Even  before  the  Duke  of  York's  death  he  had 
been  sounding  the  Duke  as  to  a  successor,  proposing  him  for  the 
office;  on  which  the  Duke  entreated  of  him  not  to  think  of  the  mat- 
ter until  his  brother's  demise  and  then  to  be  guided  by  his  ministers. 
His  Majesty,  however,  persevered,  talked  of  the  suitability  of  him 
self  as  a  candidate,  but  on  the  whole  inclined  to  the  Duke.  The 
latter  left  town  purposely,  to  be  out  of  the  way.  "I  have  always 
considered  this  conversatiqp,  like  many  others,  as  so  many  unmean- 
ing words  and  phrases."    The  Duke  was  ever  consistent  in  this  half- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  809 

contemptuous  opinion.  '  *  I  will  protest  against  it  in  the  most  formal 
manner."  The  ministers  were  indignant,  Mr.  Peel  declaring  the 
* '  idea  was  preposterous, "  and  they  would  never  agree  to  it.  The 
King  proceeded  to  make  arrangements,  proposing  that  Sir  H.  Taylor 
should  do  the  serious  work  as  secretary,  and  "give  commands  in 
his  name. "  The  latter  was  only  too  eager  to  be  released  from  this 
embarrassing  honor,  and  was  communicating  with  the  ministers. 
At  last  Sir  "W.  Knighton  was  set  at  work,  and  the  only  proper 
appointment — that  of  the  Duke  himself — was  made. 

When  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  away  on  his  mission  at  St. 
Petersburg,  the  King  was  seized  with  about  the  severest  fit  of  illness 
he  had  yet  encountered.  All  about  him  were  seriously  alarmed.  A 
violent  attack  of  gout  and  inflammation  were  the  ailments  from 
which  he  was  suffering,  but,  as  usual,  his  fine  constitution  enabled 
him  to  rally.  The  Duke  of  York's  conduct  was  pronounced  to  be 
"perfect,"  and  he  was  complimented  on  his  behavior  to  his  brother 
being  "so  easy,  so  natural,  it  seems  as  if  it  never  occurs  to  him  that 
the  King  is  mortal."  This  indeed  was  but  a  fitting  tribute  to  this 
amiable,  well-meaning  Prince,  who  counted  many  genuine  friends 
in  the  community,  and  who  ever  showed  himself  a  true,  manly, 
straightforward  English  gentleman. 


810  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBOE  IV. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1825. 

The  skilled  emissaries  of  foreign  countries  may  have  found  their 
account  in  interviews  with  his  Majesty,  but  they  soon  learned  they 
had  to  deal  with  their  master,  It  is  pleasant  to  read  Mr.  Canning's 
spirited  mode  of  dealing  with  the  ambassadors ;  and  one  can  well 
understand  the  high  position  in  Europe  held  by  the  country  under  his 
direction.  "The  last  three  mornings,"  he  writes  in  March,  1825. 
• '  have  been  occupied  partly  in  receiving  the  three  successive  com- 
munications of  Count  Lieven,  Prince  Esterhazy,  and  Baron  Maltz- 
ahan,  of  the  high  and  mighty  displeasure  of  their  Courts  with  respect 
to  Spanish  America.  Lieven  led  the  way  on  Wednesday.  He  began 
to  open  a  long  despatch  evidently  with  the  intention  of  reading  it 
to  me.  I  stopped  in  limine,  desiring  to  know  if  he  was  author 
ized  to  give  a  copy  of  it.  He  said  '  No ;'  upon  which  I  declined 
hearing  it,  unless  he  could  give  me  his  word  that  no  copy  would 
be  sent  to  any  other  Court.  He  said  he  could  not  undertake 
to  say  that  it  would  not  be  sent  to  other  Russian  missions,  but  that 
he  had  no  notion  that  a  copy  of  it  would  be  given  to  the  Courts 
at  which  they  were  severally  accredited.  I  answered  that  I  wa.s 
determined  either  to  have  a  copy  of  a  despatch  which  might  b(; 
quoted  to  foreign  Courts  (as  former  despatches  had  been),  as  liavnig 
been  communicated  to  me,  and  remaining  unanswered,  or  to  be  able 
to  say  that  no  despatch  had  been  communicated  to  me  at  all 
It  was  utterly  impossible  for  me,  I  said,  to  charge  my  memory 
with  the  expressions  of  a  long  despatch  once  read  over  to  mo,  or 
to  be  able  to  judge  on  one  such  hearing  whether  it  did  or  did 
not  contain  expressions  which  I  ought  not  to  pass  over  without 
remark.  Yet  by  the  process  now  proposed  I  was  responsible  to  the 
King  and  to  my  colleagues,  and  ultimately  perhaps  to  Parlia 
ment,  for  the  contents  of  a  paper  which  might  be  of  the  most  essen 
tially  important  character;  and  of  which  the  text  might  be  quoted 
hereafter  by  third  parties,  as  bearing  a  meaning  which  I  did  not  on 
|h^  instant  attribute  to  it,  and  \o\  which  upon  bare  recollection  1 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  811 

could  not  controvert.  Lieven  was  confounded.  He  asked  me  what 
he  was  to  do.  I  said,  what  he  pleased ;  but  I  took  the  exception  now 
before  I  heard  a  word  of  his  despatch,  because  I  would  not  have  it 
thought  that  the  contents  of  the  despatch,  whatever  they  might  be, 
had  anything  to  do  with  that  exception  I  must,  however,  own  that 
I  was  led  to  make  it  now,  the  rather  because  I  had  learnt  from  St. 
Petersburg  that  he.  Count  Lieven,  had  been  instructed  not  to  give 
me  a  copy  of  the  despatch  on  Turkey  and  Greece,  which  instruction 
his  own  good  sense  had  led  him  to  disobey;  that  in  that  instance  it 
was  absolutely  preposterous  to  refuse  a  copy;  that  the  despatch  pro 
fessed  to  be  a  narrative,  of  which  dates  and  facts  were  the  elements, 
and  that  to  have  read  such  a  statement  to  me,  and  then  circulated  it 
throughout  Europe  as  what  had  been  communicated  to  me,  and 
acquiesced  in  by  my  silence,  would  have  been  an  unfairness  such  as  it 
was  as  well  to  let  him  know,  once  for  all,  I  was  determined  to  resist. 
Might  he  state  to  me  verbally  what  he  was  ordered  to  state  without 
reference  to  his  despatch?  He  then  proceeded  to  pronounce  a  dis- 
course— no  matter  for  the  substance  at  present — after  which  he  left 
me.  1  instantly  wrote  down  the  substance  of  what  I  understood  him 
to  have  said  to  me,  and  sent  him  my  memorandum,  with  a  letter 
requesting  him  to  correct  any  inaccuracies.  The  result  is,  that  I 
have  a  document  in  spite  of  ail  their  contrivance.  Yesterday  the 
same  scene  with  Esterhazy,  who  had  not  seen  Lieven  in  the  interval, 
and  therefore  came  unprepared.  He,  too,  made  me  a  speech,  and 
to  him  I  immediately  sent  a  memorandum  of  what  I  understood 
him  to  have  said.  1  have  not  yet  received  his  answer.  To-day 
Maltzahn  came,  evidently  prepared;  for  he  produced  no  paper,  but 
set  off  at  score.  This  rather  provoked  me.  for  he  is  the  worst  of 
all;  but  I  was  even  with  him.  For  whereas  with  the  others  I 
merely  listened,  and  put  in  no  word  of  my  own.  I  thought  it  a 
good  opportunity  to  pay  off  my  reserve  upon  Maltzahn;  and  accord 
ingly  said  to  him  a  few  as  disagreeable  things  as  I  could  upon  the 
principle  of  legitimacy." 

Under  all  this  was  indignation  at  the  private  communications 
with  the  King.  How  he  was  preparing  to  deal  with  this  conduct 
will  be  seen  by  the  following  extract  from  one  of  his  letters ;  "  I 
wonder  whether  he  (Metternich)  is  aware  that  the  private  commu- 
nication of  foreign  ministers  with  the  King  of  England  is  wholly 
at  variance  with  the  spirit,  and  practice  too,  of  the  British  Con- 
stitution. That,  during  his  reign  of  half  a  century,  George  HL 
(whom  all  parties  now  agree  in  taking  as  the  model  of  an  English 


812  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

king)  never  indulged  himself  in  such  communications,  and  that 
the  custom  introduced  in  the  time  of  my  predecessor  survives  only 
by  sufferance,  and  would  not  stand  the  test  of  parliamentary  dis- 
cussion. I  should  be  very  sorry  to  do  anything  at  all  unpleasant  to 
the  King,  but  it  is  my  duty  to  be  present  at  every  interview  between 
his  Majesty  and  a  foreign  minister.  Nothing  would  induce  me  to 
go  to  that  extent;  but  short  of  that,  being  in  the  right,  I  would  justly 
resent,  and  pretty  effectually  repress,  such  manoeuvres  as  Metternich 
has  been  encouraging." 

It  is  seldom  that  a  minister  talks  in  this  strain  of  his  sovereign, 
and  it  was  clear  that  matters  would  soon  have  come  to  a  crisis ;  but 
a  little  more  than  a  fortnight  later,  a  wholesome  foreboding  seems  to 
have  visited  his  Majesty,  who,  either  from  a  whim  or  sense  of  its 
being  his  interest,  determined  on  a  complete  wlte  face.  The  pliant 
Sir  William  was  despatched  on  a  formal  mission  to  the  minister, 
then  laid  with  up  the  gout.  Mr.  Stapleton,  the  secretary,  who  was 
with  his  chief,  describes  the  scene,  and  also  furnishes  a  report  of  what 
passed,  dictated  to  him  by  Mr.  Canning. 

"On  April  27th,  1825,"  he  says,  "Mr.  Canning,  not  having  been 
well  (had  passed  the  day  in  bed),  was  dictating  a  despatch,  when  a 
carriage  drove  up  to  the  door.  The  servant  was  desired  to  inquire 
'  whether  Mr.  Canning  would  not  see,  for  a  very  few  minutes,  Sir 
William  Knighton,  who  was  the  bearer  of  a  message  from  the  King? ' 
Mr.  Canning,  who  well  knew  that  Sir  William  had  been  actively  mixed 
up  in  the  late  proceedings,  looked  at  me  with  amazement  when  I 
reported  to  him  the  message  from  Sir  William.  He,  however,  at 
once  decided  to  admit  the  messenger  from  his  sovereign.  At  length, 
when  three  hours  had  nearly  elapsed.  Sir  William  left,  and  I  rejoined 
Mr.  Canning. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  with  a  countenance  beaming  with  pleasure,  "  we 
have  had  a  most  curious  and  satisfactory  conversation.  Take  a 
sheet  of  paper  and  I  will  dictate  to  you  what  has  passed." 

"  [Most  Secret  Memorandum.] 

"  Gloucester  Lodge,  April  27, 1886. 

"  Sir  William  Knighton  called  upon  me  to-day  by  the  command, 

as  he  said,  of  his  Majesty,  to  inquire  after  the  state  of  my  health. 

Sir  W.,  after  inquiring  about  the  gout,  hoped  Parliament  would 

not  give  me  much  more  trouble  this  year,  so  he  flattered  himself  also 

that  in  other  respects  I  should  have  less  occasion  of  agitation  and 

anxiety  than  heretofore;  that  he  was  (juitc  aware  that  the  last  year 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  81^ 

must  have  been  to  me  most  trying,  and  the  pulse  of  the  mind  (as  he 
expressed  himself)  must  have  been  going  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  miles 
an  hour. 

"I  admitted  that  there  was  some  truth  in  this  observation,  and 
said  that  I  dated  the  origin  of  my  present  fit  of  the  gout  at  least  as 
far  back  as  December.  But  that  in  truth  from  the  rising  of  Parlia- 
ment last  year  up  to  December  (which  was  the  crisis)  had  been  a 
period  of  constant  labor  and  anxiety,  I  did  not  particularize  this 
statement  further;  but  he  at  once  showed  that  he  understood  me, 
and  had,  in  fact,  himself  been  alluding  to  the  same  thing,  by  saying, 
that  I  must  be  aware  that  the  King  had  sent  him  to  the  Continent 
three  or  four  times  during  the  last  six  months ;  that  whenever  he 
had  gone  he  had,  of  course,  had  his  eyes  and  ears  about  him,  and 
had  been  anxious  to  collect  general  feelings  and  opinions — that  he 
was  quite  satisfied  that  the  Spanish- American  question  was  every- 
where working  in  the  sense  which  I  could  desire;  that  foreign 
nations  were  astounded  at  the  step,  and  some  of  them  very  angry, 
but  that  not  one  of  them  ventured  to  imagine  that  it  was  possible  to 
interpose  any  resistance  to  England.  That  Metternich  had  been  try- 
ing what  he  could  do,  and  covering  his  intrigues  with  the  most 
plausible  topics,  but  that  his  motive  at  the  bottom  was  soreness  at 
my  success,  and  envy  of  my  reputation,  from  which  motive  he 
would  have  done  anything  to  get  rid  of  me.  But  that  he  (Metter- 
nich) was  now  convinced  that  I  was  too  strong  for  him,  and  would, 
he  (Sir  W.  K.)  had  no  doubt,  henceforth  try  to  accommodate  him- 
self to  circumstances  as  well  as  he  could. 

"  Sir  W.  K.  said  that  he  failed  not  to  mention  his  own  impressions 
to  the  King,  and  that  he  had  never  in  his  life  seen  the  King  so  tran- 
quil and  comfortable  as  he  appeared  at  the  present  moment.  I  said 
that  it  was  my  object  to  make  his  Majesty  comfortable  and  happy, 
by  placing  him  at  the  head  of  Europe  instead  of  being  reckoned 
fifth  in  a  Great  Confederacy. 

"  I  said  that  I  was  aware  that  the  King  had  been  afraid  that  the 
steps  taken  with  respect  to  Spanish- America  would  involve  us  in  a 
war;  that  I  was  perfectly  confident  that  they  would  not  if  taken  in 
time.  ...  Sir  W.  K.  said  that  the  King  had  certamly  enter- 
tained that  fear,  but  was  now  perfectly  satisfied  that  his  fears  had 
been  unfounded ;  that  he  (Sir  W.  K.)  was  certain  that,  on  the  contrary, 
the  fear  of  England  was  a  predominant  feeling  with  the  Continental 
Governments.  I  said  that  I  hoped  so ;  that  that  was  the  state  to 
which  I  had  wished  to  bring  things,  and  that  I  trusted  his  Majesty 


814  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

must  feel  better  pleased,  upon  reflection,  to  be  the  object  of  such 
fear,  than  of  cajolery  and  contempt.  Sir  W.  K.  said  that  he  felt 
sure  that  his  Majesty  was  coming  to  that  mind;  that  he  had  cer- 
tainly been  very  loth  to  give  up  all  his  Continental  gossipings  (or 
some  expression  to  that  effect)  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  too 
much  and  too  long ;  that  it  was  a  great  misfortune  that  the  royal- 
ties and  their  suites  had  ever  come  to  this  country,  but  that  he 
did  hope  that  the  effects  of  all  that  system  were  gradually  pass- 
ing away;   and   that  Esterliazy's  departure  and  Madame  L 'a 

would  be  a  break-up  of  the  system  of  living  with  those  two  embas- 
sies, which  he  (Sir  W.  K.)  had  long  lamented.  I  asked  him,  then, 
if  he  were  aware  that  the  gossipings  of  the  Cottage  were  regularly 

transmitted  to  Metternich  by  Madame  L .    He  said  he  had  no 

doubt  of  it,  but  that  he  very  much  doubted  whether  in  their  Cottage 
parties  the  King  ever  talked  serious  politics  at  any  of  them,  though, 
of  course,  they  had  an  opportunity  of  instilling  any  opinions  which 
they  wished;  but  the  King  certainly  liked  their  society  better  than 
any  others,  and  was  somewhat  at  a  loss  to  make  up  a  society  for 
himself. 

"Sir  W.  K.  went  on  to  say,  that  upon  all  points,  and  upon  every- 
thing connected  with  the  King,  he  wished  (if  I  would  allow  him)  to 
speak  to  me  at  all  times  with  the  most  perfect  confidence  and  unre- 
servedness;  that  he  did  not  know  that  he  could  do  any  good,  but 
that  he  was  sure  that  it  was  his  wish  to  do  so,  and  that  he  had  long 
desired  an  opportunity  of  explaining  himself  thus  openly  to  me; 
that  he  could  not  help  at  the  same  time  saying  something  of  his  own 
situation  with  the  King,  which  was  a  very  extraordinary,  and  might 
become  a  very  embarrassing  one.  That,  officially,  he  was  nothing 
but  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Purse,  the  concerns  of  which,  he  flattered 
himself,  he  had  now  brought  into  order;  so  that  the  King  was  now 
free  from  debt,  and  in  a  state  of  ease  as  to  his  finances  that  he  had 
never  been  before ;  but  that  as  Keeper  of  the  King's  Privy  Purse  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  politics,  yet  politics  of  every  sort  were  every 
day  forced  upon  him;  applications,  petitions,  representations  of  all 
sorts,  which  he  got  rid  of  as  well  as  he  could,  but  which  made  his 
life  a  very  weary  one.  He  had  access  to  everything  that  was  most 
secret,  and  was  employed,  not  by  his  own  good-will,  but  necessarily 
for  the  King's  convenience,  on  matters  of  the  most  delicate  nature, 
for  which  he  had  no  sort  of  responsibility;  that  for  his  own  part  he 
could  well  b«  contented  to  be  allowed  to  live  with  his  family,  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  815 

come  up  occasionally  to  pass  Ms  accounts  with  the  King.  He  could 
just  as  well  administer  the  King's  private  revenue,  living  at  a  dis- 
tance from  his  Majesty,  as  Abercrombie  could  the  revenues  of  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire  in  England.  But  that  he  knew  the  putting 
this  plan  into  execution  would  expose  his  Majesty  to  great  inconve- 
nience ;  that  his  Majesty  was  used  to  him  and  to  his  help ;  and  such 
was  the  growing  disposition  to  indolence  in  his  Majesty,  that  if  he 
were  away,  business  would  get  on  very  ill  .  .  .  that  it  was  a  most 
painful  part  of  his  (Sir  W.  K.'s)  duty  to  press  business  upon  his 
Majesty,  when  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  be  done  ....  and 
that  his  doing  so  sometimes  produced  unpleasant  Gcenes,  ...  *  I 
believe '  (said  Sir  W.  K.)  'he  has  as  great  an  esteem  and  affection  for 
me  as  anybody  living;  but  he  is  uncertain,  the  creature  of  impulse 
....  when  he  has  got  a  particular  notion  into  his  head  there  is  no 
eradicating  it;  and  I  have  known  him  talk  himself,  when  agitated 
and  perfectly  fasting,  into  as  complete  a  state  of  intoxication  as  if 
he  had  been  dining  and  drinking  largely.  You  see,  therefore,  that 
it  is  natural  that  I  should  wish  for  some  arrangement.  As  to  money, 
it  is  no  object  to  me:  I  made  my  fortune  by  my  profession  before  I 
quitted  it  for  the  King's  service.' 

"I  keep  myself  as  much  as  possible  to  myself  in  my  present 
situation*.  I  make  it  a  rule  never  to  dine  abroad.  I  constantly  re- 
fuse Lieven's  and  Esterhazy's;  and  even  the  other  day,  when  you 
dined  at  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  with  the  King,  I  declined  his 
gracious  invitation,  and  therefore  do  not  push  myself  forward;  but 
my  situation  is  not  the  less  embarrassing,  knowing  everything,  and 
known  to  know  everything,  and  assailed  on  all  sides,  not  allowed 
to  be  the  private  servant  of  the  King,  and  yet  not  having  any  con- 
nection with  his  Government." 

"  I  asked,  *  Have  you  any  desire  to  be  in  Parliament?'  *  Oh  no,' 
he  said.  In  truth,  it  seemed  very  difficult  to  him  to  say  what 
would  answer  his  purpose;  that  all  his  object  had  been  to  open 
himself  fully  to  me,  and  to  explain  all  his  feelings  and  all  the  diffi- 
culties of  his  present  situation,  that  I  might  think  it  over  at  my 
leisure,  or  think  no  more  about  it,  as  I  pleased;  but  that  as  long  as 
I  held  my  office,  which  he  hoped  would  be  very  many  years,  and 
he  remained  about  the  King,  I  might  rely  upon  his  entire  devotion, 
and  employ  him  in  any  way  which  I  thought  useful  in  making 
thiagfl  go  on  easily  and  satisfactorily.     He  thought  the  King  very 


816  ^SE  LIFE  Of  GEORGE  IV. 

well,  and  quite  as  likely  to  live  as  the  Duke  of  York.  The  mention 
of  the  Duke  of  York's  name  led  to  that  of  the  Catholic  question. 
He  said  the  King  knew  nothing  of  the  Duke  of  York's  mtention  to 
make  that  speech,  and  certainly  did  not  approve  of  it;  that  his 
Majesty  had  been  so  much  out  of  humor  with  the  Duke  of  York, 
about  a  house  that  he  was  going  to  build— so  much  so,  that  they 
nearly  came  to  disagreeable  words  about  it,  and  that  he  (Sir  W.  K.) 
had  been  employed  to  compose  the  difference;  that  the  King  al 
ways  likes  the  Duke  of  York  to  go  to  the  play  with  him,  and  was 
in  an  excessive  fidget  and  anger  when  the  Duke  did  not  come  to 
diiie;  and  that  his  ill-humor  would  certainly  not  be  cured  by  hear 
ing  what  kept  him  away.  I  asked  him  if  the  King,  though  not  dis- 
posed to  express  it,  had  the  same  feeling  as  the  Duke  of  York  about 
the  Coronation  Oath.  He  said  not  the  same,  or  to  the  same  degree, 
but  certainly  a  strong  feeling  about  it;  so  much  so,  that  he  had, 
before  he  became  King,  cou suited  the  late  Lord  Londonderry  as  to 
the  expediency  of  altering  it  before  he  was  called  upon  to  take  it. 
I  asked  if  there  was  any  record  of  that  consultation,  and  if  he 
knew  what  had  been  done  upon  it.  He  said  he  did  not  know,  nor 
did  he  believe  that  there  was  anything  in  writing;  but  that  he  was 
quite  sure  that  the  King  had  told  him  the  fact,  and  that  he  would 
endeavor  to  refresh  his  memory  as  to  the  particulars.  The  diffi- 
culty which  you  will  have  with  the  King  will  be  to  satisfy  iiim  that 
the  decision  of  Parliament  and  the  advice  of  his  Government  ought 
to  overbear  his  scruples.  I  said,  of  that  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as 
the  King  of  England  can  do  nothing,  except  by  the  advice  of  his 
responsible  advisers.  He  may  indeed  change  his  advisers  as  often 
as  he  pleases,  till  he  gets  those  who  will  advise  what  he  likes,  if  he 
can;  but  on  this  occasion,  I  doubt  whether,  changing  ever  so  often, 
he  will  be  able  to  make  a  completely  anti-Catholic  Government 
which  would  long  stand.  'Oh  nol  (said  Sir  W.  K.)  it  would  be 
quite  impossible:  he  has  no  notion  of  that,  1  am  sure;  but  I  think 
he  would  Hke  to  dissolve  the  Parliament,  and  take  the  sense  of  a 
second  House  of  Commons.'  On  which  I  said  I  thought  I  saw  in 
that  nothing  unreasonable,  '  My  expectation  (said  Sir  W.  K.)  is 
that  when  the  thing  comes  a  little  nearer  and  more  pressing,  his 
Majesty  will  wish  to  talk  to  you  upon  the  subject.'  'It  is  one  (said 
I)  upon  which,  divided  as  the  Government  is,  I  should  not  think 
myself  at  liberty  to  originate  any  advice  or  opinion  to  his  Majesty; 
but  of  course,  as  upon  everything  else,  1  should  be  ready  to  si:)eak 
my  opinion  if  he  wishes  to  talk  to  me.'    Lord  Liverpool,  he  said. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  817 

of  course,  if  he  does  not  make  up  his  mind  to  support  the  ques- 
tion, will  go  out,  if  it  should  become  necessary  to  carry  it;  though 
the  state  of  the  Government  upon  the  question  is  now  such  as  you 
allude  to,  it  is  evident  that  the  settlement  of  it  must  be  made  by  a 
Government.  I  said  I  saw  no  necessity  for  Lord  Liverpool  to  go 
out,  and  I  trusted  that  he  had  no  thought  of  it.  He  said,  '  You  may 
depend  upon  it  he  would,  and  that  he  has  made  up  his  mind  to  do 
so;  and  then,'  he  added,  '  I  never  saw  Lord  Liverpool  in  such  an 
amiable  humor,  and  so  says  the  King,  who  was  delighted  with  him 
at  the  levee  on  Wednesday,  and  said  that  he  was  all  svaviter  in 
modo.'  He  (Sir  W.  K.)  then  went  on;  Peel,  too,  would  go  out  on 
account  of  Oxford.  I  said,  God  forbid!  for  he  was  certainly  the 
most  eflQcient  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department  that  this 
country  ever  saw,  and  the  most  able  and  honest  minister.  Indeed, 
I  added,  the  King  ought  to  be  aware  that  he  owes  the  unexampled 
comfort  and  tranquillity  which  he  at  present  enjoys,  and  which 
(said  Sir  W.  K.,  interrupting)  he  admits  never  to  have  enjoyed  be- 
fore. Well,  I  said,  he  owes  it-not  to  Lord  Liverpool  and  me  only, 
in  our  respective  situations,  but  to  the  extraordinary  efficiency 
with  which  those  other  great  departments  of  the  State  are  filled  by 
Peel,  Robinson,  and  Huskisson;  those  oflSces  were  never  so  filled 
altogether  before.  Sir  W,  K.  agreed  to  this,  and  went  off  in  a 
great  panegyric  about  Huskisson:  but,  to  my  surprise,  said  nothing 
about  Robinson,  whom  I  believed  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  favor- 
ites of  the  King,  and  particularly  of  Knighton.  He  then  reverted 
to  Peel,  and  gave  reasons  why  he  thought  he  would  go  out.  His 
health,  his  wealth,  his  desire  of  leisure,  and  particularly  of  travel- 
ling; but  without  any  particular  praise  of  Peel,  whom  I  had  also 
imagined  to  be  one  of  Sir  W.  K.'s  first  favorites. 

' '  He  talked  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  as  the  person  in  whom 
the  King  had  great  confidence,  though  he  thought  he  saw  him  much 
less  than  heretofore,  when  the  Continental  system  was  in  more 
vogue.  He  thought  the  Duke  essentially  ill,  but  hoped  that  he  was 
now  taking  care  of  himself.  Several  other  matters  of  less  conse- 
quence arose  in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  of  which  I  entertain 
no  very  distinct  recollection.  The  cause  of  the  visit  probably  was 
as  stated,  the  King's  command  to  inquire  after  my  gout  .  .  .  but 
the  main  object  which  he  (Sir  W.  K.)  evidently  had  at  heart,  was  to 
set  himself  right  with  me  as  to  the  intrigues  of  last  summer,  of 
which  he  knows  that  I  suspect  him,  and  perhaps  suspects  that  I 
knew  him  to  be,  if  not  an  active  instrument,  a  very  interested  spec- 
35 


818  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

tator,  and  to  bring  his  situation  before  me  with  a  view  to  some  ob 
ject,  and  in  tlie  contemplation  of  some  contingency,  whicli  I  do 
not  pretend  to  divine." 

In  September,  1825,  Mr.  Canning  found  himself,  as  was  to  be  ex- 
pected, directly  confronted  with  the  grand  question,  which  by  his 
principles  and  declarations  he  was  bound  to  favor.  There  were 
many  reasons  why  it  would  have  been  inconvenient  for  him  to  deal 
with  it  then  •  not  the  least  of  which  was  the  impracticable  mood  of 
the  King.  He  contrived  to  put  it  aside  for  the  moment,  address 
ing  a  letter  to  Mr.  Plunket,  setting  out  the  "inopportunes"  of  the 
time,  '*  the  certainty  of  its  rousing  unconquerable  hostility,"  but  he 
added  a  promise  of  bringing  it  forward  at  the  first  opportunity 
after  a  dissolution. 

"lam  aware,"  he  added,  "to  what  misconstructions  this  pro 
ceeding  may  possibly  expose  me.  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  had 
much  rather  that  this  extreme  measure  was  averted  by  the  discre- 
tion of  those  of  the  Catholic  body  with  whom  the  bringing  the 
question  forward  may  rest."  But  so  fixed  was  his  resolution,  he 
said  he  was  determined  to  move  the  previous  question,  should  it  be 
brought  on. 

This  letter  he  forwarded  to  the  King,  with  a  skilfully-written  one 
of  his  own. 

"  Dated  Oct.  19, 1825. 

"Mr.  Canning,  in  submitting  with  his  humble  duty  the  accom- 
panying copy  of  a  letter  for  your  Majesty's  gracious  perusal, 
humbly  entreats  your  Majesty  to  believe  that  he  does  not  presume 
to  entertain  the  slightest  wish  or  expectation  that  your  Majesty 
should  condescend  to  express  any  opinion  upon  the  subject  to 
which  It  relates. 

"  But  in  the  very  embarrassing  situation  in  which  that  subject  is 
placed  (by  no  fault  of  any  one,  but  through  its  own  intrinsic  difB- 
culties),  Mr.  Canning  is,  above  all  things,  anxious  that  your  Majesty 
should  be  informed  (if  your  Majesty  will  deign  to  receive  such  in- 
formation) of  any  step  taken  by  Mr.  Canning,  individually,  upon 
a  question  upon  wliich  your  Majesty's  confidential  servants  do  not 
offer  to  your  Majesty  any  collective  opinion. 

"For  hims(!lf,  Mr.  Canning  bogs  leave  most  humbly  to  assure 
your  Majesty,  that  however  impossible  it  would  be  for  Mr.  Canning 
at  any  time  to  pursue,  consistently  with  his  honor  and  conscien- 
tious conviction,  any  other  course  than  that  which  he  has  hitherto 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBQE  IV,  819 

pursued  upon  this  most  momentous  and  perplexing  question,  senti- 
ments of  affectionate  duty  and  grateful  attachment  to  your  Majesty 
make  him  feel  at  all  times  no  less  the  wish  than  the  obligation  to 
consult  to  the  utmost  of  his  power,  in  the  discussions  which  may 
arise  upon  this  question,  your  Majesty's  ease  and  comfort,  and  to 
omit  no  endeavor  by  which  the  decision  upon  it  (whatever  that  de- 
cision may  be)  can  be  rendered  least  prejudicial  to  the  general  well- 
being  of  your  Majesty's  Government." 

He  thus  describes  to  Lord  Granville  the  King's  reception  of  his 
communication: 

"I  sent  to  his  Majesty  for  his  private  perusal  a  copy  of  my  letter 
to  Mr.  Plunket. 

"He  has  returned  it  with  thanks,  describes  it  as  'admirable;' 
and  though  he  does  not  (nor  could  I  expect  that  he  would)  look  be- 
yond the  next  year  for  what  must  follow,  there  is  not  one  word  in 
his  letter  of  determination  not  to  yield,  not  a  syllable  of  his  royal 
brother's  language,  and  not  a  shadow  of  ill-humor.  This  is  well 
so  far  as  it  goes,  and  it  is  a  great  thing  to  have  begun  with  his 
Majesty  upon  a  subject  which  hitherto  has  been  considered  as  inter- 
dicted ground. 

"You  remember,  of  course,  that  in  the  discussions  (in  Cabinet) 
which  followed  the  loss  of  the  question  last  session,  I  declared  my 
determination  to  be  no  longer  precluded  from  communicating  with 
his  Majesty  when  I  thought  fit." 

The  minister  showed  himself  here  rather  too  sanguine  and  credu- 
lous as  to  the  King's  disposition ;  indeed,  it  must  be  said  that  the 
latter  was  not  called  upon  to  do  more  than  signify  his  approbation 
of  the  postponement,  at  which  he  might  reasonably  exclaim  "Ad- 
mirable!" without,  too,  exhibiting  "  a  shadow  of  ill-humor."  The 
proceeding  was  indeed  one  which  recalled  Pitt's  and  Fox's  considera- 
tion for  the  feelings  of  his  royal  father  on  analogous  occasions. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  King  relied  on  their  assurances 
that  he  was  not  to  be  annoyed  by  the  Catholic  question.  But  had 
Mr.  Canning  lived,  it  is  cler.r  he  must  have  been  obliged  to  bring 
forward  the  question.  For  the  present  it  was  staved  off.  He,  how- 
ever, had  no  objection  to  reciprocate  these  cordial  advances,  and 
contrived  to  turn  them  to  profit. 

Mr.   Stapleton  declares  that  from   that  day  to  Mr.  Canning's 


820  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOBOE  lY. 

death  there  was  a  most  remarkable  change  in  the  King's  behavior, 
who  became  as  cordial  and  loyal  in  his  support  as  he  was  before 
unfriendly.  The  results  were  immediate.  He  even  anticipated  his 
wishes  in  regard  to  the  recognized  States. 

"  You  will  not  think  my  journey  to  town  fruitless,"  he  wrote  in 
October,  "when  I  tell  you  th^ft  I  received,  the  day  before  yesterday, 
from  the  King  a  note  in  which  is  the  following  sen^.ence:  'The 
King  will  receive  the  ministers  of  the  New  States  early  in  Novem- 
ber.' Recollecting  that  this  time  twelvemonth  it  was  a  question 
whether  there  should  be  any  New  States  at  all,  and  that  in  the  dis- 
cussions of  that  day  one  of  the  main  arguments  employed  to  deter 
me  from  my  purpose  was,  that  the  King  would  never  be  brought 
to  receive  their  ministers,  I  think  the  two  lines  above  quoted  as 
satisfactory  a  proof  of  the  sum  as  could  be  desired.  I  am  afraid, 
however,  that  the  King  offers  me  more  than  I  shall  be  able  to  take; 
for  I  have  only  one  minister,  that  of  Columbia,  here.  Immediately- 
after  the  presentation  I  shall  appoint  ministers  to  both  States;  and 
to  this  also  I  have  obtained  his  Majesty's  complete  acquiescence. 
The  King  had  now  begun  to  feel,  he  said  later,  that  '  I  had  not,  as 
he  was  taught  to  apprehend,  lost  him  his  status  among  tlie  Powers 
of  the  Continent,'  but  had  only  changed  it  from  '  the  tail  of  Europe 
to  the  head.' " 

The  presentation  of  the  Columbian  envoy  was  a  special  source 
of  satisfaction  to  him.  As  "a  scene  "  it  is  interesting,  and  a  favor- 
able specimen  of  Mr.  Canning's  spirited  style. 

"  I  had  mentioned  to  his  Majesty  before  Signor  Hurtado  came 
into  the  closet,  that  he  had  conducted  himself  eminently  well 
during  his  residence  of  some  years  in  England — had  mixed  himself 
in  no  factious  cabal,  nor,  so  far  as  I  know  and  believe,  in  any  dirty 
speculations. 

'•  Immediately  upon  his  coming  in,  the  King,  without  waiting 
for  his  address,  began  with  a  sentence  to  this  effect,  extraordinarily 
well  worded  and  pronounced: 

"'I  have  learnt  with  great  satisfaction,  sir,  that  during  your 
residence  in  this  country  you  have  conducted  yourself  with  par- 
ticular prudence  and  propriety,  under  very  ditticult  circumstances. 
It  is  an  earnest  of  the  manner  in  which  you  will  discharge  the  du- 
ties of  the  situation  to  which  you  are  now  appointed,  and  in  which 
I  have  great  pleasure  in  receiving  you.' 

"  Hurtado  then  made  his  speech,  which  was  a  very  judicious  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOMQE  IV.  821 

proper  one;  though  rather  of  the  longest,  and  in  the  most  unli- 
censed and  arbitrary  French  which  it  is  possible  to  imagine.  (The 
King's  speech  to  him  was  in  English,  which  he  understands,  but 
does  not  venture' to  speak.) 

"I  then  told  the  King  (in  the  presence  of  Hurtado),  that  *  I  had 
received  from  Hurtado  the  most  positive  assurances  of  the,  dispo- 
sition and  desire  of  his  Government  to  cultivate  the  relations  of 
peace  with  all  the  world,  but  especially  with  the  New  States  of 
America,  and  especially,  among  them,  with  the  State  more  imme- 
diately under  his  Majesty's  protection — Brazil.' 

"To  which  Hurtado  bowed,  and  muttered  his  assent;  and  his 
Majesty  added:  *I  rejoice  to  hear  it;'  and  turning  to  Hurtado, 
'  Peace,  peace,  by  all  means,  and  above  all  things.  "We  have  had 
thirty  years  of  convulsions;  let  us  all  now  conspire  to  keep  the 
peace.' 

"And  so  the  audience  ended.  And  so,  behold  1  the  New  World 
established." 

Another  version  of  his  proud  boast  of  calling  the  New  World 
into  existence  "to  redress  the  balance  of  the  Old!"  What  if  we 
could  have  foreseen  the  miserable  little  republics,  w^hicli  were  in 
reality  to  be  engendered  by  his  bold  step? 

In  December  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  Prince  Ester- 
hazy's  farewell  audience,  which  was  to  bring  him  fresh  proof  of  his 
new-born  favor  with  the  King.  He  reports  it  in  the  same  dramatic 
style : 

"After  many  gracious  expressions  of  regret,  his  Majesty  said 
(in  French)  that  it  was  particularly  mortifying  that  Prince  Ester- 
hazy  should  leave  England  at  such  a  time,  when  all  was  going  on 
so  well;  when  his  Majesty's  Government  w^as  so  much  to  his  own 
mind,  and  when  he  should  think  every  other  Power  was  so  com- 
pletely satisfied  with  it. 

"Prince  Esterhazy  interposed  a  few  words  in  confirmation  of  the 
King's  sentiments,  and  expressive  of  his  own  satisfaction  at  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  treated,  especially  by  me.  '  Que  les  formes 
avaient  ete  toujours  les  plits  amicales  et  qu'd  present  il  etait  contain- 
cu — '  and  was  evidently  proceeding  to  some  reference  to  former 
political  differences  of  opinion  between  himself  and  me,  when  the 
King  interrupted  him,  and  said: 

"  '  Oui,  oui — il  faut  etre  juste  ;'  and  then  turning  to  me,  went  on 
(still  in  French)  to  say — 'Yes,  it  is  right  that  you  should  know,  and 


829  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV. 

I  am  determined  to  tell  you  in  his  presence,  that  Esterhazy  was  the 
first  "de  revenir  sur  voire  compte/'  and  to  disavow  and  to  complain 
of  the  unreasonable  "preventions"  of  Prince  Metternich.  It  is 
many  months  ago  since  Prince  Esterhazy  said  to  me,  of  his  ow^n 
accord,  that  he  was  ashamed  for  himself,  and  for  his  Court,  of  the 
injustice  which  had  been  done  to  you;  and  to  express  his  convic- 
tion that,  even  on  the  points  on  which  you  had  most  differed,  you 
had  been  right,  and  had  done  what  was  best  for  all.' 

"  '  Oui—je  vous  le  jure,'  said  Prince  Esterhazy,  holding  out  his 
hands  and  taking  mine,  and  the  tears  coming  into  his  eyes;  and 
then  turning  to  the  King,  he  said:  '  Sii^e,  de  toutes  les  graces  dont 
voire  Majesie  rri'a  comblees '  (or  words  to  that  effect),  '  I  consider  this 
as  the  most  kind.  I  wished  Mr.  Canning  to  know  this,  but  I  could 
not  myself  tell  it  him,  or  be  sure  that  he  would  have  given  me 
credit  for  it  if  I  had.  How  little  could  I  expect  your  Majesty 
would  have  deigned  to  take  the  task  upon  yourself.  Oui,  je  vous 
jure,'  he  repeated,  turning  to  me,  '  qu^  meme  dans  la  question  coloni- 
ale,  upon  which  it  was  my  duty  and  that  of  others,  according  to 
our  instructions,  to  oppose  you  all  that  we  could,  I  have  long  been 
satisfied  that  you  were  entirely  right;  but  still  more  upon  the  ques- 
tion which  now  occupies  all  our  minds — I  mean  the  Greek  ques- 
tion. 

"  *I  do  confess.  Sire,'  he  said  to  the  King,  *  I  was,  as  we  all  were, 
excessively  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Canning  for  his  constant  refusal  to 
join  in  the  conferences  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  did  really  and  truly 
think  that  he  was  sacrificing  the  general  good  to  his  particular 
opinions;  but  I  now  assure  your  Majesty,  upon  my  honor,  that  I 
am  quite  convinced  that  he  judged  the  matter  rightly  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  that  he  took  the  only  course  which,  as  a  British  min- 
ister, it  was  for  the  honor  and  interests  of  his  country  to  take. 
Moi-meme  dans  sa  situation  et  avec  ses  moyens,  I  hope  I  should  have 
acted  like  him.  Indeed,  Sire,  events  have  proved  how  just  a  view 
he  took  of  this  subject.  He  foresaw  the  oullity  of  our  conferences, 
and  knew  that  he  could  not  commit  England  in  them  without  ex- 
posing her  to  discredit  and  impairing  her  utility  in  future.' 

"The  King  said  a  few  words  implying  assent,  and  I  interposed, 
saying:  'Yes,  Sire,  in  this  country  we  cannot  afford  unprofitable 
discussions,  or  to  take  any  public  step,  of  which  one  knows  before- 
hand that  it  will  lead  to  no  good.' 

**  'Yes,*  said  the  King.  '  When  we  see  our  way,  and  can  employ 
our  own  influence,  we  can  do  anything.      Qui  eat  ce,'  turning  to 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  823 

Prince  Esterhazy,  '  qtd  pourroit  avoir  fait  ce  que  nous  venous  d'accom- 
plir  au  Brezilf  Prince  Esteriiazy  expressed  his  entire  consent, 
and  went  into  a  panegyric  of  tlie  instructions  given  to  Sir  Charles 
Stuart. 

"  '  Au  moins*  I  said,  *  Sire,  nous  avons  sauve  Id  une  monarcMe — 
which,  as  part  of  a  confederacy,  I  would  not  answer  for  having 
been  able  to  do.' 

"  The  conversation  then  turned  upon  the  Emperor  of  Russia's 
death;  upon  the  danger  of  a  Turkish  war.  The  King  expressing 
his  determination  to  exert  all  his  influence  to  preserve  peace,  and 
Prince  Esterhazy  expressing  for  himself  and  for  his  Court  the  per- 
fect and  entire  confidence  which  (pointing  to  me)  they  reposed  in 
his  Majesty's  Government. 

"After  Prince  Esterhazy  had  taken  leave,  the  King  made  me  sit 
down,  and  repeated  to  me  the  conversation  to  which  he  had  alluded 
in  presence  of  Prince  Esterhazy;  and  which,  his  Majesty  said,  had 
begun  by  a  voluntary  declaration  on  Prince  Esterhazy's  part  of  the 
error  in  which  he  had  been  for  some  time  respecting  the  course  of 
my  policy,  and  of  his  complete  abjuration  of  that  error. 

"The  King  said  that  Prince  Metternich,  though  a  very  clever, 
was  a  very  prejudiced  man;  that  he  had  been  used  to  have  very 
much  his  own  way;  that  poor  Lord  Londonderry  had  often  found 
that  however  well  Prince  Metternich  might  have  appeared  to  un- 
derstand a  subject  relating  to  England  in  conversation,  yet,  that 
three  months  after  he  got  back  to  Vienna  he  appeared  to  have  for- 
gotten totally  all  that  had  passed,  and  said  and  did  such  things  as 
put  Lord  Londonderry  to  great  embarrassment ;  that  his  (the  King's) 
wish  had  been  to  bring  me  and  Metternich  together ;  that  he  had 
proposed  to  him  (Metternich)  to  come  over  from  Paris  for  that  pur- 
pose ;  that  he  would  have  introduced  us  to  each  other  and  shut  us 
up  in  a  room  together,  when  in  the  course  of  an  hour  he  was  sure, 
I  should  have  convinced  Metternich  and  brought  him  to  reason. 

"Referring  to  his  majesty's  expressions  of  regret  at  the  loss  of 
Prince  Esterhazy,  I  offered  to  write  privately  to  Sir  H.  Wellesley,  to 
sound  Metternich,  whether  the  arrangement  for  his  removal  could  be 
reconsidered;  which  the  King  commanded  me  to  do. 

"I  asked  whether  his  majesty's  sentiments  with  respect  to  Count 
Lieven  were  the  same,  and  the  King  answered,  '  Certainly; '  that  his 
majesty  wished  I  would  do  anything  in  my  power  to  preserve  Count 
Lieven  in  his  present  situation,  for  that  with  Lieven  and  Esterhazy 
I  could  manage  everything. 


824  TEE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 

"On  leaving  his  majesty,  I  found  Prince  Esterhazy  waiting  for 
me  in  the  outer  room.  He  came  up  to  me  and  repeated  with  emotion 
the  substance  of  what  he  had  said  before  the  King;  thanked  me  for 
my  intention  to  write  to  Sir  H.  Wellesley,  but  expressed  his  behef 
that  it  would  be  of  no  avail ;  regretted  his  departure  at  a  moment 
when  it  was  so  essential  that  Austria  and  England  should  understand 
each  other;  but  conjured  me  to  believe  '  quHl  me  rendit  enfin  pleine 
justice/  and  that  he  now  comprehended  and  '  sgavoit  apprecier  ma 
politique,'  that  I  had  everything  in  my  hands,  and  was  'destine  d 
jouer  le  plus  grand  role  en  Europe.^ 

"  It  is  needless  to  add  that  we  parted  very  good  friends." 

There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  was  the  result  of  an  in- 
tellectual victory,  and  that  Mr.  Canning  had  really  gained  one  over 
the  King.  The  latter,  indeed,  some  years  later,  in  conversation  with 
Mr.  Canning  on  Lord  Liverpool's  retirement,  frankly  assured  him 
that  this  was  so;  and  that  his  prejudices  had  been  removed  and  his 
support  gained  by  the  brilliant  results  of  the  policy  adopted,  and  the 
great  position  in  Europe  to  which  he  had  raised  the  country.* 

THE  KING  TO  SIR  WILLIAM  KNIGHTON. 

'•  Royal  Lodge,  Nov.  15th,  1825. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  have  so  little  to  say  since  your  departure  from  hence,  that 
it  is  scarcely  worth  while  troubling  you  with  a  line  even  now — 
especially  as  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  I  look  for  your  reappear- 
ance— except  to  acknowledge  and  to  thank  you  for  the  short  epistle 
I  received  from  you,  dated  Franltfort. 

"  Tranquillity,  I  am  sure  you  will  be  pleased  to  learn,  has  in  gen- 
eral been  the  order  of  the  day  since  you  left  us.  However,  there 
have  been,  and  I  am  fearful  that  they  are  still  existing,  some  diffi- 
culties and  misunderstandings  in  the  final  arrangement  of  that  busi- 
ness which  has  caused  you  so  much  trouble  and  anxiety;  and  which 
at  present  do,  and  which  I  fear  will  stilv  procrastinate  the  final  ad- 
justment until  your  return. 

"It  is  impossible  to  detail  to  you  what  cavillings  there  have  been, 
and  what  strange  crotchets  have  started  up,  and  sometimes  seem- 
ingly upon  the  merest  rifles,  among  the  lawyers,  and  indeed,  pretty 
much  all  the  parties  concerned;  such  immensity  of  talking  back- 

♦  Stapleton,  "  Canning,"  p.  682. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  .    825 

wards  and  forwards,  here  and  there — the  mistake  of  a  sentence,  and 
of  even  a  single  word — all  which  creates  delays;  and  even  if  there 
be  the  possibility  of  correcting  it  and  setting  it  to  rights  again  after- 
wards, I  think  but  little  progress  has  yet  been  made;  and  1  see  the 
impracticability,  and  next  to  impossibility  of  its  being  brought  to 
any  final  issue,  until  the  moment  of  your  return,  when  by  your  good 
and  kind  advice  it  may  in  all  likelihood  be  ultimately  settled.* 

"You,  I  am  confident,  will  understand  all  this  without  the  neces- 
sity of  any  further  explanation  on  my  part,  especially  as  they,  I 
know,  are  at  this  very  moment  in  the  act  of  writing  to  you ;  so  prob- 
ably they  may  enter  into  some  further  details. 

"  As  to  l)odily  health,  I  am  certainly  not  as  well  as  I  ought  to  be, 
although  I  complain  but  little,  which  you  are  well  aware  is  generally 
the  case  with  me;  but  as  to  that  which  is  more  and  most  essential 
(as  it  is  the  mainspring  to  leverything.  and  the  only  security  for 
health),  the  state  of  my  mind  and  my  feelings,  I  shall  reserve  all  I 
have  to  say  till  next  we  meet. 

"Now,  then,  God  bless  you,  dear  friend;  and  believe  me  always 
affectionately  yours, 

"G.  R." 


THE  KING  TO  SIR  WILLIAM  KNIGHTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Two  o'clock  p.m.,  Dec.  28th,  1825. 
"Dear  Friend, 

"  I  write  a  few  lines  in  great  haste  to  request  that  you  will  be 
with  me  here  at  an  early  hour  to-morrow  morning.  You  may  depend 
upon  it,  that  if  it  were  not  for  matters  of  considerable  moment,  I 
would  not  break  in  upon  the  few  moments  of  peaceful  enjoyment 
with  your  family  which  you  allow  yourself,  and  it  is  therefore  with 
sincere  regret  that  I  feel  myself  under  the  necessity  of  doing  so  upon 
the  present  occasion.  However,  you  may  assure  Lady  Knighton 
and  your  family  from  me,  that  four-and-twenty  hours,  I  hope,  will 
be  the  utmost  extent  of  time  of  which  they  will  be  deprived  of  your 


*  This  letter  referred  to  the  young  Duke  of  Brunswick's  affairs,  of  whom 
the  King  was  guardian,  and  which  brought  his  Majesty  much  trouble  and 
litigation.  This  child  grew  up  to  be  the  well-known  eccentric  Charles  Duke 
of  Brunswick,  whose  strange  life,  chiefly  conspicuous  for  diamonds,  was 
closed  by  his  strange  legacy  to  the  town  of  Geneva. 

35* 


826  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV. 

society.  The  matter  is  too  big  with  a  variety  and  combination  of 
matters  not  to  require  without  the  loss  of  a  moment  your  presence, 
and  your  best  advice  and  assistance.  I  have  not  time  to  add  an- 
other word,  but  that  I  am  always 

"  Afiectionately  yours, 


THE  LIFE  OF  QEOMGE  IV,  827 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1825—1826. 

On  the  accession  of  the  new  Czar  (the  late  Emperor  Nicholas),  it 
was  proposed  to  send  the  Duke  of  Wellington  to  St.  Petersburg  to 
explain  personally  the  views  of  the  Government.  The  duke  had 
been  a  little  unwell,  but  otherwise  there  could  be  no  objection  to  his 
setting  out  on  so  important  and  honorable  a  mission.  The  King, 
however,  complicated  so  simple  a  matter  by  some  fancied  difficul ' 
ties,  and  addressed  to  the  duke  what  seems  an  apologetic  letter* 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  pVIost  secret  and  confidential,  and  for  yourself  alone.] 

"Royal  Lodge,  27th  December,  1825. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"In  consequence  of  an  interview  I  have  just  had  with  Mr. 
Canning,  I  have  determined  upon  sending  you  the  enclosed  letters, 
in  hopes  that  they  will  reach  you,  before  you  can,  or  will,  hear  from 
Mr,  Canning,  and  which  I  am  confident  that  you  will  shortly.  If 
upon  reading  my  letter,  you  should  not  approve  of  it,  the  only 
apology  I  can  offer  is  that  which  I  am  sure  the  generosity  of  your 
heart,  and  of  your  nature,  will  of  itself  naturally  suggest  to  you  for 
me,  the  sincerity  and  warmth  of  my  most  affectionate  feelings  to- 
wards you,  which  will,  at  all  times,  supersede  every  other  con- 
sideration. 

"I  must  in  justice  to  Mr.  Canning  add,  that  every  expression  he 
made  use  of  was  in  a  very  friendly  and  proper  tone.  My  fear  was, 
that  you  might  think  that  the  proposal  originated  with  me,  and 
therefore  that  you  might  consider  it  as  something  in  the  shape  of  an 
ofiicial  order,  without  any  previous  consultation  on  my  part  with 
you,  my  friend,  as  to  that  which  might  be  agreeable  to  your  feelings, 
and  of  which  I  do  entreat  you  to  believe  I  am  wholly  and  entirely 
incapable. 

"Mr.  Canning's  fear,  on  the  other  hand  (from  what  I  have  just 


828  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 

heard  from  him),  seems  to  have  arisen  from  this:  the  apprehen- 
sion, that  if  this  proposal  was  not  in  the  very  first  instance  made 
to  you,  you  might  possibly  suppose  that  from  some  unjustifiable 
reason  he  had  overlooked  your  superior  consequence,  pretensions, 
and  ability;  and  therefore,  he  might  be  deemed  as  guilty  of  not 
showing  towards  you  all  that  high  consideration  and  respect, 
which  are  no  more  than  your  due;  and  which,  as  well  as  with 
private  regard  for  you,  he  not  only  expresses  himself,  but  appears 
to  be  strongly  impressed. 

"By  the  statement  I  have  just  made  to  you,  you  will  perceive 
(when  you  receive  Mr.  Canning's  communication)  that  the  matter 
now  stands  on  a  perfectly  different  footing  and  principle  than  it 
did  appear  to  me  to  do.  When  I  wrote  my  answer  to  Mr. 
Canning's  first  letter,  for  now  you  will,  if  you  please,  consider  it 
either  as  a  matter  of  personal  respect  and  compliment  to  yourself,  or 
deal  with  it  in  any  other  way  that  may  be  most  congenial  and  satis- 
factory to  your  own  feelings ;  and  it  is  upon  this  ground,  and  this 
ground  alone,  that  I  assented  to  Mr.  Canning's  approaching  you  at 
all  upon  the  subject;  and,  after  a  further  consultation  with  Lord 
Liverpool,  to  whom  he  is  gone  at  Coombe,  immediately  upon  leav- 
mg  me.  Advice  I  do  not  pretend  to  offer,  but,  as  to  my  wishes, 
they  are  to  be  summed  up  in  very  few  words  indeed ;  and  not  to 
repeat  all,  I  do  so  sincerely  feel  personally  towards  you,  I  must  say 
that  your  absence  for  any  length  of  time,  or  rather,  the  want  of  your 
presence,  would  be  quite  intolerable  to  me,  besides  the  risk  which 
yonr  health  would  run,  perhaps  even  your  life,  which  is  too  fright- 
ful a  consideration,  either  for  the  private  man  that  loves  you,  or  the 
public  man  that  cares  for  his  country,  or  for  the  interests  of  all 
Europe,  to  entertain  or  tolerate  for  a  single  instant. 
*' Believe  me,  my  dear  Duke, 

' '  Ever  your  most  affectionate  Friend, 

"G.  R 

"P.S. — When  you  have  done  with  Canning's  letter,  .is  well  as 
with  the  copy  of  my  answer,  I  will  thank  you  to  return  tJuiu.' 

From  Mr.  Canning's  account  of  this  simple  transaction,  it  will  be 
seen  that,  with  his  usual  love  of  tortuous  ways,  even  in  trifles,  the 
King's  letter  had  been  addressed  to  the  Duke  without  Mr.  Canning's 
knowledge — hence  "for  yourself  alone  " 

"I  proposed  it  to  the  King  almost  as  soon  as  the  event  was 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  829 

known;  but  his  majesty  doubted — solely,  however,  on  the  ground 
of  the  duke's  health.  I  persuaded  his  majesty  to  let  me  try 
the  question  upon  the  duke,  with  an  express  intimation  of  his 
majesty's  commands  that  he  should  not  undertake  the  mission, 
unless  he  felt  himself  strong  enough  to  go  through  with  it,  and 
unless  his  medical  advisers  concurred  in  the  same  opinion.  The 
duke  not  only  accepted,  but  jumped,  as  I  foresaw  that  he  would, 
at  the  proposal.  'Never  better  in  his  life,'  'ready  to  set  out  in 
a  week, '  and  the  like  expressions  of  alertness  leave  no  doubt  upon 
my  mind  that  the  selection  of  another  person  would  have  done  his 
health  more  prejudice  than  all  the  frosts  or  thaws  of  the  hyperbo- 
rean regions  can  do  it." 

As  the  reader  will  have  seen,  it  is  not  proposed  in  this  work  to 
give  a  complete  view  of  ministerial  changes  and  politics  during 
this  reign,  which  would  be  entering  on  a  vast  field,  but  simply  to 
deal  with  these  matters  only  so  far  as  they  exhibit  the  behavior  of 
his  majesty. 

THE  KENG  TO  SIR  "W.   KNIGHTON. 

"January,  1826. 
"Dear  Friend, 

"Many  thanks  to  you  for  your  letter,  just  received.  Inclosed, 
and  unsealed,  I  send  you  a  short  note  of  thanks  for  Robinson, 
which,  after  you  have  read,  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  seal  and  for- 
ward to  him.     Cathcart's  paper  I  also  return  you,  properly  signed. 

' '  With  respect  to  Munster's  re-despatching  the  quarterly  messen- 
ger to  Hanover  on  the  25tli  of  this  month,  as  he  proposes,  I  can  only 
say  at  present,  that  he  may  prepare  him  eventually  for  such  depart- 
ure, if  such  things  as  I  shall  have  to  send  abroad  by  him  shall  be 
ready  (and  which  I  hope  they  will  by  that  day),  but  that,  should 
they  not,  he  must  positively  await  my  further  orders.  Amongst  the 
rest  of  the  articles  which  I  shall  have  to  send  by  him  are  the  com- 
plete set  of  Handel's  scores  and  works  for  the  King  of  Prussia,  now 
binding,  which  I  must  beg  of  you  to  look  after,  and  to  see  yourself 
carefully,  properly,  and  safely  packed  up,  and  then  to  be  simply 
addressed  'Pour  8a  Majeste  le  Boi  de  Prusse;'  and  the  outward 
cover,  'For  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  K.G.,  Berlin.' 

"With  your  usual  precaution,  celerity,  and  zeal,  you  seem  to 
have  carried,  and  settled  to  my  entire  comfort  and  satisfaction,  all 
the  necessary  and  essential  points  respecting  Windsor  Castle  and 


830  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  King's  palace,  as  well  as  what  to  me  is  almost  equally  agree- 
able (as  you  state  it)  to  the  quietude  and  gratification  of  poor  little 
Nash's  feelings. 

"A  little  charitable  impulse  induces  me  to  desire  you  to  inquire 
into  the  distressed  circumstances  of  poor  old  O'Keeffe,  now  ninety 
years  of  age  and  stone-blind,  whom  I  knew  a  little  of  formerly, 
having  occasionally  met  him  at  parties;  my  juvenile  recreation  and 
hilarity  to  which  he  then  contributed  not  a  little.  Should  you 
really  find  him  so  low  in  the  world,  and  so  divested  of  all  comfort 
as  he  is  represented  to  be,  then  I  do  conceive  that  there  can  be  no 
objection  to  your  offering  him,  from  me,  such  immediate  relief,  or 
such  a  moderate  annual  stipend,  as  will  enable  him  to  close  his 
hitherto  long  life  in  comfort,  at  any  rate  free  from  want  and  abso- 
lute beggary,  which  I  greatly  fear  at  present  is  but  too  truly  his 
actual  condition  and  situation.  Perhaps  on  many  accounts  and 
reasons,  which  I  am  sure  I  need  not  mention  to  you,  this  had  best 
be  effectuated  by  an  immediate  application  through  you  to  our 
lively  little  friend  G.  Colman,  whose  good  heart  will,  I  am  certain, 
lead  him  to  give  us  all  the  assistance  he  can,  especially  as  it  is  for 
the  preservation  of  one  of  his  oldest  invalided  brothers  and  wor- 
shippers of  the  Thespian  muse. 

THE   KINQ   TO   LORD  LIVERPOOL. 

„,  .  ,  "Royal  Lodge,  April  mh,lR26. 

"[Most  pnvate.J 

"I  think  your  explanation  on  the  subject  of  the  Northum- 
berland peerage,  although  not  satisfactory  to  one's  feelings,  is  upon 
the  whole  conclusive;  but  I  do  think  that  it  is  a  hard  thing,  both 
upon  you  and  me,  that  Lord  Grenville  should  make  a  point  of 
driving  me  to  do  that  which  I  think  wrong,  and  take  no  interest  in. 
politically  or  otherwise.  However,  let  it  be,  for  I  do  not  choose 
that  you  should  be  compromised.  All  the  others  that  you  have  put 
down  have  my  entire  approbation.  I  will  now  add  my  own;  and 
I  shall  begin  by  naming  my  friend  Charles  Long;  the  second,  about 
whom  I  am  even  more  anxious,  is  my  old  and  attached  friend  Lord 
Fife.  I  am  quite  aware  of  the  trifling  objection  to  some  of  the 
fooleries  of  his  past  life,  but  who  is  exempt  from  some  nonsense  or 
other?  I  dismissed  him  from  my  household,  and  used  him  appar* 
ently  ill  to  please  my  Government  and  poor  Lord  Londonderry; 
but,  notwithstanding  this,  my  friend  Fife  never  gave  a  vote  against 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  831 

the  Government  afterwards,  and  by  his  loyal  example  when  I  was 
in  Scotland  did  the  greatest  good.  I  am  mtich  attached  to  him.  If 
you  choose  to  let  Sir  John  Leicester  stand,  I  have  no  objection ;  and 
with  this  understandipg,  that  I  shall  be  willing  to  consider  myself 
as  owing  you  a  peer  at  any  future  period  that  you  may  propose. 
Peace  and  harmony  is  my  great  object.  You  will  be  glad,  I  am 
sure,  to  learn  that  I  am  gradually  improving  in  health  every  day. 

"Your  sincere  Friend, 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  October  7th,  1826. 

"The  King  has  read  with  attention  the  papers  transmitted  to  him 
by  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  which  he  now  returns. 

"  The  King  is  entirely  of  the  same  opinion  as  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington with  regard  to  the  propriety  of  the  second  condition  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Canning. 

"  The  King  doubts  Marshal  Beresford's  acceptance  of  the  com- 
mand of  the  Portuguese  army,  if  hampered  with  the  first  condition; 
and  therefore,  if  Mr.  Canning  considers  it  is  of  great  importance 
that  the  command  should  be  taken  by  Lord  Beresford,  probably 
Mr.  Canning  will  reconsider  the  first  proposition. 

"The  King  desires  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  will  communi- 
cate the  contents  of  this  letter  to  Mr.  Canning  and  Lord  Liverpool. 

"G.  R." 

THE  KING  TO  THE  SAME. 

"My  DEAR  Friend, 

"  I  add  this  short  note,  merely  for  yourself,  to  tell  you  that  I 
am  quite  of  your  opinion  on  this  matter.  The  first  proposition 
cannot  be  flattering  to  the  feelings  of  Lord  Beresford;  nor  do  I 
think  in  a  political  view  it  would  be  a  dignified  measure  for  us 
to  sake. 

"  Yours  very  affectionately, 

"G.  R." 

THE  KING  TO   BIB  W.  KNIGHTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Dec.  30, 1826. 
Dear  Friend, 

"I  write  a  short  line,  merely  for  the  purpose  of  wishing  you 

and  yours  from  my  heart  a  happy  new  year,  and  many  returns  of 


832  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  same.  I  shall  trouble  you  with  but  little  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, though  I  have  much,  and  that  too  of  great  importance,  which 
I  must  with  the  shortest  lapse  of  time  possible  discuss  and  talk  over 
with  you ;  and  therefore  I  rely  upon  your  afifection  for  me  that  you 
will  not  disappoint  me,  but  that  you  will  be  punctual  with  me  at 
the  Lodge  by  noon,  and  not  later  than  on  Wednesday  the  2nd,  by 
which  time  I  trust  the  old  mansion  will  be  completely  restored  to 
its  wonted  tranquillity  and  quiet.     But  see  you  I  must  on  that  day. 

"  It  was  fully  my  intention  to  have  written  you  a  few  lines  on 
Christmas  Day,  but  I  was  then,  and  had  been  confined  ever  since 
this  day  se'eiikight,  to  my  room  with  a  general  cold  and  feverish 
attack,  attended  with  great  tightness  and  oppression  upon  the  chest, 
and  for  which,  by  Sir  Henry's  advice,  we  were  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  the  lancet,  which  produced  the  expected  relief,  but  not 
such  entire  relief  as  to  set  me  free  from  my  chamber,  but  from 
which,  thank  God,  I  am  to  emerge  this  day,  by  going  down  to  din- 
ner for  the  first  time.  My  affection  for  you  made  me  feel  that,  how- 
ever I  might  be  suffering  myself,  it  would  be  both  cruel  and  unjust  in 
me,  knowing  how  very  little  time  you  ever  allow  yourself  to  pass  in 
comfort  with  your  family  (especially  at  this  season  of  the  year),  were 
I  to  write  that  to  you  which,  from  your  affection  to  me,  might  have 
induced  you  generously  to  break  up  your  domestic  board  by  coming 
away  to  me  suddenly,  or  at  any  rate  have  cast  a  damper  over  those 
happy,  cheerful,  and  enviable  hours,  which  you  cannot  fail  to  enjoy 
when  surrounded  by  your  happy  domestic  circle;  and  that  long 
may  this  be  your  case,  dear  friend,  my  best  prayers  are,  and  ever 
will  be  offered  up. 

"Now  good-by  to  you.  I  look  forward  with  impatience  to 
"Wednesday  next,  the  2nd,  when  I  rely  and  depend  upon  seeing 
you.    Till  then,  God  bless  you  1 

"Yours  affectionately, 

"G.  R." 

In  the  January  of  1827  the  royal  Protestant  champion,  the  Duke 
of  York,  was  taken  ill  and  died — a  great  loss  to  his  majesty.  He 
had  been  giving  much  trouble  to  Mr.  Canning,  owing  to  his  inter- 
ference; and  not  long  before  his  death  he  had  exhorted  the  King 
"strenuously  to  place  the  Government  of  the  country  in  a  state  of 
uniformity,  and  that  that  uniformity  should  be  one  of  a  decided 
opposition  to  the  Catholic  claims."  The  King,  however,  was  not 
prepared  to  take  his  advice ;  but  Mr.  Canning  was  actually  medi- 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV.  833 

tating  taking  some  serious  step  to  put  a  stop  to  his  interference.  He 
congratulated  liimself  thiat  he  had  not  done  so.  But  still  in  death 
the  duke  was  destined  to  help  the  cause  he  loved,  for  it  was  on 
attending  his  funeral  that  Mr.  Canning  caught  the  fatal  cold  that 
carried  liim  off. 

Of  a  sudden  came  the  catastrophe  of  Lord  Liverpool's  seizure 
and  subsequent  death;  which  led  to  a  crisis  of  singular  embarrass- 
ment for  all  concerned. 


834  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

1827. 

On  March  27th  Mr.  Canning  went  down  to  the  Royal  Lodge,  to 
hold  one  of  those  long  conversations  in  which  the  King  was  fond 
of  indulging  in  his  last  years,  and  which  rather  took  the  shape  of 
monologues,  in  which  he  rambled  from  topic  to  topic,  but  chiefly 
dwelt  upon  himself,  and  his  life  and  principles.  These  views  often 
astonished  and  confounded  the  listener,  owing  to  their  inconsistency 
with  the  real  course  of  events.  "  The  King  gave  him  the  whole  his- 
tory of  his  political  opinions,  both  before  as  well  as  after  he  became 
Regent,  and  subsequently  King,  especially  with  reference  to  what 
they  had  been,  and  then  were,  on  the  Catholic  question.  He  stated 
that  on  that  point,  even  at  the  time  of  his  closest  connection  with 
Mr.  Fox,  his  opinions  had  been  against  concession,  and,  in  short, 
that  he  was  decidedly  opposed  to  emancipation.  His  majesty's  ex- 
pressions were  very  strong  on  this  subject.  His  majesty  expressed, 
in  the  most  unequivocal  terms,  his  satisfaction  with  Mr.  Canning's 
services,  and  his  wish  to  retain  them  for  the  rest  of  his  life;  but.  he 
added,  that  as  the  Catholic  question  was  a  matter  of  conscience,  he 
must  take  great  precautions  against  exposing  himself  to  the  imputa- 
tion of  abandoning  his  opinions  on  that  question,  which  he  feared 
he  would  do  if  he  were  to  select  a  Catholic  Prime  Minister.  He 
therefore  wished  to  retain  all  his  present  ministers,  and  to  fill  up 
Lord  Liverpool's  place  with  some  peer  holding  Lord  Liverpool's 
opinions  upon  the  Catholic  question. 

••  Mr.  Canning  said  that  the  first  advice  which,  as  an  honest  man, 
he  was  bound  to  tender  to  him  was,  that  his  majesty  should  form  a 
Government  calculated  to  represent  his  own  opinions.  The  King 
thought  that  was  impossible,  and  cited  Lord  Liverpool's  opinions  to 
that  effect  upon  the  Duke  of  York's  paper  of  November  last.  Mr. 
Canning  observed  that  he  did  not  agree  in  that  opinion;  but  that  it 
was  not,  however,  his  business  to  point  out  the  mode  in  which  such 
a  Government  might  be  formed,  but  all  he  could  do  was  to  lay  his 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  835 

office  at  his  majesty's  feet,  in  order  that  the  attempt  might  be 
made. 

' '  His  majesty  then  declared  his  sense  of  the  impossibility  of  part- 
ing with  Mr.  Canning,  and  repeated  his  assurances  that  the  repug- 
nance with  which  he  frankly  admitted  he  had  received  Mr.  Canning 
into  his  service  in  1822  had  not  only  been  completely  effaced  within 
a  short  time  after  their  coming  together,  but  was  now^  changed  into 
sentiments  of  satisfaction,  regard,  and  warm  affection;  that  Mr. 
Canning  had  placed  this  country  in  a  position,  with  respect  to 
Europe,  in  which  it  had  never  stood  before;  that  the  maintenance 
of  the  country  in  that  situation  depended  upon  Mr.  Canning's  con- 
tinuance in  office,  on  the  personal  consideration  which  was  placed 
in  him  by  foreign  Courts,  and  On  their  knowledge  that  his  majesty 
completely  approved  and  adopted  Mr.  Canning's  system. 

"  Mr.  Canning  answered  with  becoming  expressions  of  gratitude, 
but  asked  whether  his  majesty  wished  him  to  speak  his  mind  freely, 
otherwise  he  had  sufficiently  discharged  his  duty  in  advising  his 
majesty  to  form  an  exclusively  anti-Catholic  Government.  His 
majesty  repeated  that  that  was  impossible,  and  desired  Mr.  Canning 
to  go  on.  Mr.  Canning  then  said,  in  obedience  to  his  majesty's 
commands,  that  he  would  speak  without  reserve.  After  declaring 
that  he  could  not  alter  his  views  on  the  Catholic  question,  his 
majesty  must  permit  him  to  say  that  it  was  not  just  to  change  that 
footing  without  previous  warning,  and  that  it  was  obviously  unjust 
to  do  so  without  giving  each  minister,  who  had  entered  his  service 
upon  the  faith  that  the  footing  was  unchanged,  permission  to  retire 
without  incurring  his  majesty's  displeasure;  that  if  the  proposition 
made  to  Mr.  Canning  was  either  to  conform  to  a  new  footing  on 
this  subject,  or  retire,  he  should  not  complain.  He  could  only  say 
that,  if  he  remained  in  the  Government,  it  must  be  to  act  as  he  had 
hitherto  acted  upon  the  Catholic  question,  whenever  the  discussion 
of  it  occurred. 

"  That  most  happy  should  he  be,  if,  by  any  fair  management  or 
reasonable  compromise,  he  could  contrive  to  spare  his  majesty's 
feelings,  or,  to  use  a  word  which  his  majesty  had  employed,  to  pro- 
tect him  from  the  vexation  which  he  had  experienced  in  the  annual 
agitation  of  this  painful  question ;  but  that,  in  order  to  do  this,  Mr. 
Canning  must  be  free  as  air  with  respect  to  the  question ;  that  he 
could  give  his  majesty  no  pledges  of  any  kind  respecting  it. 

"His  majesty  graciously  admitted  the  reasonableness  of  this  view 
of  the  subject;  but  then,  reverting  to  his  own  feeling  upon  the 


836  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORGE  IV. 

Catholic  question,  asked  what  he  should  be  able  to  say  to  those 
•who  relied  upon  his  majesty's  firmness  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Protestant  cause,  if  he  were  to  name  what  would  be  called  a  Catho- 
lic Prime  Minister? 

"The  other  replied  that  'as  the  Catholic  question  was  an  open 
question  on  which  the  members  of  the  Gov.ernment  were  free  to  act 
according  to  their  opinions,  without  entailing  any  disadvantageous 
consequence  upon  themselves,  how  could  he  allow  it  to  be  proved 
in  his  person,  that  those  whose  sentiments  were  favorable  to  the 
Roman  Catholics  were  to  be  excluded  solely  on  account  of  those 
sentiments,  as  much  as  the  Catholics,  from  the  highest  elevations  in 
the  State  and  from  the  greatest  objects  x)f  ambition?  ' 

"He  could  not,  therefore,  consent  that,  in  his  person,  such  a 
principle  should  be  established;  and  he  felt  bound  honestly  to  tell 
his  majesty,  in  plain  terms,  that  the  substantive  power  of  First 
Minister  he  must  have,  and  what  is  more,  must  be  known  to  have, 
or  he  must  beg  leave  to  be  allowed  to  retire  from  a  situation  which 
he  could  not  longer  fill,  either  with  satisfaction  to  himself  or  with 
benefit  to  the  King's  service." 

The  result  of  this  conversation  is  embodied  in  the  following 
"corrected  minute:" 

"  Minute  of  what  was  said  to  me  by  the  King  at  the  Royal  Lodge, 
March  21,  1837.  Read  by  me  to  his  majesty  March  29,  and  cor- 
rected in  his  majesty's  presence. 

"G.  C." 

"For  the  Cabinet, 

"That  his  majesty  is  desirous  of  retaining  all  his  present  ser- 
vants in  the  stations  which  they  at  present  fill;  placing  at  their  head, 
in  the  station  vacated  by  Lord  Liverpool,  some  peer  professing 
opinions,  upon  whom  his  majesty's  confidential  servants  may  agree, 
of  the  same  principles  as  Lord  Liverpool." 

It  was  thought  advisable,  however,  not  to  present  this  view  to  the 
Cabinet,  so  matters  remained  exactly  as  they  were  for  more  than  a 
week.  Mr.  Peel  and  the  duke  had  interviews  with  his  majesty 
later.* 

♦Mr.  Greville  learned  from  Lady  Bathurst:  "When  the  account  of  Lord 
Liverpool's  seizure  reached  the  King  at  Brighton,  Peel  was  at  the  Pavilion; 
the  King  got  into  one  of  his  nervous  ways,  and  sent  for  him  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  desiring  he  would  not  dress;  so  he  went  down  in  his  bed-gown  and 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  837 

It  would  take  too  long  to  set  out  the  difficulties  of  the  imbroglio 
that  followed.  They  could  be  anticipated,  when  it  is  considered 
that  the  elements  were  a  Tory  Cabinet,  deprived  of  its  chief,  and 
expected  to  enlist  under  "a  Catholic  Premier."  These  ministers 
were  willing  to  take  service  under  any  one  who  corresponded  to  the 
type  of  the  late  Premier — that  is,  a  "  Protestant  " — and  was  content 
to  leave  the  question  an  ' '  open  one. "  They  expected  that  the  Duke 
of  Wellington  would  answer  this  description ;  on  the  other  hand, 
the  claims  of  Mr.  Canning  were  conspicuous  for  his  commanding 
abilities.  Neither  party,  it  was  clear,  wished  to  bring  the  matter  to 
this  distinct  issue.  Mr.  Canning  had  many  interviews  with  both 
Mr.  Peel  and  the  duke,  which  were  reported  to  have  brought  "the 
greatest  satisfaction  to  the  parties,"  but  nothing  came  of  it.  During 
these  interviews,  however,  Mr.  Canning  came  at  last  to  believe  that 
what  was  in  the  duke's  mind  was,  that  he,  the  duke,  should  be 
Premier;  which  might  have  been  confirmed  by  Mr.  Peel's  actually 
making  the  suggestion.  But  the  public  growing  impatient  at  the 
delay,  the  King  found  himself  obliged,  on  April  10th,  to  give  formal 
commission  to  Mr.  Canning  to  form  a  ministry. 

He  accordingly  applied  to  the  members  of  the  late  Cabinet,  who 
nearly  all  declined;  while  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  with  something 
that  seemed  4ike  insolence,  inquired  in  reply:  "  Wlio  was  to  be  head 
of  the  Government?"  He  was  deeply  offended  at  the  tone  of  the 
rather  sharp  answer  he  received,  and  resigfied  his  office  at  the  head 
of  the  army.  But  it  is  with  the  King's  behavior  we  are  most  inter- 
ested; who  in  the  crisis  appears  to  have  passed  through  all  the 
stages  of  indecision,  cunning,  revolt,  advances,  and  concession. 
He  could  not  endure  to  have  a  Catholic  Premier,  and  yet  ht  knew 
what  worry  and  annoyance  were  in  store  for  him  if  he  rejected  him. 
He  dreaded  facing  his  '*  Protestant"  friends,  the  Eldons  and  others, 
who  used  to  support  him  with  comforting  ascendency  doctrines, 
nnd  to  whom  he  would  pour  out  his  valiant  assurances  of  resistance. 
He  felt,  too,  the  genius  and  fascination  of  Canning,  who,  like  Lord 
Wellesley,  used  to  kindle  his  regal  ardor,  by  grand  schemes  that 
would  bring  glory  to  his  reign. 

But  he  himself  shall  presently  unfold  his  own  views  in  his  own 
characteristic  style. 

sat  by  the  side  of  the  king's  bed.  Peel  has  got  an  awkward  way  of  thrusting 
out  his  hands  while  he  talks,  which  at  length  provoked  the  King  so  much  that 
he  said:  "  Mr.  Peel,  it  is  no  use  going  on  so  (taking  him  off)  thrusting  out  yomr 
arms.    The  question  is,  who  is  to  be  my  minister?" 


886  ^-S^  ^^^^  ^^  GEOBQE  IV. 


THE  KING  TO  SIR  WILLIAM  KNIGHTON. 

"St.  James's  Palace,  Friday,  April  6th,  1827. 
"  Dear  Friend, 

"For  God's  sake,  for  all  our  sakes,  pray,  pray  take  care  of 
yourself,  and  do  not  think,  upon  any  account,  of  stirring  until  to- 
morrow morning.  It  is  true,  I  am  jaded  and  quite  worn  out,  and 
writing  from  my  bed,  where  I  have  laid  down  for  a  little  rest;  but 
to-morrow  will  be  quite  time  enough.  Little  or  no  advance,  I  regret 
to  say,  has  as  yet  been  made,  amidst,  perhaps,  almost  unravelable 
perplexities.  Yours  affectionately, 

"G.  R." 

At  this  crisis  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  then  struggling  with  diffi- 
culties, and  going  abroad  on  a  yacht  voyage,  with  a  view  to  retrench- 
ment, was  passing  through  London,  and  determined  to  see  and 
fortify  his  sovereign  by  offers  of  support.  This  rather  singular 
nobleman  had  been  fatiguing  his  political  friends  by  a  long  course 
of  querulous  demands  for  place  and  advancement;  and  the  publica- 
tion of  the  voluminous  family  papers  has  helped  us  to  see  in  what 
estimation  he  was  held  by  his  contemporaries.* 

Not  obtaining  the  Governorship  of  India,  which  he  hoped  for,  he 
appears  to  have  conceived  the  idea  of  attaching  himself  to  the  King 
as  to  a  party.  The  interview  that  followed  is  so  characteristic  of  his 
majesty,  and  his  views  at  this  crisis  are  so  freely  delivered,  that  it 
is  worth  giving  here  at  length. 

"  On  the  13th  I  went  to  the  King,  according  to  appointment,  and 
was  received  most  graciously.  He  made  me  sit  down,  and  I  had  an 
audience  of  near  three  hours.  He  had  kept  me  waiting,  owing  to 
some  boxes  arriving  from  London.  He  therefore  sent  the  Lord 
Steward  to  entertain  me,  offer  me  refreshments,  etc.  I  began  by 
asking  him  about  his  own  health.  He  is  much  altered  and  aged, 
walked  but  feebly,  but  still  without  assistance,  but  complained  of 
his  knees.  This  conversation  related  at  first  to  his  own  health,  and 
to  that  of  his  old  companions  in  the  gout.  Lord  Forester  ami  others. 

*  There  are  some  curious  particulars  reported  by  Mr.  Greville,  and  wliich 
he  gathered  from  the  duke's  friend.  Arbuth not— such  as  the  King's  declara- 
tion to  the  duke,  "that  if  the  Tories  would  not  agree  to  his  (Canning)  being 
Prime  Minister,  he  was  sure  of  the  Whigs."  But  this  is  inconsistent  with 
Mr,  Canning'?  account,  or  it  was  probably  due  to  the  imagination  of  the  King. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV,  839 

"He  then  exclaimed,  'Ah!  these  are  indeed  strange  times,  and  it 
is  a  strange  political  atmosphere  which  we  are  breathing.' 

"I  replied,  'So strange,  sir,  that  I  cannot  breathe  it,  and  I  retire 
to  avoid  it.' 

"  He  then,  hardly  allowing  me  to  say  a  word,  entered  himself  into 
a  detail,  for  two  hours  uninterruptedly,  of  the  whole  circumstances 
attending  the  late  change,  and  most  clearly  made  out  a  story  against 
Peel  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  the  truth  of  which  I  cannot  doubt 
and  which  perfectly  surprised  me.  The  King,  on  the  political 
*  smash '  of  the  Ministry,  urged  the  Government  to  hold  together,  and 
to  choose  some  one — he  cared  not  who,  Protestant  or  Catholic — to 
recommend  as  Prime  Minister.  That,  of  course,  he  could  not  admit 
the  situation  to  be  elective ;  but  that  if  they  would  name  any  one 
that  would  hold  them  together  on  the  principles  of  Lord  Liver- 
pool's Government,  that  man  should  be  his  minister.  Twice  he 
6aw  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  twice  said  the  same  thing  to  him, 
urging  them  to  unite — and  twice  the  Duke  of  Wellington  declined 
Himself  suggesting  any  person,  specially  saying  that  he  could  not 
be  his  minister,  that  he  had  gained  all  he  wished  for,  more  than  he 
had  hoped  for — that  he  had  been  bred  up  amongst  camps  and 
armies,  that  all  his  political  views  had  arisen  out  of,  or  had  been 
secondary  to,  his  military  proceedings,  and  therefore  that  he  could 
not  be  his  minister;  that  as  to  a  purely  Protestant  Government,  it 
could  not  be  made.  The  King  suggested  several  names — Bexley, 
Bathurst,  etc.  etc.  Why  not  make  them  sticks  to  rally  round? 
Ko,  they  would  name  nobody,  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  per- 
severed in  excluding  himself.  At  last  Peel,  who  had  kept  a  very 
high  and  mighty  bearing,  declared  himself  ready  to  meet  Canning 
upon  the  subject;  and  after  their  meeting,  Peel  wrote  to  the  King 
to  say  that  one  had  been  suggested,  but  that  he  would  wait  upon 
the  King,  as  he  did  not  like  to  put  the  name  in  writing.  In  the 
meanwhile  several  delays  occasioned  by  Peel  intervened,  and  at 
last  after  Tierney  had  declared  that  he  would  ask  a  question  in  the 
House  of  Commons  about  the  Government — that  he  must  do  so  to 
keep  it  out  of  other  hands — Peel  came  to  the  King  and  thundered 
out  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  name. 

"The  King,  having  been  refused  twice  by  the  duke  himself,  and 
having  under  that  refusal  announced  that  he  was  not  to  be  the  man, 
said  he  would  not  then,  in  the  last  moment,  in  tiie  eleventh  hour, 
have  a  man  crammed  down  his  throat;  declined  the  duke,  and  sug- 
gested any  other;  and  then  upon,  for  the  first  time,  a  refusal  being 


840  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

given  to  act  with  Canning,  refused  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  named 
Canning,  and  then  the  resignation  took  place — the  Duke  of  Welhng- 
ton  leading  the  way,  because  his  own  suggestion  had  been  adopted ; 
and  he  followed  it  up  by  throwing  at  the  King's  head  the  whole  of  his 
employments,  military  and  all.  The  King  begged  him  to  keep  the 
army.  No — all  or  nothing!  Now,  the  duke  had  an  entire  right  to 
say  that  he  was  the  fittest  man  to  be  minister,  and  the  only  one  to 
keep  parties  together.  But  he  had  no  right  to  protest  until  the 
last  moment  that  he  would  not  be  the  man,  and  then  employ  that 
last  moment  in  putting  the  pistol  loaded  with  his  own  name  to  the 
King's  head. 

"  Now,  as  to  the  Whigs,  I  asked  him  if  he  had  any  hope  that 
they  would  stand  steadily  by  him  on  what  both  he  and  I  considered 
the  best  interests  of  his  country? 

"  The  King's  answer  was:  'Alors,  comme  alors.* 

"I  then  asked  him  whether  he  did  not  see  that  the  Whigs 
would  pledge  him  much  closer  to  the  carrying  of  that  question, 
the  Catholic,  than  any  other  public  body  would?  His  answer  was: 
'Alors,  comme  alors!  Canning  has  pledged  himself  never  to  press 
me  upon  that  subject,  and  never  to  be  a  member  of  the  Cabinet  that 
does!' 

* '  I  begged  to  have  that  repeated  to  me,  that  I  might  be  sure  of 
the  fact.  The  King  repeated  it,  and  then  said:  '  As  yet  he  has  kept 
his  word,  and  I  think  he  will  go  on  and  do  so;  but,  by  God,  the 
moment  he  changes  his  line,  he  goes — and,  of  course,  I  look  only 
to  my  Prime  Minister.  It  is  his  business  to  complete  his  adminis- 
tration upon  the  same  principles  on  whicii  he  himself  consents  to 
form  it,  and  it  is  no  business  of  mine  to  look  furtiier.' 

"  What  assistance,  I  said,  could  he  look  to  from  the  Whigs? 

"He  replied: '  I  cannot  help  it;  you  may  be  sure  I  cannot  forget 
the  past.  But  where  else  could  1  go?  I  did  all  I  could  short  of 
making  the  situation  of  Premier  elective.  I  offered  to  take  any  one 
whom  they  would  name,  Protestant  or  Catholic,  provided  I  could 
have  kept  the  thing  together.  Canning  from  the  beginning  was 
ready  to  undertake  the  task.  I  told  them  so.  They  expressed  no 
feeling  against  him  personally  at  first.  I  only  asked  them  to  name 
— they  declined.  I  must  have  a  minister;  the  Opposition  threat- 
ened to  storm  my  citadel.  I  again  urged  them.  Tliey  again  re- 
fused, and  in  the  last  moment,  when  they  saw  that  I  was  driven  to 
the  wall,  they  pressed  upon  me  the  very  name  which  they  and  the 
ifldiyiiiual  hjroself  had  repeatedly  declare^  was  the  only  name  that 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  841 

could  not  and  ought  not  to  be  put  forward!  I  then  had  no  resource 
but  to  direct  Canning  to  write  the  note  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
which  you  saw,  and  all  the  occurrences  which  you  are  aware  of 
followed.  If  it  is  the  great  devil  that  has  been  forced  upon  me, 
it  is  they  who  have  done  it.  I  did  not  want  Canning  in  the  Govern- 
ment upon  Castlereagh's  death,  but  they  forced  him  upon  me.  Now 
they  wanted  in  the  same  way  to  force  Wellington;  but  I  am,  at 
least,  somebody  in  the  State,  and  have  shown  them  that  I  will  not 
be  bullied.  The  future  must  take  care  of  itself.  Now,  as  to  the 
Opposition,  the  Corn  Bill  has  held  it  together;  but  draw  the  Catho- 
lic question  round  it,  and  what  becomes  of  it?  Like  a  salamander, 
it  must  expire,  surrounded  by  its  own  fire.' 

"  The  King  expressed  much  indignation  against  Lord  Mansfield, 
who  had  accused  him  in  the  House  of  Lords  of  having  changed  his 
opinion  on  the  Catholic  question. 

"  *  He  lied.  Had  I  been  an  individual  I  would  have  told  him  so 
and  fought  him.  As  it  was,  I  put  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in 
a  fright  by  sending  him  as  my  second  to  Mansfield,  to  tell  him  he 
lied.  The  archbishop  came  down  bustling  here  to  know  what  he 
was  to  do?  So  said  I:  "Go  and  do  my  bidding — tell  him  he  lies, 
and  kick  his  behind  in  my  name!"  '  " 

We  may  accept  the  perfect  accuracy  of  this  amusing  scene,  for 
the  duke  was  a  diligent  and  painstaking  reporter.  It  offers  a  good 
vindication  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  shows  that  he  had  then 
no  wish  for  ofiice.* 

To  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who  came  to  warn  him,  he  was  loud 
in  professions  of  stanch  orthodoxy;  made  a  valiant  display,"  entered 
at  great  length  into  the  whole  history  of  the  Roman  Catholics  from 
the  reign  of  James  II.  down  to  the  present  time,  professed  himself 
a  Protestant  heart  and  soul."  He  declared  he  never  would  give  his 
assent  to  any  measures  for  Roman  Catholic  Emancipation.  And, 
when  pressed  by  the  duke  as  to  the  new  form  of  his  Administration, 
he  assured  the  duke  "that  the  First  Minister  should  be  for  the 


*  In  his  defence  in  the  House  of  Lords  he  said:  "  But  it  has  been  stated  that 
I  withdrew  myself  because  his  majesty  would  not  submit  to  my  dictation  and 
threats,  in  case  I  should  not  myself  be  appointed  his  minister;  and  this  accu- 
sation is  most  curiously  coupled  with  another,  namely,  that  his  majesty 
offered  to  make  me  his  minister,  and  that  I  refused.  My  lords,  those  know 
but  little  of  his  majesty  who  suppose  that  any  man  can  dare  to  dictate  to 
him,  much  less  to  threaten  him.  My  lords,  his  majesty  never  offered  to  me 
to  make  me  his  minister." 
86 


842  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

Protestant  side  of  the  question,"  and  as  to  Ireland,  that  the  Chan- 
cellor there  should  be  Protestant  also.  He  added  that  the  present 
audience  would  be  necessarily  known  to  everybody;  but  "he  must 
keep  faith  with  his  ministers."  He  said  "  the  courage  of  his  family 
had  never  been  questioned."  When  assured  that,  in  choosing  Prot- 
estants for  his  ministers,  his  choice  would  be  supported  by  a  large 
and  powerful  body  of  peers,  and  pressed  for  an  assurance  that  his 
choice  would  be  made  accordingly,  he  said,  again  and  again:  "Do 
you  doubt  me?  But  it  is  not  I  who  fail  in  my  duty.  It  is  you  in 
Parliament.  Why  do  you  suffer  the  d d  Association  in  Dub- 
lin?" The  King's  sentiments  were  strongly  expressed,  but  there  was 
reason  to  apprehend  that  considerations  of  ease  and  repose  might 
outweigh  his  principles. 

The  duke  told  the  King  plainly  that  the  support  or  opposition  of 
himself,  and  of  those  for  whom  he  was  acting,  would  depend  on 
the  choice  that  the  King  should  finally  make  in  forming  his  Admin- 
istration. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  he  had  already  entertained  in  the 
same  way  on  the  14th  of  March,  for  six  hours,  from  two  till  eight. 
Here  he  was  still  more  earnest,  going  back  to  Mr.  Fox's  time,  and 
that  of  "  the  Talents."  In  this  discourse  he  exhibits  some  of  the 
curious  delusions  into  which  he  had  persuaded  himself,  viz.  that  of 
having  been  a  devoted  son.  He  had  induced  Mr.  Fox  not  to  bring 
forward  the  Catholic  question  to  distiu-b  his  father, who  would  never 
consent,  nor  would  he,  if  the  crown  descended  to  him.  "When 
the  Grenvilles  were  dismissed  in  1807,  it  was  he  that  had  given  early 
notice  of  the  pro-Catholic  scheme  to  his  father, "  etc.  As  to  the  new 
Government,  he  particularly  mentioned,  as  to  the  coronation  oath, 
that  he  had  told  Lord  Castlereagh  previously  to  his  own  coronation, 
that  if  they  meant  he  should  ever  consent  to  Roman  Catholic  Eman- 
cipation, they  must  alter  the  coronation  oath  before  he  was 
crowned;  for  after  taking  that  he  would,  like  his  father,  sooner 
consent  to  lay  his  head  on  the  block  than  consent  to  that  measure. 
The  King  then  desired  the  archbishop  to  write  immediately  to  Lord 
Manners,  begging,  as  a  personal  request  from  the  King,  that  he 
would  stay  out  the  year,  so  as  to  give  time  for  finding  another  Prot- 
estant Chancellor  of  Ireland,  for  he  would  have  a  Protestant  Lord 
Lieutenant  also,  and  a  Protestant  Chief  Secretary.  The  archbishop 
accordingly  had  written  to,  and  had  received  a  letter  from.  Lord 
Manners,  consenting  to  remain  till  October.  Yet  he  complained  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  declaring  that  he  had  agreed  to  accept 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  TV.  843 

with  Canning,  In  his  Protestant  principles  "he  was  even  more 
immovably  fixed  than  his  father  was,"  and  when  Mr.  Peel  told  him 
there  were  no  mateiials  for  a  Protestant  Government,  he  said: 
"Then  it  must  be  a  neutral  Cabinet.  Mr.  Canning  is  forced  upon 
me ;  but  I  will  have  a  Protestant  Lord  Lieutenant,"  etc.  This  latter 
declaration  he  made  to  all  sorts  of  persons,  and  he  bade  the  arch- 
bishop tell  it  "to  all  the  bishops,  and  all  the  world." 

Mr.  Canning  was  finally  installed,  but  his  rule  was  only  to  be  for 
a  brief  period,  offering  a  curious  parallel  to  the  case  of  Mr.  Fox. 
According  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  account,  he  had  decided 
the  King's  vacillation  in  rather  summary  fashion,  taking  out  his 
watch  and  requiring  him  to  make  up  his  mind  within  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  The  duke  himself  later  found  this  mode  very  effectual 
with  his  Majesty.  The  King,  however,  felt  unbounded  confidence 
in  his  new  minister,  whose  talents  would  protect  him  from  annoy- 
ance, especially  on  the  great  question  of  Catholic  Relief,  which  he 
had  the  assurance  of  his  minister  w^ould  not  be  forced  on.  A  curi- 
ous incident  is  connected  with  this  matter  by  Mr.  Jerdan,  who  by 
a  strange  accident  was  enabled  to  confirm  to  Mr.  Canning  whatever 
hopes  he  may  have  founded  on  the  King's  ardent  assurances  of  sup- 
port. A  friend  of  his,  Mr.  Hunt,  connected  with  the  Board  of 
"Works,  was  engaged  at  the  palace  on  the  alterations  the  very  day  on 
which  Mr.  Canning  was  appointed  minister.  "By  a  strange  casu- 
alty, when  he  left  off  his  inspection  of  the  innermost  apartment, 
and  was  on  his  way  out,  he  discovered  to  his  dismay  that  his  Majesty 
had  retired  from  his  meeting  with  Mr.  Canning,  and  come,  with  the 
Marchioness  of  Conyngham,  into  the  room  immediately  adjoining 
that  in  which  he  was.  Retreat  was  impossible.  Bathed  in  perspi- 
ration, as  he  described  himself  to  me,  he  was  thus  compelled,  per- 
force, to  overhear  the  conversation  between  the  King  and  his 
confidante  on  tliis  important  occasion;  and  thence  the  particulars 
of  his  Majesty's  interview  with  the  minister,  the  expression  of  his 
confidence  in  his  genius  and  loyalty,  and  his  firm  persuasion  that 
he  would  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  to  the  heights  of  pros- 
perity and  glory;  in  all  which  sentiments  the  accomplished  mar 
chioness  cordially  agreed,  and  warmly  applauded  the  act  by  which- 
numerous  political  ravels  seemed  to  be  so  happily  disentangled.  To 
Hunt's  infinite  relief,  the  colloquy  ended,  and  the  suite  of  rooms 
was  cleared  for  his  joyous  escape."  Mr.  Jerdan  hurried  to  Mr. 
Canning  with  this  news,  which  was  received  with  the  most  genuine 
satisfaction. 


844  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

One  of  the  first  necessary  results  was  the  real  retirement  of  the 
always  retiring  Eldon. 

"  I  took  my  final  leave  of  oflace  on  Monday,  May  2nd,  1827.  The 
King,  to  me  personally,  behaved  with  kindness  and  feeling.  He 
sent  for  me  on  the  Sunday,  as  he  said  he  could  not  prevail  upon 
himself  to  part  with  me,  having  only  the  short  interview,  which  the 
hurry  of  Monday,  when  the  whole  change  was  to  be  made,  would 
admit.  His  conversation  to  me  was  very  kind  certainly,  and  it  dis- 
covered a  heart  that  had  such  affectionate  feelings  as  one  cannot  but 
deeply  lament  should,  from  intrigue  and  undue  influence,  not  be  left 
to  its  own  operations  upon  the  head." 

Such  was  the  conge  of  this  veteran  placeman.  Within  a  year  or 
two  more  his  enthusiasm  for  his  sovereign  was  to  be  a  good  deal 
abated. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  845 


CHAPTER  Xin. 

1827. 

On  the  resignation  of  the  Tory  members  of  the  Cabinet  the  duke 
resig-ned  the  command  of  the  army  in  a  pet,  having  found  an  excuse 
in  what  he  considered  "the  want  of  confidence,  respect,  and  even 
common  civility"  with  which  he  had  been  treated  by  Mr.  Canning. 
This  was  most  inconvenient  for  the  new  Government,  for  it  was 
felt  that  the  oflSce  would  lose  its  prestige  if  entrusted  to  any  one 
else  while  such  a  man  remained  unemployed ;  in  fact,  the  feeling  of 
the  country  would  be  that  ministers  should  restore  him,  even  at  the 
expense  of  any  amende  that  might  be  necessary.  But  the  King  had 
no  such  misgivings,  for,  with  a  light  heart,  he  had  resolved  upon 
his  favorite  scheme  of  taking  the  command  of  the  army  himself, 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  properly  his,  from  the  fact  of  signing 
commissions!  Sir  H.  Taylor  was  informed  of  this  proposed  step  by 
Sir  W.  Knighton  and  Mr.  Canning,  much  to  his  alarm  and  annoy- 
ance. He  was  to  remain  as  Adjutant-General.  On  his  objecting, 
the  King  himself  explained  to  him  that  it  was  impossible  to  entrust 
the  oflSce  to  any  of  the  royal  family,  and  that  the  general  in  Ireland 
could  not  be  spared.  The  Adjutant,  however,  impressed  on  him  the 
serious  nature  of  the  step,  and  its  unconstitutional  character,  on 
which  the  King  gave  way.  But  he,  with  needless  pathos,  "called 
on  him,  as  the  person  who  had  been  the  confidential  attendant  of 
his  blind  father,  and  the  attendant  on  his  brother  to  the  hour  of  his 
death,  to  take  this  situation;  that  he  had  long  wished  to  have  him 
about  him;  that  he  laid  his  commands  on  him,"  etc.  But  it  was 
felt,  however,  that  the  duke  should  be  brought  back  with  all  speed, 
and  it  was  pressed  on  him  that  he  ought  to  reconsider  the  matter. 
The  duke,  however,  took  his  ground  and  kept  it  firmly.  He  had 
been  insulted,  and  the  amende  must  come  from  the  other  side.  "It 
remains  for  his  Majesty,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "to  decide  whether 
I  was  mistaken  in  the  view  I  took."  This  was  shown  to  Mr.  Can- 
ning on  May  21,  who  soon  got  the  King  to  write. 


846  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"St.  James's  Palace,  May  21st,  1827. 
"My  DEAR  Friend, 

"  I  learn  from  my  Government,  as  well  as  from  otlier  quar- 
ters, that  you  have  obligingly  expresssed  your  readiness  to  afford 
your  advice  upon  any  matters  of  military  importance  or  detail  that 
might  occur.  These  circumstances  renew  in  me  those  feelings 
towards  you  which  God  knows  (as  you  must  know)  I  have  so  long 
and  so  sincerely  felt,  and  I  hope  on  all  occasions  proved — at  least  it 
was  my  intention  so  to  do.  I  cannot  refrain,  therefore,  from  ac- 
quainting you  that  the  command  of  the  army  is  still  open,  and  if 
you  choose  to  recall  that  resignation  which  it  grieved  me  so  much 
to  receive,  you  have  my  sincere  permission  to  do  so. 

"  Ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R" 

To  this  soothing  appeal  the  duke  replied  that  he  could  not  claim 
the  merit  of  making  any  communication  to  the  Government.  He 
had  served  the  King  and  his  father  forty-two  years,  and  he  was 
willing  of  course  to  give  any  advice  if  consulted,  but  he  declined 
to  recall  his  resignation.  Even  here  he  fancied  he  saw  the  craft  of 
Mr.  Canning,  for,  in  a  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  he  accuses 
him  of  suppressing  this  portion  of  liis  letter,  when  urging  the  King 
to  write.  He  required  an  apology.  The  King,  however,  deter- 
mined to  make  another  trial,  and  expressed  his  surprise  to  Lord 
Maryborough  that  the  duke  had  never  come  down  to  see  him.  The 
duke  declined  to  go  until  commanded.  On  this  he  was  invited,  and 
spent  three  hours  at  Windsor.  The  Kin^  was  gracious  and  effusive, 
but  the  duke  was  reserved  and  dry.  "The  King  went  over,"  says 
the  latter,  "the  whole  story  of  the  change  of  ministry  in  his  own 
way;  in  answer  to  which  I  told  liim  that  /  iJioiight  I  recollected  some 
circumstances  as  having  occurred  in  a  manner  different  from  that  in 
which  his  Majesty  had  stated  that  they  had  occurred,  and  of  others  1 
had  no  knoicledge,  and  that  I  recollected  others  which  his  Majesty 
had  not  mentioned,  but  that  upon  the  whole  I  thought  it  best  not 
to  enter  upon  that  discussion."  The  passage  in  italics  is  amusing, 
and  shows  the  duke's  quiet  mode  of  dealing  with  the  ebullitions  of 
his  royal  master.  In  this  interview  the  duke  believed  he  had  dis- 
covered that  the  King  had  been  determined  at  all  hazards  and  all 
through  to  take  Mr.  Canning.  He  saw,  too,  that  the  letter's  influ, 
ence  was  stronger  than  ever. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  847 

The  visit,  however,  did  not  bring  any  profit,  but  the  visitor  was 
amazed  to  find  that  the  camarilla  immediately  gave  out  that  he  had 
come  of  his  own  motion  and  uninvited!  " My  opinion, "  he  wrote 
to  Lord  Bathurst,  in  strong  language,  "respecting  the  King's  con- 
duct is  this.  He  wished  to  see  me  so  as  to  have  a  resource  in  case 
of  an  evil  day ;  and  likewise,  if  he  could,  to  coax  me  into  taking  the 
command  back  again  without  requiring  any  concession  from  Mr, 
Canning.  But  when  he  found  the  last  failed,  he  misrepresented  to 
Mr.  Canning  the  mode  in  which  I  had  been  prevailed  upon  to  visit 
the  Lodge."  The  King's  letter,  thus  alluded  to,  may  be  given  as 
the  conclusion  to  this  unique  piece  of  strategy.  The  reader  will  note 
the  passages  I  have  put  in  italics. 


THE  KING  TO  MR.  CANNING. 

"[Private.] 

"Royal  Lodge,  Thursday,  half -past  two  p.m., 
"July  19,  1827. 
"Dear  Mr.  Canning, 

"  I  delay  not  a  moment  in  acquainting  you  with  a  circumstance 
that  has  just  occurred  very  unexpectedly  to  me — a  visit  from  the 
Duke  of  "Wellington.  I  can  only  attribute  this  visit  to  its  being  the 
anniversary  of  my  coronation.  Our  interview  was  not  long,  and  our 
conversation  for  the  most  part  was  on  general  topics.  Of  course  it 
was  impossible  here  and  there,  occasionally,  not  to  have  some  reference 
to  matters  which  have  recently  occurred.  I  found  the  duke  extremely 
temperate,  but  I  could  easily  perceive,  from  little  expressions  which 
now  and  then  dropped,  that  the  most  assiduous  pains  have  been 
taken,  and  are  still  actively  employed,  to  give  the  strongest  jaun- 
diced complexion  to  the  past,  as  well  as  the  present  state  of  things, 
and  to  keep  up,  if  not  to  widen  as  much  as  malice  and  wickedness 
can  contrive  it,  the  breach  which  exists  between  him  and  my  Gov- 
ernment. I  sincerely  hope  that  you  are  rapidly  recovering  from  the 
odious  lumbago.  Believe  me  always, 

"  Your  sincere  Friend, 

Mr.  Canning  was  destined  to  enjoy  this  plenitude  of  power  scarcely 
two  months.  He  had  long  been  ill,  borne  down  with  overwork  and 
disease  Many  had  been  struck  by  the  change  in  his  appearance — 
his  "wasted  look."  At  the  Duke  of  York's  funeral  in  January,  as 
we  have  seen,  he  had  caught  a  cold,  which  the  venerable  Eldon  had 
escaped  by  judiciously  putting  his  hat  under  his  feet  to  save  himself 


848  TEE  LIFE  OF  OEORQE  IV. 

from  the  chill  of  the  flags.  Mr.  Greville  had  seen  him  at  Windsor 
in  the  middle  of  June,  when  he  looked  dreadfully  ill.  A  few  days 
before  his  death  he  was  again  with  the  King,  who  spoke  to  him  about 
his  looks,  when  he  replied  that  "he  did  not  know  what  was  the 
matter  with  him— he  was  ill  all  over."  On  the  first  of  August  he 
took  to  his  bed. 

"  When  the  physicians  saw  him,"  says  his  secretary,  "he  was  in 
pain,  and  exclaimed,  '  My  God !  my  God ! '  Dr.  Farre  observed : 
'  You  do  right,  sir,  to  call  upon  your  God.  I  hope  that  you  pray  to 
Him  yourself  in  secret. '  *  I  do,  I  do, '  was  his  answer.  '  And  you 
ask, '  added  the  doctor,  *  for  mercy  and  salvation  through  the  merits 
of  your  Redeemer? '  *  Yes,'  he  replied,  *  I  do,  through  the  merits  of 
Jesus  Christ.'  The  doctor  then  asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say 
about  his  country,  but  it  was  feared  that  the  question  might  excite 
him,  and  the  subject  was  dropped.  In  the  course  of  the  evening  he 
said  to  Sir  W.  Knighton,  *  This  may  be  hard  upon  me,  but  it  is  still 
harder  upon  the  King.'  August  8. — Went  to  his  room  at  three  in 
the  morning;  he  was  quite  unconscious.  .  .  .Sir  M.  Tierney  felt  his 
pulse,  thought  for  a  second  that  he  was  gone,  but  he  still  breathed. 
In  a  few  minutes  there  ceased  to  be  any  signs  of  breathing.  He 
passed  away  so  quietly  that  the  exact  moment  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained, but  it  was  between  twelve  and  ten  minutes  before  four." 

Thousands  assembled  at  his  gates,  deploring  the  death  of  this  high- 
spirited  minister.  There  is  something  pathetic  and  unselfish  in  his 
speech  to  Sir  W.  Knighton,  that  "it  was  harder  upon  the  King," 
whose  troubles  were  now  to  recommence. 

His  colleagues,  Mr.  Greville  says,  were  in  despair,  as  well  they 
might  be,  for  it  was  not  so  much  the  signal  for  the  destruction  of 
the  Cabinet,  as  for  the  commencement  of  moribund  agonies  which 
were  to  be  protracted  to  their  own  discredit.  The  master-spirit  was 
gone,  there  was  no  one  left  to  control  the  King,  and  the  short-lived 
God^rich  Ministry  was  formed,  consisting  of  fragments  of  both  par- 
ties. Yet  this  death  was  really  the  signal  for  Emancipation.  It  was 
naturally  believed  that  the  King  would  deal  with  the  Cabinet  sum- 
marily, and  consult  his  "feelings"  in  sending  for  a  Protestant  pre- 
mier, such  as  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  For  this  he  had  made 
that  stout  and  persevering  contention  when  the  last  ministry  was  in 
power.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  fancied  "there  was  going  to  be 
another  scene  of  confusion."  It,  however,  now  appeared  that  the 
King  was  full  of  affection  for  the  memory  of  Mr.  Canning,  and  pro- 
fessed to  wish  to  carry  on  his  arrangements.  At  the  same  time,  from 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  849 

his  peculiar  disposition,  he  was  delighted  at  the  opening  offered  to 
him  for  petty  intrigue,  and  for  playing  off  one  part  of  the  ministry 
against  the  other.  Lord  Goderich  was  weak  and  easily  overborne, 
and  the  King,  generally  viewing  matters  from  the  view  of  his  person- 
nel, was  eager  for  his  appointment. 

The  behavior  of  the  King  in  this  transaction  was  characteristic. 
He  had  conceived  a  violent  desire  for  having  Mr.  Herries  in  the 
ministry  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  this  scheme  he  pressed 
with  an  extraordinary  persistence.  As  we  learn  from  a  recently- 
published,  memoir  of  that  statesman,  the  Whigs  were  eagerly  press- 
ing for  the  introduction  of  some  of  their  own  party,  and  the  weak 
Lord  Goderich  was  unable  either  to  resist  them  or  the  King.  The 
post  was  formally  offered  to  Herries  through  Sir  W.  Knighton,  but 
he  saw  that  the  Premier  wished  that  he  should  not  accept  it,  and  was 
himself  disinclined,  owing  to  bad  health.  He,  however,  repaired  to 
Windsor;  where,  as  he  says,  "the  scene  that  took  place  would  fill  a 
volume."  While  he  was  waiting,  the  Whigs,  he  said,  contrived  to 
work  on  Lord  Goderich,  who  came  to  implore  him  to  decline  the 
post,  if  he  could  do  so.  When  he  went  into  the  King,  the  latter 
enlarged  on  the  situation  for  an  hour,  declared  he  would  not  be  dic- 
tated to,  and  actually  put  the  seals  into  his  hand.  The  latter  referred 
him  to  the  minister,  who  entered  in  his  turn,  and  persuaded  the 
King  to  postpone  the  matter.  Mr.  Herries  was  naturally  mortified 
at  this  treatment,  but  was  induced  once  more  to  repair  to  Windsor 
with  some  of  the  ministers ;  when  a  conversation  four  hours  long 
took  place,  and  the  King,  in  a  speech  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  explained 
his  views  and  dwelt  on  ' '  his  feelings. "  He  would  not  compromise, 
he  said,  his  own  just  authority.  There  were  two  conditions  he  would 
hold  by,  the  maintenance  of  his  own  honor,  "  and  my  character. " 
Such  was  his  pertinacity,  that  Mr.  Herries  was  at  last  induced  to 
accept.  Now  it  is  but  too  evident  that  his  Majesty  must  have  been 
thus  eager,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  public  interest,  as  for 
some  personal  object.  There  are  a  number  of  other  instances  in 
which  he  was  equally  pertinacious,  and  when  the  motives  were 
strictly  personal.  Lord  Palmerston,  Mr.  Greville,  and  others,  not 
unreasonably  imputed  it  to  a  wish  to  have  an  officer  at  the  Exche- 
quer who  would  be  tolerant  of  his  own  demands;  not  that  Mr. 
Herries  was  likely  to  be  so,  but  his  confidential  intimacy  with 
Knighton,  and  frequent  conversations  with  the  King,  might  fairly 
encourage  such  a  beiief.  Further,  we  find  Herries  later  appointed 
to  direct  the  expenditure  on  the  palaces,  and  pressing  on  the  works. 


850  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

He  may  not  "have  got  odds  and  ends  out  of  the  droits,"  which  his 
son  indignantly  denies;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  many  of 
the  royal  family  had  been  assisted  with  more  than  "odds  and 
ends,"  from  the  same  source.  Other  ministers,  too,  were  obliged 
to  tolerate  the  King's  unlicensed  "helpings "  of  himself  to  the  public 
funds. 

These  scenes  are  well  described  by  Mr.  Greville — the  whisperings, 
"the  going  in  to  the  King  four  times,"  the  final  return  to  town 
without  matters  being  arranged.  The  King,  he  says,  had  resented 
this  breach  of  agreement  on  the  part  of  Lord  Godcrich,  and  the 
Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was  with  him  on  August  21st,  learned 
that  Mr.  Herries  had  complained  of  his  treatment  by  the  Prime 
Minister.  He  was  perfectly  outrageous,  and  said  Lord  Goderich 
gave  him  up  to  the  Whigs,  adding  that  "he  wanted  to  keep  his 
house  till  his  wife  was  confined."  He  then  rang  the  bell,  and  bade 
his  page  call  in  Lord  Bexley,  whom  he  made  First  Lord.  Mr.  Hus- 
kisson,  however,  spoke  to  the  King  firmly,  and  got  him  to  agree, 
but  other  diflSculties  arose. 

"Taking  up  the  account,"  Mr.  Greville  goes  on,  "from  where  I 
left  off,  Goderich  went  to  the  King,  and  it  was  settled  Herries  was 
to  be  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  He  returned  and  wrote  to  Lord 
Lansdowne,  entreating  him  to  acquiesce.  Lord  Lansdowne  went 
to  the  King,  and  the  result  of  his  interview  was,  that  he  retained 
office  together  with  his  friends.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  one  of  them, 
which  he  intended  might  be  communicated  to  others,  giving  an 
account  of  his  conduct  and  motives.  I  saw  this  letter.  He  said 
the  King  received  him  very  well  and  spared  no  entreaties  to  keep 
him  in  office.  The  King  said  that  he  was  most  anxious  the  present 
Government  should  continue  on  every  account,  but  more  particu- 
larly on  account  of  what  was  now  passing  on  the  Continent;  that 
Lord  Lansdowne's  holding  ofl^ce  was  indispensable  for  this  object, 
and  he  asked  him  in  his  own  name  and  for  the  sake  of  the  country 
not  to  resign ;  that  what  had  occurred  had  arisen  out  of  a  series  of 
blunders  which,  'let  me  say,' he  added,  'were  neither  yours  nor 
mine.'  Lord  Lansdowne  said  it  was  put  to  him  in  such  a  way  that 
he  could  not  do  otherwise." 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  cordially  disliked  Mr.  Canning, 
and  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  that  "he  felt  that  Mr. 
Canning's  temper  and  habits  were  such  aa  to  render  it  impossible 
to  serve  under  him,  without  becoming  liable  dail}'  to  the  conse- 
quences of  acts  done  or  w^ords  spoken  in  heat,  or  without  quarrel- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  iT.  851 

ling  with  him.'  Nor  did  this  hostility  much  abate  on  the  death 
of  the  great  statesman.  "We  find  him  writing  to  his  friends:  "I 
hear  that  Dr.  Farre  says  it  was  Canning's  temper  tliat  killed  him." 
Mr.  Croker  assured  him  that  the  King's  confidence  in  his  late 
minister  v/as  almost  unlimited.  Only  a  week  before  his  death  he 
had  shown  Mr.  Croker  a  letter,  in  which  the  King  ''  seemed  to  look 
to  him  as  the  protector  of  his  dignity."  He  would  have  gradually, 
he  said,  persuaded  him  into  even  receiving  Mr.  Brougham.  His 
nntimely  death  had  indeed  plunged  the  King  into  fresh  troubles 
and  annoyances.  "Heart  and  soul  a  Protestant,"  as  he  professed 
himself,  he  might  surely  now  gratify  his  feelings  by  taking  back 
all  the  elements  of  the  Liverpool  Cabinet,  with  the  duke  to  replace 
its  chief.  The  only  disturbing  influence  had  passed  away.  But 
his  perplexed  mind  began  to  fluctuate.  He  told  Mr.  Huskisson 
that  no  Government  could  be  thought  of  without  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington and  Mr.  Peel.  When  he  was  pressed  therefore  to  send  for 
the  duke,  he  declared  that  the  latter  would  be,  "as  he  had  always 
been,  of  the  greatest  comfort  to  him  at  this  moment;  but  that  after 
what  had  so  freshly  happened,  almost  with  the  wax  of  the  present 
minister's  appointments  soft,  he  could  not  at  once  turn  round  upon 
those  who  had  adhered  to  Canning,  and  treat  them  as  if  they  were 
Canning's  lackeys."  He  also  spoke  of  his  own  "  permanent  dig- 
nity," and  that  the  "simulance  of  an  effort"  should  be  made — 
which  would  enable  him  to  take  his  course  with  the  duke  with 
greater  satisfaction.  The  first  result  was  the  restoration  of  the 
duke  to  his  command,  which  was  offered  to  him  at  seven  in  the 
morning,  and  accepted  before  eight. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  August  15, 1827. 
**  My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  write  for  the  purpose  of  again  offering  to  you  the  com- 
mand of  my  army,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  the  time  has  arrived 
when  the  country  will  no  longer  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  your 
high  talent. 

"  Always,  with  great  truth,  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 
The  duke  accepted  on  the  following  day.* 

*  Lord  Anglesey  was  hurriedly  despatched  with  the  communication  to  the 
country,  and  arrived  at  Strathfieldsaye  in  the  small  hours,  to  find  the  duke 


852  THE  LIFE  OF  QEOROE  IV. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Friday  night,  August  17, 1827. 
"  My  deak  Friend, 

"I  have  this  evening,  by  the  hands  of  Lord  Anglesey,  re- 
ceived your  affectionate  and  dutiful  letter.  I  write  to  you  imme- 
diately, that  I  may  have  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  (as  soon  as 
you  can  conveniently  come  to  me)  of  seeing  you,  that  you  may 
kiss  hands,  and  assume  the  command  of  the  army  without  delay. 
I  will  add  one  word  more,  merely  to  express  the  happiness  I  shall 
have  in  receiving  you. 

"Ever,  with  true  regard,  your  sincere  Friend, 

As  may  be  conceived,  the  course  of  such  a  ministry  was  not  only 
short  but  marked  by  weakness;  but,  it  may  be  imagined,  it  was 
most  acceptable  to  the  King,  for  he  carried  and  disposed  of  all  sorts 
of  appointments  in  the  most  peremptory  manner,  without  consult- 
ing them.  After  the  battle  of  Navarino,  he  and  the  Duke  of  Clar- 
ence dispensed  the  various  honors  and  promotions.  He  gave  his 
favorite,  Dr.  Sumner,  the  bishopric  of  Winchester. 

In  a  conversation  with  Lord  Colchester,  Mr.  Peel  bitterly  in- 
veighed against  this  system.  "The  King's  situation;  with  the 
existence  of  a  personage  like  Sir  William  Knighton  (who  certainly 
had  formerly  got  the  promise  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  for  life); 
and  the  playing  off  one  half  of  the  Administration  against  the  other 
half;  the  receiving  recommendations  to  honors  and  ofHccs  from 
each  party  in  the  Government;  and  putting  aside  both,  'that  nei- 
ther might  have  a  triumph,'  and  bestowing  the  favor  upon  some 
third  individual  of  his  own  choice,  for  which  there  was  no  respon- 
sible adviser," 

Against  Mr.  Peel  the  King  had  conceived  an  extraordinary  dis- 
like. "There  was  nobody,"  says  Mr.  Dawson,  "he  was  more  ex- 
asperated against  than  Peel,  and  for  this  reason:  When  the  late 
Government  (Canning's)  was  forming.  Peel  went  to  the  King,  and 
in  reply  to  his  desire  that  he  should  form  a  part  of  it,  told  him  he 


just  returned  from  a  ball.  Posting  back  with  the  5»me  haste,  he  entered  the 
room  where  the  ministers  were  assembled,  and  flung  himself  down  on  a  seat, 
exclaiming:  "Well,  gentlemen,  I  have  done  your  commission;  but  I  warn 
you,  he  will  blow  you  all  up!" 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  853 

could  not  continue  in  any  Government  the  head  of  which  was  a 
supporter  of  Catholic  Emancipation.  The  King  proposed  to  him 
to  remain,  with  a  secret  pledge  and  promise  from  him  that  the  ques- 
tion should  not  be  carried.  This  of  course  Peel  refused;  and  the 
King,  who  construed  his  rejection  of  the  disgraceful  proposal  as 
conveying  a  doubt  of  his  word,  dismissed  him  with  much  resent- 
ment. 

By  Christmas  dissensions  broke  out  in  the  Cabinet,  occasioned 
by  a  dispute  as  to  patronage  between  Herries  and  Huskisson,  so 
that  the  King  declared  that  he  "did  not  see  why  he  was  to  be  the 
only  gentleman  in  his  dominions  who  was  not  to  eat  his  Christmas 
dinner  in  peace."  Lord  Goderich  seems  to  have  unduly  magnified 
this  not  very  important  matter.  He  was,  in  fact,  unnerved,  and 
shrank  from  the  dangers  and  troubles  that  were  before  him.  Lord 
Campbell,  who  had  the  account  from  Lord  Lyndhurst,  describes 
what  followed:  "  Late  at  night,  on  the  6th  of  January,  he  came  to 
Lord  Lyndhurst  in  a  state  of  great  agitation,  and  for  some  minutes 
walked  about  the  room  wringing  his  hands,  without  uttering  any 
articulate  sound.  At  last  he  exclaimed:  'I  deem  it  due  to  you  to 
let  the  Lord  Chancellor  know  that  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to 
resign  immediately.'  An  explanation  taking  place,  it  turned  out 
that,  in  reality,  no  new  disaster  had  happened.  The  Chancellor 
tried  to  reassure  him,  and  to  advise  him  to  meet  Parliament,  saying 
that  'after  all,  the  session  might  pass  off  smoothly,  and,  at  any 
rate,  it  would  be  more  dignified  to  fall  by  an  adverse  vote  than  to 
tumble  down  with  a  confession  of  incapacity.'  He  attempted  no 
answer,  but  mopped  the  perspiration  from  his  brows  with  his 
handkerchief,  as  he  was  used  to  do  in  debate  when  his  ideas  became 
very  confused.  He  now  merely  said  that  his  resolution  was  irrevo- 
cable, and  that  what  he  feared  was  to  break  the  matter  to  the  King, 
who  must  be  much  perplexed  by  being  called  upon  to  change  his 
Cabinet  a  few  days  before  the  meeting  of  Parliament.  'As  far  as 
that  goes,'  said  the  Chancellor,  '  instead  of  your  writing  a  letter  to 
his  Majesty  (about  which  there  might  be  some  awkwardness),  if  you 
do  not  like  to  face  him  in  a  private  audience,  I  don't  mind  accom- 
panying you  to  Windsor.'  This  offer  was  joyfully  accepted,  and 
by  a  dexterous  stroke  of  policy  the  Chancellor  became  master  of 
the  position  which  gave  him  the  power  of  forming  the  new  Admin- 
istration. 

"Next  day  they  proceeded  to  "Windsor  together.  The  King  had 
been  prepared  for  their  visit  by  reason  of  a  secret  communication  to 


854  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

his  private  secretary,  who  was  a  fast  friend  of  the  Chancellor,  and 
his  Majesty  received  them  very  graciously,  and  accepted  the  resig- 
nation. '  But,'  said  he,  rather  addressing  himself  to  the  Chancellor, 
'  I  ought  to  ask  your  advice  about  the  person  I  ought  to  send  for  to 
consult  about  the  formation  of  a  new  Administration.'  'Sir,'  said 
the  Chancellpr,  '  I  venture  to  mention  the  name  which  must  have 
already  presented  itself  to  the  mind  of  your  Majesty — the  Duke  of 
Wellington.'  King:  'Let  him  come  to  me  as  soon  as  possible.'" 
Lord  Lyndhurst.  in  relating  the  particulars  of  this  conference, 
avers  that  his  Majesty  added:  "B.^t  remember,  whoever  is  to  be 
minister,  you,  my  lord,  must  remain  my  Chancellor."* 

THE  KING  TO  SIR  W.  KNIGHTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  June  18th,  1827. 

"As  to  myself,  I  am  pretty  well  bodily;  but  I  have  little  or  no 
use  of  my  poor  limbs,  for  I  can  neither  walk  up  nor  down  stairs, 
and  am  obliged  to  be  carried,  and  in  general  to  be  wheeled  about 
everywhere;  for  my  powers  of  walking,  and  even  of  crawling  about 
with  crutches,  or  with  the  aid  of  a  strong  stick,  are  not  in  the 
smallest  respect  improved  since  you  last  saw  me — at  the  same  time 
that  my  knees,  legs,  ankles,  and  feet  swell  more  formidably  and 
terribly  than  ever.  This,  I  am  sure  you  will  agree  with  me,  ought 
now  to  be  seriously  attended  to  without  delay  by  some  plan  devised 
and  steadily  acted  upon,  in  order  to  stop  the  further  progress,  and 
to  remedy  it  effectually  and  finally;  for  there  is  no  question  it  is  an 
increasing  and  progressive  evil  (at  least  so  I  fear),  unless  steps  be 
found,  and  that  speedily  too,  of  averting  it. 

"You  must  now  have  had  enough  of  my  epistolary  quality;  I 
shall  therefore,  dear  friend,  hasten  to  a  conclusion,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  I  am  always  your  sincere  and  affectionate  friend, 

"G.  R" 

The  worthy  Secretary  Knighton  at  this  time  was  much  annoyed 
by  rumors  that  he  did  not  stand  well  with  his  royal  master.  Mr. 
Greville  learned  that  the  King  was  groaning  under  his  tyranny,  and 
would  exhibit  the  feeling  of  a  schoolboy  in  presence  of  his  master. 
"When  alone  with  him  he  is  more  civil,  but  when  others  are 
present  (the  family,  for  instance)  he  delights  in  saying  the  most 

♦  It  was  reported  that  Lord  Goderich  was  much  affected  on  taking  leave  of 
the  King,  and  that  his  majesty  offered  him  a  pocket-handkerchief. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  855 

mortifying  and  disagreeable  things  to  him.  He  would  give  the 
world  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  to  have  either  Taylor  or  Mount-Charles 
instead,  to  whom  he  has  offered  the  place  over  and  over  again;  but 
Mount-Charles  not  only  would  not  hear  of  it,  but  often  took 
Knighton's  part  with  the  King.  He  says  that  his  language  about 
Knighton  is  sometimes  of  the  most  unmeasured  violenee — wishes  he 
was  dead,  and  one  day  when  the  door  was  open,  so  that  the  pages 
could  hear,  he  said:  'I  wish  to  God  somebody  would  assassinate 
Knighton.'  Knighton  is  greatly  annoyed  at  it,  and  is  very  seldom 
there.  Still  it  appears  there  is  some  secret  which  binds  them 
together.  The  King's  indolence  is  so  great  that  it  is  next  to  impos- 
sible to  get  him  to  do  even  the  most  ordinary  business,  and 
Knighton  is  still  the  only  man  who  can  prevail  on  him  to  sign 
papers,  etc."  This,  however,  may  be  doubted,  as  the  King's  letters 
show  a  good-natured  regard  and  affection  for  him.  He  was  in  fact 
indispensable — had  rescued  him  from  innumerable  troubles — and 
got  all  his  finances  into  order,  and  discharged  debts.  One  of  these 
missions  has  been  alluded  to.  The  King  had  much  trouble  with  his 
nephew,  the  young  Duke  of  Brunswick,  whose  guardian  he  was, 
and  whose  funds  he  administered.  But  his  eccentricity  had  prob- 
ably early  displayed  itself.* 


*  The  following  note  of  complaint  was  found  in  his  own  handwriting: 

"  The  duke  never  could  [obtain]  any  money  during  the  life  of  Geo.  IV.,  and 
only  obtained  the  same  from  Wm.  IV.  after  the  Revolution  of  1830. 

"  One  most  extraordinary  fact  is  that  the  Duke  Charles  has  never  been  able 
to  see  the  testament  of  his  father,  and  therefore  does  not  to  this  day  know 
the  exact  amount,  although  he  has  received  contradictory  extracts  from  the 
will.  Wm.  IV.  admitted  that  he  had  only  paid  a  portion  of  the  money  into 
the  funds,  and  retained  the  rest  for  Prince  William,  who  already  had  seized 
the  duke's  fort -ne." 

The  matter  came  into  the  English  Courts,  and  the  whole  case  is  summed 
up  in  an  elaborate  judgment  of  Lord  Langdale's.  For  an  account  of  this 
singular  case  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  little  French  work,  "  Le  Duo  de 
Bnmswick." 


856  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOBGE  IV, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1828. 

On  the  new  ministry  being  formed  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
and  including  Mr.  Peel,  Lord  Lyudhurst,  and  others  of  the  same 
political  school,  the  King  might  fondly  delude  himself  that  he  had 
now  at  last  secured  a  ministry  of  Protestants,  and  therefore  after 
his  own  heart.  He  little  dreamed  that  he  was  now  entering  on  the 
most  troubled  era  of  his  life,  and  that  in  its  closing  days  he  was  to 
be  forced  to  gulp  the  nauseous  political  potion  that  he  had  so  often 
successfully  put  away  from  him.  He  was  moreover  to  find  that 
he  had  imposed  upon  himself  the  yoke  of  two  disciplinarians,  who 
were  not  to  be  trifled  with.  The  surprise  of  this  discovery  must 
have  been  painful  indeed.  This,  however,  was  the  last  thing  that 
occurred  to  him,  and  he  had  settled  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  to  be  "  my  dearest  friend,"  and  with  many  "  God  bless  yous!" 
we  may  presume,  to  be  made  suitably  flexible  by  a  display  of  en- 
thusiastic affection.  Lord  Eldon,  the  Tory  buttress,  was  indeed 
left  out,  which  he  himself  attributed  to  secret  female  influence^^  but 
a  better  reason  was  that  he  was  virtually  passe,  and  not  likely  to  be 
of  further  use. 

On  January  the  9th,  the  duke  was  at  Windsor  arranging  de- 
tails. The  duke  himself  gave  an  account  of  his  first  interview 
with  the  King  to  Mr.  Raikes:  "When  he  sent  for  me  to  form  a 
new  administration  in  1828,  he  was  then  seriously  ill,  though  he 
would  never  allow  it.  I  found  him  in  bed,  dressed  in  a  dirty  silk 
jacket  and  a  turban  nightcap,  one  as  greasy  as  the  other;  for,  not- 
withstanding his  coquetry  about  dress  in  public,  he  was  extremely 
dirty  and  slovenly  in  private.  The  first  words  he  said  to  me  were; 
'Arthur,  the  Cabinet  is  defunct;'  and  then  he  began  to  describe 
the  manner  in  which  the  late  ministers  had  taken  leave  of  him,  on 
giving  in  their  resignations.  This  was  accompanied  by  the  most 
ludicrous  mimicry  of  the  voice  and  manner  of  each  individual,  so 
strikingly  like,  that  it  was  impossible  to  refrain  from  fits  of  laugh- 
ter."   The  King  said  he  presumed  that  the  ministry  must  be  formed 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  867 

of  persons  holding  both  opinions  in  respect  to  the  Catholic  Ques- 
tion; but  that,  as  in  former  Protestant  Governments,  it  must  not 
be  a  Cabinet  question.  There  must  be  a  "  Protestant "  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  Ireland,  a  "Protestant"  Secretary,  and  "Protestant" 
Lord-Lieutenant.  Nothing  could  be  more  explicit  and  determined 
than  he  was  on  this  point.  He  approved,  he  said,  of  all  his  late 
and  of  all  his  former  servants,  and  had  no  objection  to  anybody — 
except  Lord  Grey.  On  the  whole,  he  left  the  duke  carte  blanche. 
With  this  pliant  mood,  the  task  became  easy.  But  it  would  seem 
that  he  was  inclined  to  be  shifty  in  the  case  of  certain  undertakings 
as  to  peerages  entered  into  by  the  fallen  Premier.  The  latter  was 
compelled  to  appeal  to  him  in  great  distress  on  the  matter,  declar- 
ing that  "his  personal  honor  was  concerned,"  as  he  would  be  ac- 
cused* of  "having  broken  faith  with  those  whose  cases,"  he  adds 
significantly,  "upon  his  humble  recommendation,  received  your 
Majesty's  gracious  approbation." 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Royal  Lodge,  January  11th,  1828. 
**My  dear  Friend, 

"I  have  just  received  your  letters.  I  can  scarcely  write.  I 
hope  in  the  course  of  the  evening  that  you  will  be  enabled  to  give 
me  some  outline  as  to  the  probable  frame  of  your  Government. 
Lord  Goderich  sent  me  the  enclosed  yesterday.  I  am,  I  suppose, 
pledged  to  make  the  new  peers ;  but  you  had  better  see  Lord  God- 
erich, as  I  put  the  matter  in  your  hands. 

"  Your  affectionate  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

"I  am,  I  suppose,  pledged!"  A  strange  royal  declaration.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington  wrote  to  Lord  Goderich,  with  a  soldier's  direct- 
ness, that  every  case  in  which  his  Majesty's  pleasure  had  been  taken, 
and  communication  made  to  the  individual,  ought  to  be  completed 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  "you  had  better  give  directions  accord- 
ingly."   Lord  Goderich  seems  to  have  acted  on  his  instruction. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  [From  my  bed.] 

"Royal  Lodge,  January  14th,  1828, 

"  Monday,  four  o'clock. 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Lord  Goderich.  which 


858  TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV, 

makes  it  quite  necessary  for  me  to  see  you  to-morrow  morning. 
Pray  have  tlie  kindness  to  be  here  at  ten  o'clock. 

"  With  great  truth,  ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

THE    SAME. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Thursday  night,  January  17th,  1828. 
**My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  have  just  received  your  list,  which,  of  course,  I  do  ap- 
prove; and  I  feel  very  sensibly  the  very  arduous  task  you  have  under- 
taken. Nevertheless,  under  your  care  and  guidance,  I  trust  it  will 
all  do  well.  I  am  really  quite  heartbroken  respecting  my  friend  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire  and  my  friend  Lord  Carlisle.  Can  you  sug- 
gest any  means  of  keeping  the  duke? 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"G.  R." 

"  It  is  really  essential  to  my  private  affairs  that  Scarlett  should 
be  kept,  if  possible.  There  is  much  depending  in  my  duchies  upon 
this  gentleman's  particular  knowledge  and  talent. 

"G.  R."* 

His  poignant  feelings  on  parting  with  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  had 
been  more  or  less  excited  by  "  a  scene  of  an  affecting  kind  "  when 
that  nobleman  came  to  resign  his  office  in  person.  He  was  also 
much  concerned  about  the  Duke  of  Argyll. 

THE   SAME. 

"Royal  Lodge,  January  28, 1828. 
"  Monday  evening,  seven  o'clock. 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  lose  not  a  moment  in  forwarding  to  you  a  letter  which  I 
have  just  received,  and  which  I  must  candidly  acknowledge  to  you 
distresses  me  much.  The  Duke  of  Argyll's  statement  is  perfectly 
correct.  I  therefore  desire  you  will  see  if  anything  yet  can  he  done 
to  remedy  this  very  unpleasant  business,  as  I  cannot  submit  to  the 


*  Scarlett  was  a  favorite  from  his  declining  to  mix  himself  up  with  the 
Queen's  trial.  On  a  commission  for  inquiry  into  the  courts  of  the  Duchy  of 
Lancashire  his  majesty  wrote:  "  The  King  most  earnestly  desires  that  Sir  J. 
Scarlett  be  prevailed  upon  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  this  commission. 
The  King  feels  himself  personnlly  obliged  to  Sir  James  Scarlett  for  the 
manner  and  conduct  pursued  by  him  in  the  late  trial  of  the  Duchy  of  Corn- 
wall.   The  King  has  the  greatest  confidence  in  this  gentleman." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  859 

Duke  of  Argyll's  conceiving  that  it  was  by  any  desire  of  mine  that 
he  has  received  liis  dismissal.  Your  sentiments  coinciding  so  com- 
pletely with  mine,  I  am  sure  you  will  know  how  to  appreciate  my 
feelings  upon  tliis  subject,  and  that  you  will  do  all  you  can  to  re- 
lieve me  from  this  embarrassment. 

"Always  most  truly  yours, 

"G.  R." 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Wednesday  evening,  seven  o'clock, 
"  January  30th,  1828. 
"My  deak  Friend, 

"I  thank  you  for  the  letters  you  sent  me  to-day.  I  am  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  what  you  have  stated  respecting  the  Duke  of 
Argyll,  and  I  therefore  enclose  to  you  the  Duke  of  Gordon's  war- 
ranty, which  I  had  delayed  putting  my  signature  to  until  I  had 
received  your  answer  to  my  letter.  I  congratulate  you  upon  every- 
thing having  apparently  gone  off  so  tranquilly  and  so  well  yester- 
day in  both  Houses  of  Parliament. 

"Always  most  truly  yours, 

"G.  R." 

In  the  question  of  the  Corporation  and  Test  Act,  it  would  appear 
that  the  King's  Protestant  feelings  were  treated  with  scant  consid- 
eration. The  Protestant  peers  wished  that  the  solemn,  all-impor- 
tant words,  "  I  am  a  Protestant,"  should  find  a  place.  The  Duke 
and  the  Chancellor  supported  this  view.  We  find  the  King  uttering 
his  querulous  and  unavailing  complaints. 

THE  SAME. 

*'  St.  James's  Palace,  Friday,  two  o'clock,  p.m., 
"AprU25th,  1828. 

"Mt  dear  Friend, 

"I  received  your  box,  with  the  account  of  last  night's  debate, 
about  an  hour  since.  I  wish  that  you  had  come  and  talked  the  bus- 
iness over  with  me  that  was  to  take  place  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
previous  to  your  going  down  to  the  House  yesterday.  Had  I  en- 
tertained the  slightest  idea  of  what  was  to  occupy  the  House,  I 
should  most  certainly  have  desired  your  attendance,  and  that  of  our 
friend  the  Chancellor,  before  the  discussion. 

"After  that  which  did  pass  in  a  conversation  (not  long  since)  be- 
tween me  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  upon  this  very  sub- 


860  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

ject,  and  in  which  I  strongly  expressed  my  own  sentiments,  which 
for  years  and  years  have  never  varied,  I  feel  that  unless  the  word 
Protestant  be  introduced  as  proposed  into  the  Act  itself,  individu- 
ally, as  a  Protestant,  and  as  the  head  and  protector  of  the  religion 
of  this  country,  we  have  virtually  no  sort  of  permanent  security 
left  us  to  look  to  for  the  preservation  of  the  Established  Church. 

"I  am  most  anxious,  my  dear  friend,  that  you  should  show  this 
letter  to  the  Chancellor,  at  the  first  moment  you  can  see  him.  and 
at  any  rate  before  he  takes  his  seat  on  the  woolsack. 

"Always  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R" 

The  duke  must,  in  familiar  phrase,  "have  been  sick"  of  these 
protestations.  The  first  instance  in  which  his  majesty  tried  his 
power  was  in  the  well-known  Huskisson  episode,  when  affected 
resignation  and  its  treatment  by  the  duke  was  a  valuable  precedent, 
and  had  no  doubt  exercised  a  wholesome  influence,  the  memorable 
reply:  "There  is  no  mistake,"  etc.,  operating  as  a  warning  against 
such  political  coquetting.  When  the  question  of  his  successor  was 
under  consideration,  the  King  wrote : 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"  St.  James's  Palace,  Sunday,  four  o'clock,  p.m., 
"  May  25th,  1828. 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"Pray  come  to  no  immediate  conclusion  upon  any  new  ar- 
rangement until  I  see  you  to-morrow.  I  have  thought  much  upon 
tlxis  subject  since  we  parted.  What  do  you  think  of  the  enclosed 
list,  which  has  occurred  to  me  ? 

"G.  R." 

But  the  duke  replied  dryly:  "I  am  afraid  the  arrangement  sug- 
gested by  your  majesty  would  not  answer."  * 

*  The  duke  had  carelessly  said  that  "  we  should  soon  be  as  weak  and  con- 
temptible as  Soderich."  This  phrase  struck  Lord  Palmerston,  for  he  recol- 
lected his  friend  Huskisson  describing  the  King  as  using  it.  The  King  was 
prompted  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  wlio  kept  repeating  to  him  tliat  the 
duke  had  no  energy  or  decision,  and  was  "as  weak  as  Ooderich,"  and  the 
King,  who  could  be  played  on  with  catch  phrases,  adopted  it  as  his  own.  It 
thus  got  abroad,  and  was  repeated  to  the  duke,  who,  much  nettled,  deter- 
mined to  assert  himself.  Tins  seems  a  plausible  account  enough.  Lord 
Palmerston  always  said  that  the  King  "  hated  him." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IT.  861 

There  was  a  delicate  finesse,  too,  in  his  mode  of  administering 
a  rebuke  to  the  King,  who  had  taken  on  himself  too  hastily  to  en- 
dorse an  application  for  an  Irish  peerage  for  Mr.  Daly,  which  Lord 
Anglesey  had  forwarded.  He  apologized  to  his  majesty  for  Lord 
Anglesey's  having  sent  the  official  record  to  the  King  before  his 
Majesty  had  the  opportunity  of  considering  whether  it  should  be 
made.  And  later,  again,  he  wrote  on  the  same  subject:  "Since 
my  arrival  in  town,  I  observe  that  your  majesty  has  signed  the  let- 
ter to  Lord  Anglesey.  I  propose  to  keep  that  document  in  my  pos- 
session till  I  learn  your  majesty's  pleasure  upon  it." 

A  glimpse  of  the  King  at  this  time  in  his  social  moments  is  not 
unpleasing:  "June  39th. — I  dined  yesterday  with  the  King  at  St. 
James's — his  Jockey  Club  dinner.  We  assembled  in  the  Throne- 
room,  and  found  him  already  there,  looking  very  well  and  walking 
about.  Nobody  spoke,  and  he  laughed  and  said:  'This  is  more 
like  a  Quaker  than  a  Jockey  Club  meeting.'  He  was  particularly 
gracious  to  me,  talking  to  me  across  the  ta-ble  and  recommending 
all  the  good  things;  he  made  me  (after  eating  a  quantity  of  turtle) 
eat  a  dish  of  crawfish  soup,  till  I  thought  I  should  have  burst. 
After  dinner  the  Duke  of  Leeds,  who  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table, 
gave  'The  King.'  We  all  stood  up,  when  his  majesty  thanked  us, 
and  said  he  hoped  this  would  be  the  first  of  annual  meetings  of  the 
sort  to  take  place,  there  or  elsewhere  under  his  roof.  He  then 
ordered  paper,  pens,  etc.,  and  they  began  making  matches  and 
stakes;  the  most  perfect  ease  was  established,  just  as  much  as  if  we 
had  been  dining  with  the  Duke  of  York,  and  he  seemed  delighted. 
He  made  one  or  two  little  speeches,  one  recommending  that  a  stop 
should  be  put  to  the  exportation  of  horses.  He  twice  gave  '  The 
Turf,'  and  at  the  end  the  Dnke  of  Richmond  asked  his  leave  to  give 
a  toast,  and  again  gave  '  The  King.'  He  thanked  all  the  gentlemen 
and  said  that  there  was  no  man  who  had  the  interests  of  the  turf 
more  at  heart  than  himself,  that  he  was  delighted  at  having  this 
party,  and  that  the  oftener  they  met  the  better,  and  he  only  wanted 
to  have  it  pointed  out  to  him  how  he  could  promote  the  pleasure  and 
amusement  of  the  turf,  and  he  was  ready  to  do  anything  in  his 
power.  Nothing  could  go  off  better,  and  Mount-Charles  told  me 
he  was  sure  he  was  delighted." 

Many  as  had  been  the  struggles  with  ministers  and  others  in  which 
the  King  had  been  engaged,  and  in  which  he  had  to  display  the  arts 
of  delay,  wheedling,  and  craft— in  all  of  which  he  was  a  proficient— 
the  severest  and  most  disagreeable  of  all  was  now  before  him.     He 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

was  to  be  once  more  confronted  with  the  eternal  Catholic  question, 
and  to  have  the  task,  "  most  painful  to  his  feelings,"  according  to 
his  favorite  expression,  of  bringing  it  to  a  solution.  It  was  unfor- 
tunate for  him  that  such  a  moment  had  been  chosen;  for  he  was  at 
that  time  almost  a  dying  man,  or,  as  his  physician  put  it,  "  was  fast 
breaking  up."  During  the  years  1828  and  1839  he  suffered  acutely 
from  gouty  swellings  in  his  hands  and  feet:  his  ankles,  always 
small  and  attenuated,  were  insufficient  to  bear  the  growing  bulk  of 
his  body,  and  on  slight  exercise  swelled  up.  This  gave  him  a  disin- 
clination to  walk  or  go  out,  and  this  sedentary  life  increased  his 
ailments.  He  was  racked  with  pains,  which  could  only  be  alleviated 
by  large  doses  of  laudanum — a  hundred  drops  at  a  time — adminis- 
tered by  direction  of  Sir  Henry  Halford,  with  protest  on  the  part 
of  Sir  W.  Knighton. 

It  was  this  condition  of  the  King  that  was  one  of  the  chief  em- 
barrassments of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Mr.  Peel  in  their  de- 
termination to  "settle  "  this  great  question,  a  determination  to  which 
they  had  been  led  long  before  even  a  suspicion  of  their  purpose  had 
got  abroad.  Nor  was  it  so  much  the  physical  state  of  the  King,  as 
his  shifty  impracticable  humor  which,  though  the  minister  had  the 
power  of  controlling  and  even  intimidating  for  a  time,  yet  opened 
opportunities  for  bigoted  opponents  to  work  on.  His  weakness  of 
"  taking  the  advice  of  the  last  person  he  saw,"  according  to  Lady 
Hertford's  expression,  and  his  eager  wish  to  show  that  he  was  a 
King  according  to  the  old  pattern  of  his  father,  made  it  the  most 
hopeless  and  harassing  task  to  "fix"  him  to  any  engagement; 
while,  finally,  his  twenty  years'  adherence  to  the  fanatical  side  had 
fostered  an  almost  rabid  bigotry,  perfectly  genuine,  influenced  by 
these  protracted  and  excited  conversations  with  intemperate  men 
of  that  faction,  of  which  the  reader  has  had  many  specimens. 
"Between  the  King  and  his  brothers,  the  government  of  this  coun- 
try has  become  a  most  heartbreaking  concern.  Nobody  can  ever 
know  where  he  stands  upon  any  subject."  So  said  the  duke,  in 
perfect  despair  at  his  shiftiness  in  another  matter. 

At  this  time  occurred  a  curious  family  episode,  which  added  to 
the  troubles  of  the  ailing  monarch.  The  Duke  of  Clarence,  lately 
appointed  Lord  High  Admiral,  had  been  showing  symptoms  of  ex- 
travagance, if  not  of  eccentricity  in  his  behavior.  This  took  the 
shape  of  an  unseemly  perverseness  and  of  undignified  resentment 
against  one  of  his  colleagues  who  ventured  to  remonstrate  against 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  lY.  863 

his  proceedings.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was  generally  required 
to  recall  these  royal  brethren  to  their  good  behavior,  and  this  he 
did  with  a  wholesome  severity  of  which  they  stood  in  awe.  The 
Lord  High  Admiral,  by  the  terms  of  his  patent,  was  no  more  than 
president  of  a  council,  and  could  not  act  without  its  advice,  and  of 
this  he  was  respectfully  reminded  by  Sir  G.  Cockburn,  his  colleague. 
To  this,  on  the  lOlli  of  July,  he  responded,  dating  from  his  yacht. 
Royal  Sovereign,  on  which  vessel  he  had  embarked  without  leave. 
This  strange  composition  ran: 

"Your  letter  does  not  give  me  displeasure,  but  concern,  to 
see  one  I  had  kept  when  appointed  to  this  situation  of  Lord  High 
Admiral,  constantly  opposing  what  I  consider  good  for  the  King's 
service.  In  this  free  country  every  one  has  a  right  to  have  his 
opinion,  and  I  have  therefore  to  have  mine,  which  differs  totally  from 
yours.  ...  I  cannot  conclude  without  repeating,  my  council 
is  not  to  dictate,  but  to  give  advice," 

He  later  complained  of  receiving  a  letter,  "  if  possible,  a  more  dis- 
respectful, more  impertinent,  if  possible,  than  his  first." 
Appeal  was  made  to  the  King,  who  thus  intervened: 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  CLAKENCE. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Tuesday  night,  July  15, 1828. 
"My  deab  William, 

"  My  friend  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  as  my  first  minister, 
has  considered  it  his  duty  to  lay  before  me  the  whole  of  the  corre- 
spondence that  has  taken  place  with  you  upon  the  subject  relating 
to  yourself  and  Sir  George  Cockburn.  It  is  with  feelings  of  the 
deepest  regr'^t  that  I  observe  the  embarrassing  position  in  which  you 
have  placed  yourself.  You  are  in  error  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end.  This  is  not  a  matter  of  opinion,  but  a  positive  fact ;  and  when 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  so  properly  calls  your  attention  to  the 
words  of  your  patent,  let  me  ask  you  how  Sir  George  Cockburn 
could  have  acted  otherwise? 

"  You  must  not  forget,  my  dear  William,  that  Sir  George  Cock- 
burn is  the  King's  Privy  Councillor,  and  so  made  by  the  King  to 
advise  the  Lord  High  Admiral.  What  becomes  of  Sir  George  Cock- 
burn's  oath,  his  duty  towards  me,  his  sovereign,  if  he  fails  to  offer 
such  advice  as  he  may  think  necessary  to  the  Lord  High  Admiral? 


864  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Am  I,  then,  to  be  called  upon  to  dismiss  the  most  useful  and  perhaps 
the  most  important  naval  officer  in  my  service  for  conscientiously 
acting  up  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  his  oath  and  his  duty?  The 
thing  is  impossible.  I  love  you  most  truly,  as  you  know,  and  no 
one  would  do  more  or  go  further  to  protect  and  meet  your  feel- 
ings ;  but  on  the  present  occasion  I  have  no  alternative ;  you  must 
give  way,  and  listen  to  the  affection  of  your  best  friend  and  most 
attached  brother, 

"G.  R." 

The  King  was  complimented  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  on  this 
production,  as  being  a  most  able  and  judicious  one. 

The  Lord  High  Admiral  vindicated  himself  to  his  brother  in 
terms  of  great  effusion,  "rejoicing  in  the  affection  and  friendship 
of  fifty-seven  years."  He  adds  rather  unhandsomely:  "I  shall, 
however,  make  one  observation;  that  Sir  G.  Cockburn  cannot  be 
the  most  useful  and  the  most  important  officer  in  your  Majesty's 
service,  who  never  had  the  ships  he  commanded  in  proper  fighting 
order. " 

Mr.  Croker,  who  was  then  secretary  to  the  Admiralty,  describes 
with  much  humor  the  behavior  of  the  duke  at  the  office— picturing 
him  as  glancing  at  the  officer  who  had  displeased  him  with  consid- 
erable exasperation,  and  threatening  his  "  own  eternal  displeasure." 
Sir  G.  Cockburn  positively  declined  to  withdraw  his  remonstrance 
or  its  terms,  though  he  was  induced  at  last  to  express  regret  for 
having  offended  his  highness.  Thus  the  matter  was  composed  for 
a  few  weeks,  when  the  Court  was  again  annoyed  to  learn  that  on  a 
squadron  putting  to  sea  under  Sir  H.  Blackwood,  the  eccentric 
High  Admiral  had  joined  them  in  his  Royal  Sovereign  yacht,  flying 
his  flag,  and  all  without  the  King's  orders. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"Royal  Lodge,  August 8, 1838. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 

"  If  the  Lord  High  Admiral  cannot  make  up  his  mind  to  fill 
his  station  according  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  it  will  be  quite  im- 
possible for  the  King  to  retain  him  in  his  present  situation.  It  is 
very  painful  to  my  feelings,  after  all  that  has  passed,  that  you 
should  be  placed  in  the  disagreeable  position  of  again  explaining  to 
my  brother  my  sentiments,  and  consequently  those  of  my  Govern- 
ment, who  are  the  responsible  agents  in  this  matter. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  IV.  865 

"Ko  man  understands  discipline  better  than  my  brother,  there- 
fore I  am  the  more  surprised  at  his  hoisting  his  flag  as  Lord  High 
Admiral  without  my  orders. 

"  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R" 

THE   SAME. 

"Royal  Lodge,  August  10,  1828. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 

"  My  sentiments  coincide  entirely  with  yours  upon  this  dis- 
agreeable altercation  with  the  Lord  High  Admiral.  As  he  dines 
with  me  on  the  next  Tuesday  (the  12th)  I  desire  you  will  be  with 
me  early  on  that  day,  in  order  that  I  may  have  some  conversation 
with  you  before  I  see  my  brother. 

"  Ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

"P.S. — I  will  restore  your  papers  to  you  when  I  shall  see  you 
here." 

THE  SAME. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  August  11, 1828. 
"My  DEAR  Friend, 

"I  have  read  with  the  most  careful  attention  your  further 

correspondence  with  the  Lord  High  Admiral. 

"  I  will  repeat  to  your  grace  the  words  that  I  used  to  my  brother 
when  I  had  occasion  to  write  to  him  on  this  painful  subject,  namely : 
'  that  he  was  in  error  from  beginning  to  the  end, ' 

"I  now  desire  distinctly  to  state,  once  for  all,  that  I  most  entirely 
approve  of  all  that  you,  in  the  exercise  of  your  bounden  duty 
towards  me,  as  my  First  Minister,  have  communicated  to  the  Lord 
High  Admiral  on  the  subject  now  before  me.  When  I  appointed 
my  brother  to  the  station  of  Lord  High  Admiral  I  had  reasonably 
hoped  that  I  should  have  derived  comfort,  peace,  and  tranquillity 
from  such  an  appointment ;  but  from  what  has  hitherto  taken  place, 
it  would  seem  as  if  the  very  reverse  were  to  happen. 

"Can  the  Lord  High  Admiral  suppose  that  the  laws  are  to  be 
infringed,  the  rules  of  true  discipline  (which  he  knows  so  well  how 
to  uphold)  are  to  be  broken  in  upon?  and  that  these  things  are  to 
pass  without  notice  or  remonstrance  by  the  responsible  advisers  of 
the  Crown?  Can  the  Lord  High  Admiral  suppose  that  his  best 
friend  and  his  sovereign  is  to  have  no  feeling  under  the  circum- 
stances ?  I  am  quite  aware  that  I  am  drawing  fast  to  the  close 
37 


S6Q  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

of  my  life;  it  may  be  the  will  of  the  Almighty  that  a  month,  a 
week,  a  day,  may  call  the  Lord  High  Admiral  to  be  my  successor. 
I  love  my  brother  William :  I  have  always  done  so  to  my  heart's 
core ;  and  I  will  leave  him  the  example  of  what  the  inherent  duty  of 
a  king  of  this  country  really  is.  The  Lord  High  Admiral  shall 
strictly  obey  the  laws  enacted  by  Parliament,  as  attached  to  his 
present  station,  or  I  desire  immediately  to  receive  his  resignation. 
"Such  are  my  commands  to  your  grace. 

*'  Ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.R" 

The  Lord  High  Admiral  had  to  resign. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.    '  867 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1828—1829. 

The  election  of  Mr.  O'Connell  for  Clare,  in  July,  1828,  was  of 
course  the  event  that  forced  on  the  settlement,  and  Lord  Eldon  and 
other  sagacious  observers  at  once  felt  just  forebodings  that  the 
"duke  intends  next  Session  to  emancipate  the  Catholics."  In  fact, 
early  in  August  both  he  and  Mr.  Peel  had  taken  their  resolution, 
though  it  is  plain  that  the  duke  was  determined  not  to  allow  his 
hand  to  be  forced  by  eager  agitators  on  that  side  till  the  moment 
arrived.  It  was  to  come  in  the  form  of  a  concession  from  opponents, 
and  not  as  the  victory  of  a  party.  This  may  explain  his  behavior 
to  his  own  Lord  Lieutenant,  Lord  Anglesey.  The  political  in- 
cidents have  been  often  set  out,  and  are  familiar  enough ;  but,  as 
we  have  said,  the  management  of  the  King,  and  the  faction  of 
dukes  and  lords  who  had  access  to  him,  required  the  greatest 
delicacy. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTOK 

"Royal  Lodge,  Friday  night,  twelve  o'clock,  July  12, 1828. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 

"I  have  this  moment  received  your  box,  with  your  long, 
most  interesting,  and  important  letter,  and  other  annexations,  con- 
cerning which  at  this  late  hour  I  will  say  nothing,  but  reserve  my 
sentiments  (which,  by-the-bye,  are  entirely  in  unison  with  your 
representations)  for  a  personal  interview,  when  I  shall  freely  enter 
with  you  into  every  part  of  the  present  matter,  so  (as  I  hope)  not 
only  to  settle  this  immediate  question,  but  to  put  the  extinguisher 
upon  all  and  every  future  attempt  which  might  (otherwise  and  at 
some  most  unexpected  moment)  hereafter  arise,  or  rather  recur,  if 
not  now  and  immediately  (but  with  good-humor  and  firmness) 
stopped  in  limine.  Your  time  I  know  in  general  is  (and  must  be 
most  particularly  so  at  the  present  moment)  so  cruelly  occupied 
with  a  variety  of  important  matter  and  matters,  that  I  can  scarcely 


868  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBOE  IV. 

bring  myself  to  name  any  particular  day  or  hour  for  your  attend- 
ance upon  me,  under  the  apprehension  that  it  might  possibly  inter- 
fere with  the  only  moments  of  relaxation  and  comfort  which  so 
sparingly  fall  to  your  share.  How^ever,  as  the  Cliancellor  is  to  be 
in  attendance  upon  me  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  on  Sunday 
next  (the  day  after  to-morrow),  to  converse  over  some  matters  of 
importance,  and  to  which  you  must  be  a  primitive,  but  at  any  rate 
a  most  essential  party,  perhaps  you  will  deem  it  not  inconvenient, 
and  more  eligible,  to  come  to  the  Lodge  about  the  same  hour,  by 
wiiich  all  purposes  may  be  at  once  and  more  easily  answered  than  by 
separate  conferences. 

* '  Believe  me,  always  your  most  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

The  first  opening  of  the  matter  to  the  King  is  shown  in  the  foJ 
lowing: 

THE  KmG  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"Royal  Lodge,  August  3, 1828. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"I  have  read  with  the  most  anxious  attention  your  mem- 
orandum respecting  the  present  state  of  Ireland.  I  fear  the 
picture  of  that  unhappy  country  is  but  too  true.  You  have  my  full 
permission  to  go  into  the  question  of  Ireland  with  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor and  Mr.  Peel,  and  we  have  this  settled  understanding,  that  I 
pledge  myself  to  nothing  with  respect  to  the  Cabinet,  or  any  future 
proceeding,  until  I  am  in  possession  of  your  plan. 

"Always  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

This  document  had  been  judiciously  prepared  with  a  view  of 
heading  the  King's  mind  to  what  was  to  follow ;  but  he  little  knew 
that  only  a  few  days  later  Mr.  Peel  had  addressed  a  letter  to  his  col- 
league, the  duke,  declaring  that  the  time  had  come  for  a  change  of 
policy  towards  the  Roman  Catholics.  While  everything  was  going 
on  well,  the  whole  had  been  nearly  shipwrecked  by  the  news  of  Mr. 
Dawson's  awkwardly-timed  speech  at  Dcrry,  which  aroused,  not 
unnaturally,  the  King's  quick  suspicions.  He  shrewdly  conceived 
that  it  was  connected  with  some  change  of  view  in  the  Cabinet. 
The  Chancellor  was  with  him  a  long  time,  as  Mr.  Greville  well 
recollected,  trying  to  tranquillize  him.    He  believed  that  the  speech 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  869 

was  made  in  concert  with  Mr.  Peel  and  the  duke,  to  prepare  the 
way.     This  unpleasant  contretemps  increased  their  difficulties. 

The  day  after  the  memorandum  had  been  shown  to  the  King,  he 
had  interviews  with  Mr.  Peel  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  separately, 
and  found  that  both  agreed  in  their  views.  To  Mr.  Peel  he  had 
sent  a  sort  of  manifesto: 

[extract.] 

"  The  sentiments  of  the  King  upon  CatholiS  Emancipation  are 
those  of  his  revered  and  excellent  father.  From  those  sentiments 
the  King  never  can  and  never  will  deviate. " 

The  duke  assured  him  it  was  no  longer  an  open  question.  The 
King  then  invited  the  Cabinet  to  submit  their  views,  without  engag 
ing  himself  to  adopt  them.  He  criticised  Mr.  Peel's  paper  as  "a 
good  one,  though  not  an  argumentative  one."  In  the  curious  strug- 
gle we  are  now  entering  on,  a  certain  sympathy  must  be  accorded 
to  the  King,  who  fought  the  battle  with  extraordinary  resolution, 
though  with  little  skill.  There  is  no  doubt  his  prejudices  and  con- 
victions were  engaged ;  for,  like  many  men  of  loose  life,  he  con- 
ceived that  exertion  in  the  cause  of  religion  to  a  fanatical  degree 
was  as  effectual  as  good  moral  conduct.  Great  allowance,  too, 
must  be  made  for  him,  considering  the  exertions  of  selfish  persons 
about  him — statesmen,  bishops,  and  others — who  encouraged  him  in 
resistance. 

So  early  as  September  the  duke  had  informed  Lord  Anglesey 
that  he  would  lay  the  Bill  for  Emancipation  before  the  King  when 
he  got  better.  The  King  had  taken  a  particular  aversion  to  the 
Lord-Lieutenant,  and  was  eager  to  recall  him.  But  though  the  latter 
was  acting  with  too  much  independence  for  a  proconsul,  the  duke 
advocated  reserve,  and  it  was  not  until  the  well-known  incident  of 
the  "  Curtis  letter"  that  he  was  recalled. 

His  Majesty  was  indeed  in  a  precarious  way.  The  gout  was 
raging  in  his  hands,  which  were  so  swelled  that  he  could  not  sign 
public  documents — a  serious  labor  when  a  number  were  to  be  per- 
fected— and  it  was  proposed  to  have  a  sort  of  stamp,  to  be  affixed 
with  due  formalities.  However,  in  t^  d  midst  of  his  illness,  he  had 
all  the  Anglesey  documents  read  to  him,  though  suffering  acutely; 
so  eager  and  "intense"  was  he  on  this  subject.  By  October  he  was 
slowly  "creeping  out  of  his  illness,"  and,  as  though  he  scented  the 
danger,  proposed  that  the  venerable  Eldon  should  be  called  into  the 


870  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

Government  as  President  of  the  Council.  This  ludicrous  notion 
the  duke  put  aside,  almost  sarcastically  telling  his  Majesty  that 
Lord  Eldon  was  an  inconvenient  sort  of  colleague,  for  he  was  often 
not  disposed  to  take  his  share  in  the  advocacy  of  measures  for  which 
the  Government  were  responsible.  It  would  also,  he  added  signifi- 
cantly, be  interpreted  by  the  public  as  evidence  of  a  change  of 
opinion.  He  then  once  more  pressed  on  him  the  frightful  state  of 
Ireland,  and  the  possibility  of  finding  no  remedy  unless  the  whole 
state  of  the  question — an  elastic  but  very  significant  phrase — was 
taken  into  consideration. 

Early  in  November  the  duke  sent  the  King  his  letter  to  Lord 
Anglesey,  which  was  of  a  severe  character,  and  which  gave  his 
Majesty,  ill  as  he  was,  great  delight.  He  fancied  that  this  noble- 
man was  the  embodiment  of  the  pro-Catholic  cause,  and  his  minis- 
ter was,  perhaps,  not  disinclined  to  let  him  direct  his  hostile  feelings 
in  that  direction.  "His  Majesty  says,"  wrote  Sir  W.  Knighton 
"(I  use  his  own  words),  that  it  is  quite  a  cordial  to  his  feelings. 
The  King  read  your  letter  twice  over;  he  says  it  has  quite  relieved 
him."  Thus  encouraged,  the  duke  next  despatched  a  long  paper  or 
scheme  of  arrangement  for  the  Catholics,  which  now  fills  some 
twenty  printed  pages,  and  which  he  desired  to  submit  to  the  Protes- 
tant bishops. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  November  17, 18SJ8. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"I  am  unable  to  use  the  pen  myself;  lean  therefore  only 
dictate. 

"  I  have  no  objection  to  your  sending  the  paper  to  the  bishops; 
but  then,  let  it  be  under  your  own  authority,  and  not  from  my 
recommendation,  as  the  only  means  of  avoiding  all  comments  with 
respect  to  myself. 

"  I  also  think  that  Mr.  Peel  should  see  the  pAper,  as  well  as  your 
etter  to  me ;  but  all  this  must  proceed  from  yourself. 

"I  consider  your  paper  very  able;  but  on  the  point  in  question  I 
need  not  tell  you  what  my  feelings  are. 

"  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R" 

Here  are  evident  some  uneasy  forebodings.  But  tlie  duke  had  sent 
a  severe  rebuke  to  Lord  Anglesey,  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  that  noble- 
man.    On  which  the  King  rallied,  and  gave  veut  to  his  "feelings" 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  871 

in  one  of  his  most  characteristic,  rambling,  and  strangely-qualified 
letters. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  November  20, 1S28.    Half -past  eleven  a.m. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"  Though  it  is  still  attended  with  much  pain  and  diflSculty,  I 
cannot  return  your  interesting  despatch  of  last  night  without  its 
being  accompanied  with  a  short  line  from  my  own  poor  enfeebled 
hand. 

"Your  answer  carries  with  it  (as  it  appears  to  me)  all  that  frank- 
ness, point,  and  at  the  same  time  firmness,  which  it  ought  to  do ; 
whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Lord- Lieutenant's  letter  is  nothing 
but  a  proud  and  pompous  farrago  of  the  most  outre  bombast,  of 
eulogium  upon  himself,  his  political  principles,  and  his  government 
of  Ireland,  without,  at  least  materially,  according  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  answering  or  even  alluding  to  any  one  of  the  very 
essential  points  which  you  so  properly  and  so  necessarily  pressed 
upon  him  in  your  original  letter,  and  which  has  called  forth  this 
most  curious  document  and  specimen  of  pride  in  the  shape  of  a 
reply. 

"  Consistency  and  firmness  is,  and  must  be,  the  only  line  for  us 
to  pursue  if  he  will  not  take  and  understand  the  very  clear,  and  at 
the  same  time  liberal  and  gentlemanly  hint  in  its  tone,  given  to  him 
by  you  in  your  former  leter;  I  and  my  Government  must  act  for 
ourselves,  and  he  must  be  removed  by  us  as  shortly  as  possible,  but 
with  all  proper  dignity  on  our  part,  accompanied  by  as  much  per- 
sonal attention  to  himself  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  admit;  for 
if  it  required  anything  more  than  I  have  already  stated,  I  am  sure 
that  it  would  betray  the  utmost  folly  and  weakness  in  the  Govern- 
ment could  they  be  supposed  for  one  instant  to  fancy  to  themselves, 
after  being  in  possession  of  this  most  curious  reply,  and  especially 
from  the  tone  in  which  it  is  written,  that  they  either  could  or  that 
the  writer  himself  would  ever  submit  to  be  interfered  with,  or  (much 
less)  to  be  guided  by  them  in  any  essential  measure  which  the  state 
of  Ireland  may,  in  our  opinion,  call  for.  At  any  rate,  cordial  sup- 
port you  never  can  nor  must  expect  from  the  present  Lord-Lieu- 
tenant. Ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R. 

"P.  8. — I  must  apologize  for  this  scrawl,  but  I  cannot  hold  the 
pert  any  longer." 


872  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

This  letter  and  the  Curtis  incident  brought  matters  to  a  crisis. 
Lord  Anglesey  had  indiscreetly  and  indecorously  advised  that  the 
agitation  should  not  relax.  This  threw  the  King  into  a  state  of 
blind  fury.  For  three  days,  as  the  Duke  of  Wellington  told  Mr. 
Greville's  mother,  he  inveighed  against  him,  declaring  that  he  was 
setting  up  "as  King  of  Ireland."  After  so  insubordinate  a  step,  it 
was  impossible  that  he  could  remain,  and  on  the  30th  of  December 
he  was  recalled.  Mr.  Greville  gives  the  following  sketch  of  the 
Windsor  "interior"  at  this  time,  furnished  to  him  by  one  who  had 
the  best  opportunities  of  observing:  "Lord  Mount-Charles  came  to 
me  this  morning  (January  12)  and  consulted  me  about  resigning  his 
seat  at  the  Treasury.  He  told  me  that  he  verily  believed  the  King 
would  go  mad  on  the  Catholic  question,  his  violence  was  so  great 
about  it.  He  is  very  angry  with  him  and  his  father  for  voting  as 
they  do,  but  they  have  agreed  never  to  discuss  the  matter  at  all, 
and  his  mother  never  talks  to  the  King  about  it.  Whenever  he 
does  get  on  it  there  is  no  stopping  him.  Mount-Charles  attributes 
the  King's  obstinacy  to  his  recollections  of  his  father  and  the  Duke 
of  York,  and  to  the  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  He 
says  that  '  his  father  would  have  laid  his  head  on  the  block  rather 
than  yield,  and  that  he  is  equally  ready  to  lay  his  head  there  in  the 
same  cause.*  He  is  furious  with  Lord  Anglesey,  but  he  will  be 
very  much  afraid  of  him  when  he  sees  him.  Mount-Charles  was  in 
the  room  when  Lord  Anglesey  took  leave  of  the  King  on  going  to 
Ireland,  and  the  King  said:  'God  bless  you,  Anglesey!  I  know 
you  are  a  true  Protestant.'  Anglesey  answered:  *  Sir,  I  will  not  be 
considered  either  Protestant  or  Catholic;  I  go  to  Ireland  determined 
to  act  impartially  between  them,  and  without  the  least  bias  either 
one  way  or  the  other.  * " 

These,  however,  were  all  hints  and  foreshadowings.  It  was  not 
until  the  new  year  began,  and  the  meeting  with  Parliament  im- 
pended, that  the  serious  difficulty  had  to  be  grappled  with.  The 
plan  had  to  be  formally  opened  to  the  King,  and  his  consent  as 
formally  obtained;  a  matter  of  enormous  difficulty,  made  more 
difficult  by  the  hesitation  that  had  been  used.  Then  set  in  a  singu- 
lar struggle,  in  which  there  were  really  dramatic  elements — the 
helpless,  shifty,  and  dying  monarch,  contending  vainly  with  the 
two  resolute  intellects.  Lord  Ellenborough  kept  some  memoranda 
of  the  stages  of  the  business,*  which  will  be  found  interesting. 

♦  Given  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  '*  Desp.  Cor.  Mem.,"  voL  v. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  873 

On  the  26th  of  January  the  duke  undertook  the  task  of  belling 
the  royal  cat,  and  of  going  out  to  see  the  King  to  state  to  him  the 
points  agreed  upon  in  the  Cabinet.  These  were  embodied  in  a  sort 
of  general  minute,  which  it  was  considered  incumbent,  for  obvious 
reasons,  that  tlie  King  should  sign.  In  this  the  duke  succeeded, 
and  it  will  be  seen  later  how  prudent  was  this  precaution. 

MINUTE   SIGNED  BY   THE  KING   ON  JANUARY   26,  1829. 

"The  King  has  considered  the  representations  made  to  him  by 
such  of  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  as  have  been  generally  adverse 
to  the  concession  of  further  political  power  to  the  King's  Roman 
Catholic  subjects.  It  has  been  earnestly  pressed  upon  the  King,  as 
a  measure  not  merely  expedient,  but  necessary,  that  the  King's 
Cabinet  should  take  into  its  immediate  consideration  the  whole 
state  of  Ireland,  and  particularly  with  the  view  of  preparing 
measures  for  the  suppressing  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Association, 
of  altering  the  law  respecting  the  elective  franchise  in  that  part  of 
the  kingdom,  and  of  proposing  such  arrangements  relative  to  the 
existing  disabilities  of  the  King's  Roman  Catholic  subjects  as  may 
lead  to  a  final  settlement  of  that  difficult  question.  The  King, 
attending  to  the  representations  that  have  been  so  made  to  him, 
and  the  reasoning  by  which  they  have  been  supported,  acquiesces 
in  what  has  been  thus  strongly  recommended;  but  without  in  any 
degree  pledging  himself  to  the  approval  or  adoption  of  the  meas- 
ures that  may  be  proposed  as  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of  his 
Cabinet. 

"(Approved)  "G.  R." 

It  will  be  seen  that  even  here  they  had  not  ventured  to  open 
their  whole  programme;  concession  of  "further"  political  power 
might  be  reduced  to  some  small  act  of  indulgence,  and  his  reserved 
power  of  dissent  seemed  to  him  a  certain  resource.  But  he  was 
drawn  on  step  by  step. 

On  the  28th  the  duke  reported  that  the  King  agreed  to  the  words 
for  the  speech,  but  seemed  very  reluctant.  When  the  duke  said 
that  the  Catholics  were  to  be  excluded  from  judicial  offices  con- 
nected with  the  Church,  the  King  said:  "What,  do  you  mean  a 
Catholic  to  hold  any  judicial  office?  to  be  a  Judge  of  the  King's 
Bench?"    When  seats   in  Parliament  were  mentioned,    he  said: 

"D n  it,  do  you  mean  to  let  them  into  Parliament?"    In  the 

37* 


874  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

interval  before  settling  the  words  of  the  speech,  the  King  had  con- 
trived to  start  a  point,  and  in  the  Council  on  the  2nd  of  Februarj', 
when  the  speech  was  being  read,  at  the  paragraph,  "  His  Majesty 
recommends,"  etc.,  the  King  said:  "The  whole  condition  of  Ire- 
land includes  the  Catholic  question,  and  I  see  no  reason  why  that 
part  of  the  paragraph  should  not  be  omitted."  The  duke  said: 
"  Your  Majesty  has  Roman  Catholic  subjects  in  other  parts  of  your 
dominions  besides  Ireland."  The  King  acquiesced,  and  at  the  end 
of  the  speech  expressed  himself  quite  satisfied  with  it. 

Parliament  now  met,  and  the  exciting  Session  began.  On  the 
5th  of  February  the  King's  Speech  announced  to  the  world  that  it 
was  intended  "to  review  the  laws  which  imposed  disabilities"  on 
the  Roman  Catholics. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Windsor  Castle,  Sunday  morning,  February  8, 1829. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"I  return  you  the  answer  to  the  Address  of  the  House  of 
Peers,  with  my  signature  to  the  Address  affixed  to  it. 

"  I  cannot  have  the  smallest  objection  to  your  reading  or  referring 
upon  the  present  occasion  (should  you  find  it  necessary  to  do  so)  to 
any  letter  in  which  you  may  have  made  mention  of  my  name  in 
your  correspondence  with  Lord  Anglesey,  for  I  never  for  a  moment 
can  entertain  a  doubt  either  of  your  prudence  or  of  your  caution 
where  I  am  concerned. 

"The  Council,  the  nomination  of  the  Sheriffs,  the  Recorder's 
Report,  and  the  presentation  of  the  Duke  of  Northumberland  (ac- 
cording to  your  desire),  I  shall  hold  myself  in  readiness  to  receive  as 
usual  here  on  Wednesday  next,  the  11th,  at  two  o'clock  p.m. 

* '  Ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

It  is  not  difficult,  however,  to  see  that  he  was  looking  to  a  chance 
of  failure,  and  that  he  was  induced  to  yield  thus  much  by  the  meas- 
ures of  apparent  severity  that  were  to  precede  it.  A  memorandum 
in  his  handwriting,  among  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  papers,  sup- 
ports this  view:  "The  King  in  recommending,  in  the  speech  from 
the  throne,  the  putting  down  the  illegal  and  rebellious  assemblage 
of  his  subjects  in  Ireland,  under  the  name  of  the  Catholic  Associa- 
tion, understood  it  to  be  an  abstract  measure,  and  one  of  positive 
necessity,  and  connected  with  the  existence  of  all  good  government. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  875 

The  King  always  supposed  that  this  was  to  be  followed  by  the 
repeal  of  the  law  that  gave  the  right  of  voting  to  the  forty-shilling 
freeholders.  Then,  after  these  two  measures,  that  it  would  be  safe 
to  take  into  consideration  the  question  of  Catholic  Disabilities." 

Lord  Eldon,  while  complaining  of  the  ' '  mysterious  concealment " 
of  the  Government  plan  till  that  moment,  expressed  his  opinion  that 
the  best  course  now  for  the  beguiled  "Protestants"  was  to  obtain 
the  fullest  statement  of  the  details  of  the  measure,  and  then  ' '  as 
long  an  interval  of  delay  as  possible  for  and  during  the  discussion. " 
No  doubt  his  Majesty  was  encouraged  by  the  arrival  of  that  strange 
character  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  had  flown  from  Berlin  to 
take  part  in  the  fray,  dining  with  the  Prime  Minister  the  night  after 
his  arrival,  but  presently  to  cause  him  infinite  ditficulties  and  annoy- 
ance by  his  intrigues.  This  disastrous  influence  was  presently  to  be 
felt  in  new  obstruction  on  the  part  of  the  King,  in  new  shifts  and 
pretences,  so  that  the  matter  seemed  likely  to  come  to  shipwreck.* 
He  seems  to  have  never  relaxed  an  instant  in  his  underground 


*  A  good  idea  of  this  well-known  personage's  character  may  be  obtained 
from  his  views  on  bishops,  written  to  Lord  Strangford  in  1850,  when  he  states 
that  "  the  first  change  and  shock  in  the  ecclesiastical  habits  was  the  bishops 
being  allowed  to  lay  aside  their  wigs,  their  purple  coats,  short  cassocks,  and 
stocking,  and  cocked  hats,  when  appearing  in  public;  for  I  can  remember 
when  Bishop  Heard  of  Worcester,  Courtenay  of  Exeter,  and  Markham,  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  resided  in  Kew  and  its  vicinity,  that,  as  a  boy,  I  met  them 
frequently  walking  about  dressed  as  I  now  tell  you;  and  their  male  servants 
appeared  equally  all  dressed  in  purple,  which  was  the  custom.  The  late 
Bishop  of  Oxford  (Bagot)  was  the  first  who  persuaded  George  IV.  to  allow 
him  to  lay  aside  his  wig,  because  his  wife  found  him  better  looking  without 
it.  I  recollect  full  well  that  the  Bishop  of  London,  who  succeeded  Bishop 
Porteous,  coming  to  St.  James's  to  do  homage  to  my  father,  when  Lord  Sid- 
mouth  was  Secretary  of  State,  and  he  came  into  the  closet,  where  I  was  at  the 
time,  and  informed  his  majesty  '  that  the  bishop  was  there,  but  that  he  had 
refused  to  introduce  him  as  he  had  not  a  wig.'  Upon  which  the  King  replied: 
'  You  were  perfectly  right,  my  lord ;  and  tell  the  bishop  from  me  that  until  he 
has  shaven  his  head,  and  has  provided  himself  with  a  wig  suitable  to  his 
garb,  I  shall  not  admit  him  into  my  presence.'  "  The  King  himself  com- 
plained that  he  had  been  disgusted  by  seeing  the  Bishop  of  London  (Blom- 
field)  "attend  the  committee-room  in  the  House  of  Lords  in  a  black  Welling- 
ton coat,  with  top-boots,  and  coming  in  with  a  hat  like  a  butcher  or 
coachmaster."  King  Ernest  entertained  a  perfect  detestation  for  the  Bishop 
of  Ex3ter,  never  having  forgiven  him  for  voting  for  Sir  Robert  Peel  at  the 
Oxford  election  in  1829.  He  alluded  to  him  as  "that  ugly  vagabond,  Phil- 
potts."  On  Lord  Truro  being  raised  to  the  woolsack,  he  wrote:  "What  a 
scandal!  what  a  disgrace!  to  have  raised  that  blackguard  Wilde  to  the  Lord 
Chancellorship. ' ' 


876  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

intrigues,  and,  if  we  can  trust  Mr.  Greville,  was  one  of  the  most 
odious  beings  that  ever  existed.  So  that  we  find  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington writing  to  Sir  W.  Knighton  to  say  that  if  the  "Duke  of 
Cumberland  thought  he  could  make  a  Government,  he  had  better 
give  his  advice  to  the  King,  and  so  end  matters."  He  himself  would 
seem  to  have  been  with  the  King  on  the  26th,  when  "a  very  dis- 
agreeable conversation  "  had  taken  place.  For  his  Majesty,  seriously 
alarmed  at  the  way  he  was  being  drawn  on,  appears  to  have  deter 
mined  on  resistance.  ' '  The  King  begged  he  would  not  speak  to 
the  Household,  and  seemed  to  intimate  they  were  to  vote  against 
the  Government.  The  King's  conversation  before  mixed  companies 
and  his  servants  has  been  most  imprudent.  The  King  seems  to 
have  been  very  nervous  at  dinner  and  absent.  He  seems  to  have 
intended  to  say  more  to  the  duke  than  he  did,  but,  being  interrupted 
by  the  duke,  perhaps  regretted  he  had  said  so  much."  It  was  set- 
tled, however,  that  on  the  following  day  the  duke  should  bring 
matters  to  a  point — no  doubt  by  exerting  his  well-known  mastery 
over  the  King's  mind;  and  that  night  at  eleven  the  Cabinet  were 
relieved  to  learn  that  their  chief  had  had  entire  success.  The  inter- 
view had  lasted  five  hours.  As  was  to  be  expected,  the  King  had 
not  only  yielded,  but  yielded  abjectly,  "  declaring  himself  more  sat- 
isfied with  the  Bill  than  anything  he  had  seen."  He  would  even 
order  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  to  quit  England.  He  gave  up  on 
the  point  of  the  Household.  The  duke  confessed  to  his  friends  that 
he  had  to  use  "  very  peremptory  language  to  him,"  which  made  the 
scene  very  painful,  so  that  the  King  was  thrown  into  great  agitation, 
and  even  spoke  of  abdicating.  At  the  end  he  was  kind  and  gracious, 
and  even  kissed  his  visitor  on  leaving. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  ignorant  of  the  sentence  passed  on 
him,  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  declaring  that  he  meant  to 
call  on  him,  but  he  should  certainly  tell  his  friends  all  that  passed. 
"  My  character  must  stand  clear  before  them."  He  was  disagree- 
ably surprised  by  receiving  a  comnuinication,  brusque  and  haughty 
to  a  degree.  "I  assure  your  royal  highness  that  I  have  nothing 
to  talk  to  your  royal  highness  upon  respecting  which  I  care 
wliether  it  is  stated  to  the  whole  world.  I  have  no  business  to 
transact  except  his  Majesty's,  and  do  not  care  who  knows  it."  He 
further  sent  a  formal  complaint  to  the  King  of  the  underhand  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  was  now  opening  com- 
munications with  Members  of  Parliament  in  the  King's  name,  and 
sending  circulars  to  the  Household  requiring  their  attendance. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  877 

In  one  of  the  debates  in  the  House  of  Lords,  Mr.  Greville  tells, 
there  was  an  amusing,  if  not  an  unbecoming,  spectacle.  "The 
three  royal  dukes,  Clarence,  Cumberland,  and  Sussex,  got  up  one 
after  another,  and  attacked  each  other  (that  is,  Clarence  and  Sus- 
sex attacked  Cumberland,  and  he  them)  very  vehemently,  and  they 
used  towards  each  other  language  that  nobody  else  could  have 
ventured  to  employ;  so  it  was  a  very  droll  scene.  The  Duke  of 
Clarence  said  the  attacks  on  the  Duke  [of  Wellington]  had  been 
infamous;  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  took  this  to  himself,  but  when 
he  began  to  answer  it  could  not  recollect  the  expression,  which  the 
Duke  of  Clarence  directly  supplied:  'I  said  "infamous."'  The 
Duke  of  Sussex  said  that  the  Duke  of  Clarence  had  not  intended  to 
apply  the  word  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  but  if  he  chose  to  take 
it  to  himself  he  might.  Then  the  Duke  of  Clarence  said  that  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  had  lived  so  long  abroad  that  he  had  forgot- 
ten there  was  such  a  thing  as  freedom  of  debate." 

Meanwhile,  on  the  very  day  of  the  duke's  stormy  interviev/  with 
the  King,  Mr.  Peel  had  been  defeated  at  the  Oxford  election,  which 
at  once  renewed  his  Majesty's  hopes.  He  began  to  talk  * '  of  the 
people  standing  by  him,"  and  would  not  separate  from  his  brother. 
Madame  de  Lieven,  who  had  a  vehement  dislike  to  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  was  secretly  working  on  the  Duke  of  Cumberland. 
We  are  not  therefore  surprised  to  find  on  Sunday,  the  1st  of 
March,  the  Chancellor  with  him,  vainly  urging  him  to  direct  the 
Household,  as  he  had  promised,  to  vote  for  the  bill.  He  was  in 
bed,  and  for  three  hours  the  minister  was  striving  to  bring  him  to 
reason.  He  said  he  would  abdicate — henceforth  a  favorite  declar- 
ation to  all  his  visitors — he  would  send  Lord  Bexley  to  the  House 
of  Lords  with  a  letter  to  that  effect.  The  Chancellor  returned 
without  having  effected  any  change,  and  the  greatest  alarm  and  ex- 
citement prevailed  in  political  circles,  for  it  was  idly  believed  that 
he  would  be  firm,  and  that  ministers  must  resign.  So  serious  was 
the  crisis  that  the  Chancellor  travelled  all  that  night  to  the  duke's 
country-seat,  reaching  it  at  three  in  the  morning,  and  returning 
to  London  before  ten.  But  the  Cabinet  was  not  to  be  trifled  with. 
A  council  was  instantly  held,  after  which  a  letter  was  despatched 
to  the  King,  reminding  him  of  his  written  agreement  to  this  pro- 
gramme, requiring  his  renewed  assent,  and  enclosing  a  copy  of  his 
signed  approbation  of  the  minute. 


878  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 


THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON". 

"Windsor  Castle,  Tuesday,  eleven  o'clock  a.m., 
"  March  3,  1829. 

**  My  deau  Friend, 

"  I  will  answer  your  letter  as  soon  as  I  can  possibly  collect 
my  thoughts  sufficiently  to  put  them  upon  paper. 

"Ever  your  most  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R" 

THE    SAME. 

"My  dear  Friend, 

"I  really  wish  to  see  you,  the  Chancellor,  and  Mr.  Peel,  to- 
morrow. I  shall  be  ready  to  receive  you  punctually  at  twelve 
to-morrow,  and  all  three  together.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  much 
your  letter,  received  this  morning,  has  embarrassed  me. 

"Ever  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R 
"RS.— Pray  let  the  Chancellor  and  Mr.  Peel  know." 

This  invitation  masked  a  new  design.  The  three  ministers  went 
down.  There  are  two  accounts  of  this  interview,  which  were 
dramatic  from  the  feelings  and  interests  engaged.  "When  we 
arrived,"  said  Mr.  Peel,  "he  received  us  cordially,  but  seemed 
grave,  and  laboring  under  anxiety  and  weariness.  He  said  that  we 
must  be  aware  that  it  had  caused  him  the  greatest  pain  to  give  his 
assent  to  the  proposition  made  to  him  by  his  Cabinet,  that  they 
should  be  at  liberty  to  offer  their  collective  advice  on  the  Catholic 
question,  and  still  greater  pain  to  feel  that  he  had  no  alternative 
but  to  act  upon  the  advice  which  he  had  received.  He  added  that 
as  the  matter  was  to  be  brought  forward  in  Parliament,  he  wished 
to  learn  from  ministers  '  a  more  complete  and  detailed  explanation 
of  the  manner  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  act.'  On  this  I  explained 
that  the  chief  impediment,  the  oaths  of  supremacy,  were  to  be  re- 
pealed. The  King  seemed  much  surprised,  and  said  rapidly  and 
earnestly:  'What  is  this?  You  surely  do  not  mean  to  alter  the 
ancient  oath  of  supremacy!'  He  appealed  to  each  on  this  point. 
They  again  explained  the  reasons  in  detail.  The  King  observed, 
that  be  that  as  it  might,  he  could  not  possibly  consent  to  any  alter- 
ation of  the  ancient  oath  of  supremacy';  that  he  was  exceedingly 
3orry  that  there  had  been  any  misunderstanding  on  so  essential  a 
point." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  879 

Five  hours  were  passed  in  hopeless  attempts  to  convince  him ; 
and  at  the  close  they  informed  him  they  must  resign.  He  accepted 
their  resignation,  and  sent,  Mr.  Greville  says,  to  Lord  Eldon,  who 
thought  over  a  plan  that  would  include  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  but 
soon  found  it  was  impracticable.*  On  the  following  day  the  duke 
received  his  sovereign's  submission — a  humiliating  transaction. 


THB  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  Wednesday  evening,  eight  o'clock, 
"March  5,  1829. 
"My  deak  Friend, 

"As  I  find  the  country  would  be  left  without  an  Adminis- 
tration, I  have  decided  to  yield  my  opinion  to  that  which  is  con- 
sidered by  the  Cabinet  to  be  for  the  immediate  interests  of  the 
country.  Under  these  circumstances  you  have  my  consent  to  pro- 
ceed as  you  propose  with  the  measure.  God  knows  what  pain  it 
costs  me  to  write  these  words. 

"G.  R." 


But  this  would  not  do.     The  duke  answers  at  midnight.    There 
is  a  stern  tone  in  the  communication. 


"Mr.  Peel  will  proceed  with  the  bills  to-morrow,  in  the  full  con- 
fidence and  with  the  full  understanding  that  your  Majesty's  ser- 
vants have  your  sanction  and  support,  and  that  your  Majesty  will 
go  through  with  us. 

"I  entreat  your  Majesty  to  give  your  gracious  approbation  to  my 
letter  of  the  2nd  instant,  containing  the  minute  of  the  Cabinet,  or 
to  inform  me  if  my  understanding  of  your  Majesty's  letter  of  this 
afternoon  is  not  correct,  "f 

The  King  could  no  longer  wriggle  off  the  hook,  and  wrote  a  com- 
plete surrender. 


*  Peel,  "  Memoir,"  i.  343.  There  is  no  mention  of  Lord  Eldon's  share  in  the 
transaction  in  Mr.  Twiss's  "  Biography." 

+  The  same  doubt  of  craft  and  shiftiness  occurred  also  to  Mr.  Peel,  who 
considers  the  King's  words  "  rather  equivocal,"  and  *'  reserving  a  veto."  He 
suggested  getting  the  King  to  write  "  approved  "  on  the  duke's  letter. 


880  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  Thursday  morning,  quarter-past  seven, 
"from  my  bed,  March  6,  1829. 

**My  dear  Friend, 

"I  am  awakened  by  the  messenger  with  your  letter,  and  as 
I  know  that  you  are  much  pressed  for  time,  I  send  him  off  again 
immediately.  You  have  put  the  right  construction  upon  the  mean- 
ing of  my  letter  of  last  evening;  but  at  the  same  time  I  cannot  dis- 
guise from  you  that  my  feelings  of  distress  in  consequence  are  such 
as  I  do  scarcely  know  how  to  support  myself  under  them. 

"G.  R." 

Thus  there  was  ever  the  same  feeble  protest — "his  feelings  "and 
"God  knows."  The  weak  mind  thus  ever  fancies  that  words  will 
neutralize  acts. 

This  may  be  said  to  have  ended  the  contest,  and  the  King,  though 
he  indulged  himself  in  theatrical  protests  and  bursts  of  fanatical 
grief,  virtually  gave  little  more  trouble  to  his  ministers.  Some 
strange  frantic  efforts,  however,  followed  on  the  part  of  other 
opponents.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland  prepared  petitions,  which 
were  to  be  taken  to  Windsor  and  presented  by  imposing  mobs. 
These  proceedings  excited  the  indignant  remonstrances  of  the 
duke.  The  Irish  archbishop  and  bishops  came  over  with  addresses. 
There  were  interviews  three  hours  in  length  with  "Protestant" 
lords.  The  duke  contrived  to  keep  all  in  check,  and  even  went  the 
length  of  challenging  and  fighting  Lord  Winchelsea.* 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  MACCLESFIELD. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  March  27. 
"  My  DEAR  Macclesfield, 

"  The  long  and  sincere  regard  and  friendship  which  has  sub- 
sisted between  us  for  the  last  seven-and- forty  years,  renders  it 
unnecessary  for  me  to  make  any  comment  upon  the  present  occa- 
sion. The  state  of  your  health  at  this  moment  precluding  (as  I 
understand)  all  idea  of  personal  audience  without  considerable 
inconvenience  and  risk,  I  will  acquaint  you  wherever  it  may  best 
suit  me  to  receive  you.  Yours,  etc., 

"G.  R." 


*  See  Dr.  Hame'B  dramatic  account,  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  "  Desp. 
Cor.  and  Mem." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEOEOE  IV.  881 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"April  1, 1829,  half -past  three,  p.m. 
"  My  dear  Friend, 

"I  have  not  the  smallest  objection  to  your  giving  the  neces- 
sary directions  for  every  accommodation  to  be  made  in  the  House 
of  Lords  that  can  be  effected  for  the  convenience  of  the  peers. 

**  Your  sincere  friend. 


882  TUB  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

1829. 

It  is  painful  to  find  find  ministers,  till  the  matter  was  actually 
settled,  declining  to  trust  the  King.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  told 
the  Cabinet  that  from  his  suspicions  "they  ought  to  keep  Supply 
in  hand."  The  duke,  in  introducing  the  bills,  told  the  House  in 
pointed  language  that  "they  had  the  sanction  and  approbation  of 
his  Majesty,"  though  the  old  Eldon  tried  to  argue  that  "he  was 
pledged  to  nothing."  So  skilfully  did  they  deal  with  him,  that  he 
saw  that  further  struggling  was  hopeless,  and  when  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  came  down  to  urge  him  to  new  efforts,  he  was  reported 
to  have  said:  "My  dear  Ernest,  do  not  talk  to  me  any  more  about 
it.     I  am  committed,  and  must  go  through  with  it  " 

On  the  10th  of  April  the  bills  were  passed.  The  old  Protestant 
peers,  however,  had  some  faint  hopes  from  their  various  interviews 
with  his  Majesty,  in  which  he  expressed  his  feelings  warmly,  that 
even  yet  he  would  interfere.  Lord  Eldon's  description  of  two  of 
these  consolatory  interviews  is  truly  characteristic.  They  were,  of 
course,  of  many  hours  each.  It  will  be  seen  what  an  uncandid  account 
the  King  gives  of  his  share  in  the  transaction,  while  not  a  little  amuse- 
ment will  l)e  caused  by  the  naively  expressed  surprise  of  Lord  Eldon 
at  the  signed  documents  which  so  completely  destroyed  the  case 
of  his  royal  master.  The  King  complained  "  that  at  the  time 
the  Administration  was  formed,  no  reason  was  given  him  to  sup- 
pose that  any  measures  for  the  relief  of  the  Roman  Catholics 
were  intended  or  tliought  of  by  ministers:  that  he  had  frequently 
himself  suggested  the  absolute  necessity  of  putting  down  the 
Roman  Catholic  Association— of  suspending  the  Habeas  Corpus 
Act,  to  destroy  the  power  of  the  most  seditious  and  rebellious  pro- 
ceedings of  the  members  of  it,  and  particularly  at  the  time  that  Law- 
less made  his  march:  that  instead  of  following  what  he  had  so 
strongly  recommended,  after  some  time,  not  a  very  long  time  before 
the  present  Session,  he  was  applied  to  to  allow  his  ministers  to  pro- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  883 

pose  to  him,  as  a  united  Cabinet,  the  opening  the  Parliament  by 
sending  such  a  message  as  his  speech  contained :  that,  after  much 
struggling  against  it,  and  after  the  measure  had  been  strongly- 
pressed  upon  him  as  of  absolute  necessity,  he  had  consented  that 
the  Protestant  members  of  liis  Cabinet,  if  they  could  so  persuade 
themselves  to  act,  might  join  in  such  a  representation  to  him,  but 
that  he  would  not  then,  nor  in  his  recommendation  to  Parliament, 
pledge  himself  to  anything.  He  repeatedly  mentioned  that  he  repre- 
sented to  his  ministers  the  infinite  pain  it  gave  him  to  consent  even 
so  far  as  that. 

"  He  complained  that  he  had  never  seen  the  bills — that  the  con- 
dition of  Ireland  had  not  been  taken  into  consideration — that  the 
Association  Bill  had  been  passed  through  both  Houses  before  he 
had  seen  it — that  it  was  a  very  inefficient  measure  compared  to  those 
which  he  had  in  vain,  himself,  recommended — that  the  other  pro- 
posed measures  gave  him  the  greatest  possible  pain  and  uneasiness 
— that  he  was  in  the  state  of  a  person  with  a  pistol  presented  to  his 
breast — that  he  had  nothing  to  fall  back  upon — that  his  ministers 
had  threatened  (I  think  he  said  twice,  at  the  time  of  my  seeing  him) 
to  resign,  if  the  measures  were  not  proceeded  in,  and  that  he  had 
said  to  them,  'Go  on,'  when  he  knew  not  how  to  relieve  himself 
from  the  state  in*which  he  was  placed;  and  that  in  one  of  those 
meetings,  when  resignation  was  threatened,  he  was  urged  to  the  sort 
of  consent  he  gave,  by  what  passed  in  the  interview  between  him 
and  his  ministers,  till  the  interview  and  the  talk  had  brought  him 
into  such  a  state,  that  he  hardly  knew  what  he  was  about  when  he, 
after  several  hours,  said,  'Go  on.'  He  then  repeatedly  expressed 
himself  as  in  a  state  of  the  greatest  misery,  repeatedly  saying; 
*  What  can  I  do?  I  have  nothing  to  fall  back  upon;'  and  musing 
for  some  time,  and  then  again  repeating  the  same  expression. 

"In  this  day's  audience  his  majesty  did  not  show  me  many 
papers  that  he  showed  me  in  the  second.  I  collected,  from  what 
passed  in  the  second,  that  his  consent  to  go  on  was  in  writings  then 
shown  to  me.  After  a  great  deal  of  time  spent  still  in  the  first 
interview),  in  which  his  majesty  was  sometimes  silent — apparently 
uneasy — occasionally  stating  his  distress — the  hard  usage  he  had 
received — his  wish  to  extricate  himself — that  he  had  not  what  to 
look  to — what  to  fall  back  upon — that  he  was  miserable  beyond 
what  he  could  express — I  asked  him  whether  his  majesty,  so  fre- 
quently thus  expressing  himself,  meant  either  to  enjoin  me,  or  to 
forbid  me,  considering  or  trying  whether  anything  could  be  found 


884  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

or  arranged,  upon  which  he  could  fall  back.  He  said,  *  I  neither 
enjoin  you  to  do  so,  nor  forbid  you  to  do  so ;  but,  for  God's  sake, 
take  care  that  I  am  not  exposed  to  the  humiliation  of  being  again 
placed  in  such  circumstances,  that  I  must  submit  again  to  pray  of 
my  present  ministers  that  they  will  remain  with  me.'  He  appeared 
to  me  to  be  exceedingly  miserable,  and  intimated  that  he  would  see 
me  again. 

"I  was  not  sent  for  afterwards,  but  went  on  Thursday,  the  9th 
of  April,  with  more  addresses.  In  the  second  interview,  which 
began  a  little  before  two  o'clock,  the  King  repeatedly,  and  with 
some  minutes  interposed  between  his  such  repeated  declarations, 
musing  in  silence  in  the  interim,  expressed  his  anguish,  and  pain, 
and  misery,  that  the  measure  had  ever  been  thought  of,  and  as  often 
declared  that  he  had  been  most  harshly  and  cruelly  treated — that  he 
had  been  treated  as  a  man  whose  consent  had  been  asked  with  a 
pistol  pointed  to  his  breast,  or  as  obliged,  if  he  did  not  give  in,  to 
leap  down  from  a  five-pair-of -stairs  window.  What  could  he  do? 
What  had  he  to  fall  back  upon? 

"This  led  to  his  mentioning  again  what  he  had  to  say  as  to  his 
assent.  In  the  former  interview  it  had  been  represented  that,  after 
much  conversation  twice  with  his  ministers,  or  such  as  had  come 
down,  he  had  said,  '  Go  on ; '  and  upon  the  latter  of  those  two  occa- 
sions, after  many  hours'  fatigue  and  exhausted  by  the  fatigue  of 
conversation,  he  had  said,  '  Go  on.'  He  now  produced  two  papers, 
which  he  represented  as  copies  of  what  he  had  written  to  tliem,  in 
which  he  assents  to  their  proceeding  and  going  on  with  the  bill, 
adding  certainly  in  each,  as  he  read  them,  very  strong  expressions 
of  tlie  pain  and  misery  the  proceedings  gave  him.  It  struck  me  at 
the  time  that  I  should,  if  I  had  been  in  office,  have  felt  considerable 
difficulty  about  going  on  after  reading  such  expressions;  but  what- 
ever might  be  fair  observation  as  to  giving,  or  not,  effect  to  those 
expressions,  I  told  his  majesty  it  was  impossible  to  maintain  that 
his  assent  had  not  been  expressed,  or  to  cure  the  evils  which  were 
consequential — after  the  bill,  in  such  circumstances,  had  been  read 
a  second  time,  and  in  the  Lords'  House  with  a  majority  of  a  hun- 
dred and  five.  This  led  him  to  much  conversation  upon  that  fact, 
that  he  had,  he  said,  been  deserted  by  an  aristocracy  that  had  sup- 
ported his  father — that,  instead  of  forty-five  against  the  measure, 
there  were  twice  that  number  of  peers  for  it — that  everytliing  was 
revolutionary — everything  was  tending  to  revolution — and  the 
peers  and  the  aristocracy  were  giving  way  to  it.    They  (he  said 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  885 

more  than  once  or  twice)  supported  his  father;  but  see  what  they 
have  done  to  him. 

"He  then  began  to  talk  about  the  coronation  oath.  On  that  I 
could  only  repeat  what  I  had  before  said,  if  his  majesty  meant  me 
to  say  anything  upon  the  subject.  Understanding  that  he  did  so 
wish,  I  repeated  that,  as  far  as  his  oath  was  concerned,  it  was  a 
matter  between  him,  God,  and  his  conscience,  whether  giving  his 
royal  assent  to  this  measure  was  '  supporting,  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power,  the  Protestant  Keformed  religion.' 

"Little  more  passed — except  occasional  bursts  of  expression — 
'  What  can  1  do?  What  can  I  now  fall  back  upon?  What  can  I 
fall  back  upon?  I  am  miserable,  wretched;  my  situation  is  dread- 
ful; nobody  about  me  to  advise  with.  If  I  do  give  my  assent,  I'll 
go  to  the  Baths  abroad  and  from  thence  to  Hanover:  I'll  return  no 
more  to  England— I'll  make  no  Roman  Catholic  peers — I  will  not 
do  what  this  bill  will  enable  me  to  do — I'll  return  no  more — let 
them  get  a  Catholic  King  in  Clarence.'  I  think  he  also  mentioned 
Sussex.     '  The  people  wili  see  that  I  did  not  wish  this.' 

"  There  were  the  strongest  appearances  certainly  of  misery.  He, 
more  than  once,  stopped  my  leaving  him.  When  the  time  came 
that  I  was  to  go,  he  threw  his  arms  round  my  neck  and  expressed 
great  misery.  I  left  him  about  twenty  minutes  or  a  quarter  before 
five." 

Not  less  characteristic  was  his  reception  of  the  Irish  bishops, 
"  which,"  says  Archbishop  Magee,  "  was  warm,  affecting,  and  cor- 
dial. He  declared  the  strongest  attachment  to  Protestant  principles, 
expressed  his  astonishment  at  the  suddenness  of  the  change  that 
had  taken  place  on  the  subject  of  the  Roman  Catholic  demands, 
spoke  of  the  deep  sufferings  he  had  endured  and  was  enduring  upon 
Ihe  subject,  lamented  the  dearth  of  talent  that  was  at  present  mani- 
fested among  public  men,  reckoned  over  some  members  of  the  Lords 
on  whom  he  could  place  full  dependence  (among  whom  were 
Lords  Eldon,  Redesdale,  Manners,  and  your  Lordship),  but  having 
done  that,  he  professed  himself  totally  incapable  of  naming  any  of 
the  Commons.  One  star,  indeed,  he  said,  had  lately  arisen  (I  un- 
derstood him  to  mean  Sadler),  but  the  dearth  was  still  lamentable. 
He  assured  us  of  the  warm  interest  he  felt  in  our  behalf;  and  having 
spoken  in  this  strain  (not  however  committing  himself  as  to  any 
line  he  intended  to  take)  for  about  half  an  hour,  he  dismissed  us  in 
a  manner  the  most  cordial." 

Lord  Londonderry,  an  old  friend,  also  took  the  opportunity  of 


886  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IT. 

calling,  and  received  liis  confidences  to  a  great  length.  This  con- 
versation is  equally  characteristic.  "On  entering,"  writes  Lord 
Londonderry,  "  the  King  was  most  kind  and  sympathizing.  He 
begged  me  to  sit  down,  and  said  he  was  sure  I  was  very  unhappy, 
as  I  appeared  to  be."  Lord  Londonderry  then  said  he  wished  to 
speak  to  him  on  present  circumstances.  "  What  is  it  then  you  wish 
to  say  to  me?"  replied  the  King,  in  rather  a  severe  tone.  After  a 
long  preamble  the  visitor  began  to  explain  that  he  could  not  support 
the  new  head  of  the  Ministry. 

"  'I  see  what  you  are  going  to  say,'  said  the  King,  'but  let  me 
now  have  some  conversation  with  you,  and  state  how  I  have  acted, 
and  how  I  have  been  placed  by  the  late  extraordinary  events;  and 
let  me  show  you  that  those  who  have  now  deserted,  or  are  deserting 
me,  are  alone  the  cause  why  the  pernfcious  drug  and  bitter  pill 
which  they  forced  upon  me  is  now  the  cause  of  all  the  present  con- 
fusion. To  those  persons  who  pressed  Mr.  Canning  on  me  against 
my  will,  to  those  friends  who  now  leave  me  in  the  lurch,  may  all 
the  mischief  and  perplexity  which  I  feel  be  ascribed.  When  I  lost 
your  incomparable  brother,  and  my  best  friend,  a  friend  and  a  min- 
ister that  can  never  be  replaced,  I  will  state  to  you  what  occurred 
when  I  was  on  board  ship,  and  Peel  came  to  me  with  the  news. 
But  first  I  must  say  that,  of  all  men  I  ever  saw,  he  was  the  most 
clear  and  correct  in  all  his  views,  and  in  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  times  he  was  ever  perfect  in  every  judgment  he  formed,  but 
in  the  thousandth  he  had  an  obstinacy  arising  from  a  conscientious 
feeling  of  honor  he  never  would  be  moved  from.'  (Here  the  King 
went  into  a  very  minute  history  of  all  my  brother's  later  feelings  as 
connected  with  persons  and  circumstances  wholly  irrelevant  to  the 
present  moment,  and  unnecessary  and  painful  to  put  on  paper.) 
'  Well,  when  Peel  came  to  me,  it  was  arranged  between  us  that,  in 
order  to  keep  my  mind  quiet,  no  arrangement  should  be  made  till  I 
returned  to  London.'  He  added  that  he  wrote  this  to  Lord  Liver- 
pool, stipulating  that  '  no  change  whatever  is  to  take  place  in  the 
arrangements  fixed  for  India.  I  parted  with  Peel,  who  went  up  by 
land  to  town  with  Mrs.  P.,  his  eyes  being  bad  and  he  wearing  a  lov«r 
green  shade.  I  heard  nothing  more  till  I  came  to  London.  All 
were  silent  until  after  some  meetings  at  Walmer,  and  then  Liver- 
pool announced  to  me  they  could  not  go  on  without  Canning,  and 
it  ended,  chiefly  at  the  instigation  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  in  my 
consenting  to  that  measure  of  his  introduction  into  the  Cabinet, 
which  was  of  all  others  the  most  disagreeable  to  me. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  887 

"  'I  must,  however,  here  do  Mr.  Canning  the  justice  to  say  that 
since  he  has  served  me,  I  have  found  him  considerate,  and  behaving 
well  to  me  in  every  respect.  So  things  proceeded  until  after  the 
calamity  of  Liverpool,  and  what  I  formerly  thought  would  have 
been  a  desirable  event  has  certainly  turned  out  for  me  one  of  the 
most  unfortunate.  It  is  true,  however,  that  Liverpool  would  not 
have  stayed  in  beyond  the  present  session,  and  he  declared  to  me  if 
he  did  not  carry  the  Corn  Bill  he  would  not  remain  Minister;  but, 
had  he  gone  out,  he  would  have  arranged  matters  so  as  not  to  have 
placed  me  in  the  dilemma  in  which  I  now  stand.  Now,  with 
regard  to  the  principles  upon  which  my  Government  is  to  be 
formed,  I  will  tell  you  what  passed  between  me  and  Londonderry 
upon  the  Catholic  question.  That  question  was  the  thousandth, 
from  which  nothing  could  move  him ;  but  I  told  him,  after  repeated 
discussions,  it  was  in  vain  to  attempt  to  shake  me,  because  what 
Charles  Fox  could  not  accomplish,  no  other  man  could,  but  that  as  I 
was  about  to  take  the  coronation  oath  as  King,  I  wished  Castlereagh 
to  consider  if  he  thought,  by  any  act  of  the  Legislature,  it  could  be 
so  modified  or  arranged,  previous  to  my  taking  it,  as  would  satisfy 
my  mind  that  I  could,  consistently  with  my  oath,  depart  from  those 
jars  which  impede  the  Catholics  from  the  privileges  of  their  Protes- 
tant brethren.  After  three  weeks'  reflection,  he  came  to  me,  and 
told  me  he  saw  at  present  no  mode  of  framing  or  proposing  such  a 
course.  I  then  said,  *  Remember,  once  I  take  this  oath,  I  am  for- 
ever a  Protestant  king,  a  Protestant  upholder,  a  Protestant  ad- 
herent, and  no  power  on  earth  will  shake  me  on  that  subject.' 

"I  here  observed,  that  I  believed  his  majesty's  sentiments  were 
pretty  well  known  on  that  head;  but  that  I  had  never  heard  it  so 
distinctly  as  in  confidence  he  was  now  pleased  to  state  it  to  me. 

•'  'Not  in  confidence,'  resumed  he  quietly;  *  I  declare  it  to  you 
openly,  broadly,  distinctly.  You  are  at  liberty  to  state  it  every- 
where; and  the  very  act  of  the  present  men  who  desert  me  is  to 
throw  me  into  the  arms  of  the  Catholics,  or  commit  me  towards 
them  in  a  manner  they  should  have  saved  me  from.  But  yet  the 
resignation  of  Protestants  I  can  in  some  degree  understand.  Peel, 
for  instance,  is  a  man  of  the  highest  integrity  and  honor,  and 
respected  by  the  whole  country:  rich  in  reputation,  rich  in 
domestic  happiness,  rich  in  wealth,  wanting  in  nothing.  He  steers 
himself  above  every  petty  consideration.' 

"  I  said,  '  No  man  more  respected.  I  could  not  say  the  same  of 
the  individual  his  majesty  now  confided  in;  and  when  his  majesty's 


888  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

words  in  1821,  as  to  that  person,  were  deeply  recorded  in  my  breast; 
when  I  knew  and  remembered  how  he  had  acted  to  my  sovereign 
and  my  brother,  it  was  impossible,  if  I  loved  one  or  the  other,  that 
I  could  forget  it  or  support  his  rule.' 

"'Well,'  replied  his  majesty,  'you  have  strong  feelings.  But 
why  Lord  Melville  has  taken  the  line  he  has  I  cannot  understand ; 
and  none  of  them  have  estimated  my  difficulties,  nor  tJie  course 
honorable  to  them  all  that  I  pursued.  When  I  got  Lady  Liverpool's 
answer  on  the  Monday  I  had  them  down  at  the  Lodge,  and  I  saw 
Wellington  first;  and  here,  if  there  ever  was  a  man  to  whom  I  paid 
every  honor  and  devotion,  it  is  he.  I  have  bestowed  on  him  every 
gift  of  my  crown :  not  that  he  does  not  deserve  it,  but  I  have  done 
as  much  on  my  part  as  he  has  done  for  me.  Well,  how  could  I 
suppose  that  he  would  condescend  after  uniting  the  command  of 
two  armies  in  his  person  on  my  brother's  death,  that  he  would  ever 
leave  that  position  to  be  minister  ? ' 

"  I  said,  '  I  suppose,  sire,  he  never  would  have  done  such  a  thing 
but  at  the  wish  of  your  majesty,  and  the  belief  that  it  was  for  the 
real  good  of  your  service.' 

"  '  Well,  I  told  him  all  the  difficulties.  I  desired  him  to  consult 
with  his  colleagues,  especially  Mr.  Canning  and  Mr.  Peel,  and  en- 
deavor to  form  an  arrangement  to  conduct  the  Government  as  here- 
tofore, and  I  told  him  that  I  would  name  any  head  that  might  in 
common  be  agreed  upon.  I  then  saw  Mr.  Canning  and  stated  pretty 
much  the  same  thing  to  him.  He  said  there  were  innumer- 
able difficulties,  but  still  thought  they  might  be  got  over.  I  then 
saw  Mr.  Peel  and  had  a  similar  conversation  with  him.  At  my 
party  at  the  Lodge  I  endeavored,  by  mixing  all  friends,  to  show  no 
partiality.  In  this  state  of  things  I  arrived  in  town,  having  how- 
ever seen  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who  conversed  with  me  in  a  very 
unbecoming  manner;  and  I  should  also  say  I  had  seen  the  Duke  of 
Rutland  and  his  brother:  but  he  said  nothing  in  any  shap(>  but 
what  was  of  the  most  conciliatory  and  respectful  description,  al- 
though I  told  Wellington  I  had  heard  of  persons  in  office  combin- 
ing their  opinions  as  to  what  I  should  or  should  not  do,  in  the 
most  unconstitutional  and  improper  manner,  which,  however,  he 
(Wellington)  had  wisely  arrested.' 

"As  I  felt  that  at  this  the  King  looked  at  me,  I  immediately 
replied,  '  Sir,  it  is  quite  true  there  are  various  individuals  who  think 
most  unfavorably  of  Mr,  fanning,  as  I  do,  from  his  speech  in 
J'arliameuL ' 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOROE  IV.  889 

"  '  I  am  not  one  of  those,'  rejoined  the  King,  with  great  bitter- 
ness, '  who  take  up  men's  words  in  the  heat  of  debate,  and  bring 
them  out  afterwards  as  palliations  for  any  course  of  conduct  I 
adopt.  If  speeches  were  to  be  considered,  I  should  allude  to  yours 
in  the  House  of  Lords,  when  I  was  under  all  this  embarrassment.' 

"  '  Sir,'  I  said  most  respectfully,  *  I  felt  myself  in  duty  bound,  in 
respect  to  my  brother's  principles,  to  show,  in  the  interregnum  that 
prevailed,  that  I  had  every  confidence  in  those  men  who  acted  with 
him,  while  I  reprobated  the  new  system.' 

"  'Ay,  but  you  forget  that  it  was  owing  to  a  factious  meeting  of 
Whig  lords  that  Lord  Liverpool  was  appointed  minister.'  . 

' '  '  Sir,  there  was  no  faction  on  my  part.  My  opinion  of  Mr. 
Canning  has  been  taken  from  your  majesty's  lips,  and  I  have  seen 
no  cause  to  change  it. ' 

"Here  the  Duke  of  Clarence  was  announced,  perhaps  fortu- 
nately ! 

"His  majesty  then  resumed:  'Well,  when  I  came  to  town,  after 
seeing  Wellington,  the  Chancellor,  and  Canning  and  Peel,  and  find- 
ing nothing  done — and  indeed  nothing  is  done  yet,  although  a  good 
deal  of  writing  has  passed — I  found  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  act. 
The  Chancellor,  to  do  him  justice,  has  acted  rightly  and  consistently, 
for  he  stayed  in  before,  against  the  grain,  at  my  positive  entreaty, 
and  I  can  say  nothing  to  him.  But  what  can  I  say  to  those  who 
have  left  me  so  unexpectedly  and  wholly  uncalled  for?  The  Duke 
of  Wellington  I  cannot  understand.  Mr.  Canning  certainly  in- 
formed me  that  Mr.  Peel  had  named  a  person  imder  whom  he 
thought  they  could  both  act,  and  that  was  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 
But  this,  Mr.  Canning  said  he  did  not  think  would  answer,  or  be 
consistent  with  his  views  of  carrying  on  the  Government.  What 
then  had  I  to  do?  or  what  course  had  I  to  steer?  No  one  would  take 
the  responsibility  of  any  arrangement  but  Mr.  Canning,  and  this  is 
the  predicament.' 

"I  then  urged  against  Canning  the  fact  of  losing  seven  col 
leagues,  and  then  placed  his  letter  of  resignation  of  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  in  the  King's  hands." 

The  most  cruel  blow  he  experienced,  however,  was  in  the  deser- 
tion of  the  Sumners,  the  two  bishops  whom  he  had  petted  and 
promoted.  One  of  these  he  tried  to  persuade  to  absent  MmseK,  at 
the  least,  but  he  declined. 


890  THE  LIFE  OF  GEOROE  IV. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  BISHOP  OF  WINCHESTER  (?). 

"Windsor  Castle,  March  10th,  1888. 

**  My  DEAR  Bishop, 

**I  am  sure  that  in  all  you  do  you  are  influenced  by  the  best 
and  most  honorable  of  motives.  I  shall  therefore  only  add  that  I 
am  always  your  sincere  friend,  G.  R."* 

To  others  he  declared  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  now  King 
of  England,  O'Connell  King  of  Ireland,  and  he  himself  no  more 
than  Dean  of  Windsor.  To  Lord  Skelmersdale,  who  came  with  an 
address,  he  said,  "  Put  it  down,  take  a  chair,  and  let  us  have  a 
talk."  He  then  complained  of  his  situation:  that  he  had  no  knowl- 
edge of  what  was  intended  until  the  speech  for  the  opening  of  Par- 
liament was  discussed  in  his  presence;  that  he  had  no  resource; 
that  no  other  Administration  could  be  formed.  And  he  added  that, 
"  as  he  was  recommended  to  go  to  some  German  baths  for  his  legs, 
then  they  might  take  his  brother  William  (the  Duke  of  Clarence), 
who  would  make  them  a  good  Roman  Catholic  King.  And  then 
they  would  only  have  to  send  for  Dr.  Murray  and  Dr.  Doyle  to  edu- 
cate the  Princess  Victoria, "  etc.  This  was  a  melancholy  pitiful  dis- 
play, and  it  was  no  wonder  that  the  bishops  and  the  other  Protestant 
leaders,  when  they  came  to  compare  notes  of  his  professions  with 
his  acts,  could  recount  many  instances  of  his  "dupery,"  as  they 
called  it. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  the  veteran  peer  Eldon,  who  had  been  to 
a  certain  extent  imposed  upon  by  his  grief,  writes  to  his  daughter: 
"The  fatal  Bills  received  the  Royal  Assent.  After  all  I  had  heard 
in  my  visits,  not  a  day's  delay!  God  bless  us  and  His  Church!" 
The  duke  himself  sent  down  the  Bill  to  the  King  with  other  papers, 
as  if  it  was  an  ordinary  transaction.  He  did  not  go  himself,  in 
order  to  avoid  any  discussion  or  distressing  scene. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  LORD  CHANCELLOR.  ^ 

"  Windsor  Castle,  Monday  morning,  ten  o'clock, 
"  April  13.  1829. 

"  The  King  returns  the  Lord  Chancellor  the  Bills  which  he  has 
forwarded  for  the  King's  signature,  which  are  now  completed.    As 

♦  Lord  EUenborough  also  gives  an  accoimt  of  this  memorable  struggle, 
which  will  be  found  in  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  "  Despatches,  Correspond- 
ence, and  Memoranda,"  under  the  date.  "The  Diary  of  EUenborough" 
during  the  last  two  years  of  the  reign  is  announced  as  the  last  sheets  of  this 
account  are  passing  through  the  press  (February,  1881),  so  I  have  been  unable 
to  use  it. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOBGE  IV.  891 

the  Chancellor  has  (very  properly)  conceived  it  to  be  his  duty  to 
call  the  King's  attention  particularly  to  the  two  Bills  relative  to 
the  Roman  Catholics,  the  King  cannot  refrain  from  repeating  to  the 
Lord  Chancellor  his  unaltered  sentiments  and  feelings  with  respect 
to  them,  and  observing  that  the  King  never  before  affixed  his  name 
with  pain  or  regret  to  any  Act  of  the  Legislature." 


892  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 
1829—1830. 

These  events  naturally  embroiled  the  duke  with  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland.  How  indifferent  the  former  was,  and  what  his 
opinion  was  of  the  King's  brother,  is  set  down  in  a  pleasant  con- 
versation the  Duke  of  Wellington  held  with  Mr.  Greville  at  this 
time.     It  offers  to  us  a  good  appreciation  of  the  King's  character. 

"  *I  make  it  a  rule  never  to  interrupt  him,'  said  the  duke,  '  and 
when  in  this  way  he  tries  to  get  rid  of  a  subject  in  the  way  of 
business  which  he  does  not  like,  I  let  him  talk  himself  out,  and 
then  quietly  put  before  him  the  matter  in  question,  so  that  he 
cannot  escape  from  it.  I  remember  when  the  Duke  of  Newcastle 
was  going  to  Windsor  with  a  mob  at  his  heels  to  present  a  petition 
(during  the  late  discussions),  I  went  down  to  him  and  showed  him 
the  petition,  and  told  him  that  they  ought  to  be  prevented  from 
coming.  He  went  off  and  talked  upon  every  subject  but  that 
which  I  had  come  about,  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  I  let  him  go  on 
till  he  was  tired,  and  then  I  said:  "  But  the  petition,  sir;  here  it  is, 
and  an  answer  must  be  sent.  I  had  better  write  to  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle  and  tell  him  your  Majesty  will  receive  it  through  the 
Secretary  of  State ;  and,  if  you  please,  I  will  write  the  letter  before 
I  leave  the  house."  This  I  did,  finished  my  business  in  five  min- 
utes, and  went  away  with  the  letter  in  my  pocket.  I  know  him  so 
well  that  I  can  deal  with  him  easily,  but  anybody  who  does  not 
know  him,  and  who  is  afraid  of  him,  would  have  the  greatest  dif- 
ficulty in  getting  on  with  him.  One  extraordinary  peculiarity 
about  him  is,  that  the  only  thing  he  fears  is  ridicule.  He  is  afraid 
of  nothing  which  is  hazardous,  perilous,  or  uncertain;  on  the 
contrary,  he  is  all  for  braving  difliculties;  but  he  dreads  ridicule, 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  whose  sar- 
casms he  dreads,  has  such  power  over  him,  and  Lord  Anglesey 
likewise;  both  of  them  he  hates  in  proportion  as  he  fears  them,'  I 
said  I  was  very  much  surprised  to  hear  this,  as  neither  of  these  men 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  893 

were  wits,  or  likely  to  make  him  ridiculous ;  that  if  he  had  been 
afraid  of  Sefton  or  Alvanley,  it  could  have  been  understood.  '  But,' 
rejoined  the  duke,  '  he  never  sees  these  men,  and  he  does  not  mind 
anybody  he  does  not  see;  but  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  and  Lord 
Anglesey  he  caimot  avoid  seeing,  and  the  fear  he  has  of  what  they 
may  say  to  him,  as  well  as  of  him,  keeps  him  in  awe  of  them.  No 
man,  however,  knows  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  better  than  he  does; 
indeed,  all  I  know  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  I  know  from  him, 
and  so  I  told  him  one  day.  I  remember  asking  him  why  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  was  so  unpopular,  and  he  said,  "Because  there 
never  was  a  father  well  with  his  son,  or  husband  with  his  wife,  or 
lover  with  his  mistress,  or  a  friend  with  his  friend,  that  he  did  not 
try  to  make  mischief  between  them."  And  yet  he  suifers  this  man 
to  have  constant  access  to  him,  to  say  what  he  will  to  him,  and 
often  acts  under  his  influence.'  I  said,  'You  and  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  speak  now,  don't  you?'  'Yes,  we  speak.  The  King 
spoke  to  me  about  it,  and  wanted  me  to  make  him  an  apology.  I 
told  him  it  was  quite  impossible.  "Why,"  said  he,  "you  did  not 
mean  to  offend  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  I  am  sure."  "No,  sir," 
said  I;  "  I  did  not  wish  to  offend  him,  but  I  did  not  say  a  word 
that  I  did  not  mean.  When  we  meet  the  royal  familj-^  in  society 
they  are  our  superiors,  and  we  owe  them  all  respect,  and  I  should 
readily  apologize  for  anything  I  might  have  said  offensive  to  tha 
duke ;  but  in  the  House  of  Lords  we  are  their  peers,  and  for  what 
1  say  there  I  am  responsible  to  the  House  alone."  "But,"  said  the 
King,  "he  said  you  turned  on  him  as  if  you  meant  to  address 
yourself  to  him  personally."  "I  did  mean  it,  sir,"  said  I,  "and  I 
did  so  because  I  knew  that  he  had  been  here,  that  he  heard  things 
from  your  Majesty  which  he  had  gone  and  misrepresented  and  mis- 
stated in  other  quarters,  and  knowing  that,  I  meant  to  show  him 
that  I  was  aware  of  it.  I  am  sorry  that  the  duke  is  offended,  but  I 
cannot  help  it,  and  I  cannot  make  him  an  apology."  '  " 

The  duke  was  so  afraid  that  the  King  would  twist  what  he  had 
said  into  an  apology,  and  report  it  to  his  brother,  that  he  took  care 
to  warn  him,  on  going  away.  "Now,  sir,  remember  that  I  will 
not  apologize  to  the  duke;  and  I  hope  your  Majesty  will  therefore 
not  convey  any  such  an  idea  to  his  mind."  A  strange  tone — but 
justified — to  take  to  his  sovereign! 

At  the  levee,  however,  his  Majesty  could  show  his  feelings 
without  restraint,  receiving,  to  the  delight  of  Lord  Eldon,  all  his 
opponents  with  studied  discourtesy — notably  the  pro-Catholic  pre- 


894  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

lates — while  on  Mr.  O'Connell  he  turned  his  back,  in  as  offensive  a 
manner  as  he  could,  muttering  to  his  neighbor,  "D a  the  fel- 
low! what  does  he  come  here  for?" 

We  now  find  the  King,  relieved  from  political  troubles,  making 
an  earnest  appeal  for  a  favorite. 


THE  KING  TO   THE  DUKE  OF  TN^LLINGTON. 

"Royal Lodge,  January  14,  1829. 
"My  dear  Friend, 

"  I  now  write  to  you  upon  a  matter  in  which  I  feel  very  much 

interested.     The  report  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 

upon  Mr.  Nash's  business  has  been  delivered  in,  and  as  I  have  been 

informed  by  one  of  that  committee  (not  one  of  those  who  had  any 

previous  predilection  towards  him),  'without  the  slightest  stain  or 

imputation  against  his  character.'    I  do  therefore  desire  that  you 

will  direct  his  being  gazetted  by  himself,  on  Tuesday  next,  the  16tli 

of  this  month,  as  a  baronet,  with  the  remainder  at  his  death  (as  he, 

Nash,  has  no  family  of  his  own)  to  his  nephew,  Mr.  Edwards,  a 

gentleman  of  excellent  character,  large  property,  who  sat  in  the  last 

Parliament,  and  who  has  proved  himself  a  thorough  supporter  of 

Government,  and  a  most  loyal  man,  besides  being  well  known  to 

me  personally.     Mr.  Nash  has  been  most  infamously  used,  and  there 

is  but  one  opinion  about  it ;  and  therefore  it  is  not  only  an  act  of 

justice  personally  to  him,  but  to  my  own  dignity  that  this  should 

forthwith  be  done.     For,  if  those  who  go  through  the  furnace  for 

me,  and  for  my  service,  are  not  protected,  the  favor  of  the  sovereign 

becomes  worse  than  nugatory. 

"  Your  very  sincere  Friend, 

-G.  R." 

The  duke,  however,  was  not  inclined  to  comply  with  his  wishes, 
hinting  plainly  it  was  undesirable  for  the  King's  interests,  and 
that,  in  conjunction  with  the  unfinished  works  at  the  new  palace,  it 
would  lead  to  opening  up  the  unpleasant  business  of  outlay  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  "  Before  he  can  lay  aside  prudence,"  he  wrote 
to  Sir  W.  Knighton,  very  significantly,  "he  must  give  the  Govern- 
ment all  the  strength  he  can."  Indeed,  in  connection  with  this  very 
matter,  the  duke  made  bitter  complaints  to  this  confidant  of  the 
treatment  he  was  experiencing.  "  Look  at  his  society  at  the  Lodge! 
If  a  minister  (except  myself)  goes  to  the  neighborhood  of  Windsor 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  895 

be  dare  not  approach.  Few  dare  go  to  the  council ;  they  are  ill- 
received,  and  see  their  opponents  honored  with  the  greatest  favor 
and  attention.  What  must  the  world  think  of  this?  the  truth, 
namely,  that  the  King  wishes  to  get  rid  of  us  all.  This  is  the  most 
dignified  course — to  have  at  least  a  strong  Government  in  his  sup- 
port. " 

The  Chancellor  declared  ' '  he  was  mad. "  He  was  greatly  pleased, 
Mr.  Greville  says,  with  the  duke's  duel,  declaring  that  he  would 
have  called  the  duke's  attention  to  the  matter.  It  was  remarked: 
"He  will  be  wanting  to  fight  a  duel  himself,"  and  the  pleasant 
Lord  Sefton  added  sarcastically,  "  He  will  be  sure  to  think  that  he 
has  fought  one." 

Indeed  the  state  of  his  health  and  his  mode  of  life  were  enough 
to  account  for  much  of  his  extravagance,  and  certainly  engendered 
those  strange  humors,  fancies,  and  even  delusions  which  marked  his 
latter  days.  He  seldom  rose  till  about  six  in  the  evening,  having 
spent  most  of  the  day  in  bed  dozing  and  reading  newspapers.  His 
nights  were  wretched,  and  his  unhappy  valets  were  worn  out  attend- 
ing; as  he  required  to  be  handed  everything,  even  his  watch  if  it 
were  lying  beside  him.  The  rooms  were  kept  at  the  temperature  of 
a  stove.  He  had  also  a  fancy  for  drinking  inordinate  quantities 
of  cherry  brandy,  his  favorite  liqueur.  And  this  habit,  no  doubt, 
bemused  and  bemuddled  his  brain,  and  engendered  those  curious 
dreams  and  delusions  which  were  repeated  at  the  time  and  caused 
such  amusement.* 


*  Mr.  Greville  condescended  to  question  closely  the  King's  valet,  in  several 
inteniews,  as  to  the  private  household  details  and  scandal,  and  received 
much  information  of  the  kind  he  desired.  What  a  valet's  report  and  a  valet's 
judgment  are,  and  what  he  sees,  has  been  characterized  by  Mr.  Carlyle.  Says 
Greville:  "  I  sent  for  Batchelor,  and  had  a  long  talk  with  him.  He  said  the 
King  was  well,  but  weak;  his  constitution  very  strong;  no  malady  about  him; 
but  irritation  in  the  bladder  which  he  could  not  get  rid  of.  He  thinks  the  hot 
rooms  and  want  of  air  and  exercise  do  him  harm,  and  that  he  is  getttng  every 
day  more  averse  to  exercise  and  more  prone  to  retirement ;  which,  besides 
that  it  weakens  his  constitution,  is  a  proof  that  he  is  beginning  to  break. 
Batchelor  thinks  he  is  in  no  sort  of  danger;  I  think  he  vdW  not  live  more  than 
two  years.  He  says  that  his  attendants  are  quite  worn  out  with  being  always 
about  him,  and  living  in  such  hot  rooms  (which  obliges  them  to  drink),  and 
seldom  getting  air  and  exercise.  B.  is  at  present  well,  but  he  sits  up  everj- 
other  night  with  the  King,  and  never  leaves  him.    The  King  told  them  the 

other  day  that '  O'Reilly  (the  surgeon)  was  the  d dest  liar  in  the  world, 

and  it  seems  he  is  often  in  the  habit  of  discussing  people  in  this  way  to  his 
valets  de  chambre.    He  reads  a  great  deal,  and  every  morning  has  his  boxes 


896  THE  LIFE  OF  OEORGE  lY. 

He  was  now  particularly  annoyed  by  an  incident  in  which  all  the 
art  of  the  duke  was  required  to  carry  the  point  desired.  Mr.  Den- 
man,  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  had  remained  under  a  ban  in  his  pro- 
fession ever  since  the  Queen's  trial,  having  worn  "a  stuff  gown  " 
now  for  two-and-twenty  years.  This  ostracism  he  owed  to  the 
King,  often  unforgiving  and  relentless  where  he  had  taken  a  dis- 
like. This  Denman,  after  vain  attempts  at  redress,  acquiesced  in 
believing  that  it  was  simply  owing  to  the  general  share  he  had  taken 
in  the  trial.  In  1828,  however,  he  learned  from  the  Chancellor  that 
the  King's  rancor  was  owing  to  the  Greek  quotations  used  in  his 
speech,  and  which  the  King  took  as  scandalous  personal  imputa- 
tions. The  Duke  of  Wellington  undertook  the  matter,  saying: 
"I'll  do  it;"  Denman,  in  a  memorial,  declaring  that  no  such  insin- 
uation was  ever  in  his  mind,  and  that  such  would  have  been  abhor- 
rent to  his  feelings.  After  infinite  trouble  the  duke  prevailed, 
declaring  it  was  "  the  toughest  job  he  ever  had,"  and  that  the  King 
would  receive  his  explanation  and  allow  him  to  hold  a  patent  of 
precedence.  But  this  tardy  reparation  was  accompanied  by  a  pen- 
alty. The  King  stated  his  feelings  in  a  declaration  written  on  the 
memorial  itself,  in  which  was  rather  cleverly  embodied  his  own 
vindication,  with  an  insinuation  of  disbelief  in  what  was  submitted 
to  him.* 

"The  King  has  read  the  statements  as  the  annexed  memorial: 

"The  King  could  not  believe  that  the  Greek  quotation  referred 
to  had  occurred  to  the  mind  of  the  advocate  in  the  eagerness  and 
heat  of  argument;  nor  that  it  was  not  intended;  nor  that  it  had 
not  been  sought  for  and  suggested  for  the  purpose  of  applying  to 
the  person  of  the  sovereign  a  gross  imputation.  The  King  there- 
fore considered  it  his  duty  to  command  the  late  Chancellor,  Lord 
Eldon,  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  Lyndhurst,  never  to  approach  the 
King  with  the  name  of  the  memorialist. 

"Nevertheless,  as  the  memorialist  has  distinctly  denied,  disowned, 
and  disclaimed  all  intention  to  apply  the  quotation  to  the  person  of 
the  sovereign,  and  has  expressed  his  sorrow  that  the  King  should 
have  believed  he  intended  so  to  apply  it,  and  has,  moreover,  in  his 


brought  to  him  and  reads  their  contents.  They  are  brought  up  by  Knighton 
or  Watson,  both  of  whom  have  keys  of  all  his  boxes.  He  says  there  is  not 
one  person  about  him  whom  he  likes." 

*  The  text  is  .said  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  but 
the  points  were  certainly  suggested  by  the  King. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  897 

memorial  prayed  his  Majesty  to  believe  that  no  such  insinuation 
was  ever  made  by  liim,  that  the  idea  of  it  never  entered  his  mind, 
the  King  commands  that  he  may  have  a  patent  of  precedence  from 
the  day  of  its  date."  * 

His  Majesty,  however,  had  not  learned  to  be  magnanimous;  and 
in  November  of  this  year,  the  Recorder,  whose  duty  it  was  to  pre- 
sent the  report  on  sentenced  prisoners,  having  fallen  ill,  his  duty 
devolved  upon  Mr.  Denman,  who  was  Common  Serjeant.  This 
produced  the  most  extraordinary  agitation  at  Windsor,  the  King 
vehemently  refusing  to  receive  his  enemy. 

The  duke  having  announced  to  him  by  letter  this  state  of  things, 
the  King  replied,  addressing  him  no  longer  as  "My  dear  friend." 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 

"Royal  Lodge,  November  9, 1829. 
"My  DEAR  Duke, 

"As  it  is  impossible  for  me,  on  account  of  the  state  of  my 
eyes,  to  write  a  letter  by  candlelight,  I  am  under  the  necessity  of 
having  recourse  to  an  amanuensis  to  convey  to  you  my  sentiments 
upon  the  subject  of  your  letter  just  received. 

"I  must  express  to  you  my  extreme  surprise,  my  dear  duke,  that 
you  should  suggest  to  me  that  I  should  either  decline  to  receive 
the  Recorder's  report  to-morrow,  or  submit  to  the  indignity  of  re- 
ceiving the  Common  Sergeant  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the  Recorder 
upon  the  occasion,  when  you  cannot  fail  to  know  the  insult  I  have 
received  from  that  individual;  and  you  ought  to  know  the  firmness 
of  my  character  in  not  bearing  an  insult  from  any  human  being 
with  impunity. 

"A  provision  has  long  since  been  made  for  the  fulfilment  of  the 
Recorder's  duties  in  the  event  of  his  indisposition,  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Sergeant  Arabin  as  Deputy  Recorder  for  that  express 
purpose;  and  I  desire  that  he  should  attend  in  that  capacity  to- 
morrow rather  than  defer  the  report,  he  having  already  oflSciated  in 
that  character. 

*  It  must  be  said,  that  but  for  the  high  character  of  Denman,  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  accept  the  explanation  given ;  for  it  seems  the  passage 
which  is  often  in  question  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Parr,  and  suppUed  to  the 
coimsel  to  be  used  in  his  speech.  The  allusion  is  of  the  most  gross  and 
offensive  kind,  and  certainly  not  recondite  enough  to  have  escaped  a  man  of 
education.  It  may  have  been  unintentional,  and  the  speaker  have  fancied  it 
was  simply  a  general  allusion  to  tyrants  and  slaves,  and  had  not  time  to  con- 
sider the  particular  insinuation. 

38* 


896  THE  LIFE  OP  GEORGE  IV. 

"I  must  express  a  hope  that  this  will  be  the  last  time  that  I  shall 
be  troubled  relative  to  Mr. ,  as  no  consideration  will  ever  in- 
duce me  to  admit  that  individual  to  my  presence.  I  remain,  my 
dear  duke,  Your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R. 

"P.S. — Mr.  Peel  will  accordingly  announce  to  the  Deputy  Re- 
corder that  he  will  be  required  to  officiate  to-morrow." 

This  was  resolute  and  determined.  But  the  duke  proceeded  to 
deal  with  him  in  his  own  way.*  He  wrote  him  a  firm  letter,  show- 
ing him  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  he  was  putting  himself  in, 
declaring  that  the  Council  must  be  put  off,  and  that  he  himself 
would  go  down  and  discuss  the  matter.  The  scene  that  followed 
seems  incredible.  The  duke  pointed  out  to  him  that  he  was  com- 
mitted to  receive  Denman,  having  condoned  the  past;  on  which  his 
Majesty  declared  that  he  had  been  forced  into  it,  and,  growing  very 
violent,  swore  that  he  would  never  see  him;  on  which  the  duke 
replied  calmly  it  did  "not  signify  one  farthing"  how  long  the  exe- 
cutions were  put  off.  That  it  was  better  not  to  have  a  scandal  or  a 
scene  in  the  palace,  etc.  Then,  in  his  usual  way,  letting  the  King 
run  on  until  he  had  exhausted  himself,  he  brought  him  back  to  the 
point,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the  matter  should  be  put  off  once 
more. 

However,  in  this  particular  difficulty  a  solution  was  discovered, 
and  pressure  put  on  the  ailing  Recorder,  who  tried  to  get  well  as 
speedily  as  he  could. 

It  must  be  said  that  there  seems  something  ungracious  in  forcing 
a  king  to  do  what  was  so  distasteful.  But  the  duke  seems  to  have 
grown  into  a  sort  of  dislike  for  him,  joined  with  contempt.  "  If  I 
had  known,"  he  says  of  this  distressing  scene,  "in  January,  1828, 
one  tittle  of  what  I  do  now,  and  of  what  I  discovered  in  one  month 
after  I  was  in  office,  I  should  never  have  been  the  King's  minister, 
and  should  have  avoided  loads  of  misery!  However,  I  trust  that 
Almighty  God  will  soon  determine  that  I  have  been  sufficiently 
punished  for  my  sins,  and  will  relieve  me  from  the  unhappy  lot 
which  has  befallen  me." 


♦  All  allowance  may  be  made  for  the  duke's  resentment  at  the  King's  insin- 
cere treatment  of  him;  but  it  seems  scarcely  becoming  that  the  Prime  Minister 
should  have  made  a  practice  of  showing  the  King's  letters  indiscriminately 
to  friends,  and  of  writing  and  uttering  complaints  of  his  sovereign,  and  of 
using  very  intemperate  language  as  to  his  behavior. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  899 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
1830. 

There  was  another  influence  that  had  been  exerted  very  actively, 
at  least  during  this  period — that  of  the  most  adroit  of  intriguantes, 
Madame  de  Lieven,  the  Russian  ambassadress.  She  had  a  particu- 
lar dislike  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  exerted  her  arts  in 
inflaming  the  foolish  bigotry  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland ;  and  when 
he  had  his  baggage  packed  and  was  ready  to  depart,  she  was 
believed  to  have  persuaded  him  to  remain.  The  duke  accused  her 
and  her  husband  of  playing  an  English  party  game,  instead  of  doing 
the  business  of  their  sovereign:  "  Since  I  have  been  in  office,  I  have 
the  best  authority  for  asserting  that  both  have  been  engaged  (as 
principals)  in  intrigues  to  deprive  me  and  my  colleagues  of  power, 
since  January,  1828.  They  have  misrepresented  our  views  to  their 
sovereign,  and  been  the  cause  of  a  coolness  between  the  countries." 
He  had  actually  thought  of  having  them  recalled,  but  hesitated, 
especially  as  he  felt  himself  "  too  strong  for  them."  The  King  took 
pleasure  in  her  lively  society,  and,  as  she  gave  out,  in  retailing  his 
grievances  to  her.  For  nineteen  years  this  extraordinary  woman 
held  her  post,  occupying  a  position  such  as  no  foreign  envoy's  wife 
has  ever  done  before  or  since,  holding  an  equally  high  position  in 
the  fashionable  as  in  the  political  world.  Not  till  the  year  1834  did 
she  return  to  Russia. 

"The  gentlemanlike  manners  and  hospitality  of  the  prince,"  says 
Mr.  Raikes,  "combined  with  the  talents  and  grand  air  of  the  prin- 
cess, rendered  their  house  not  only  the  resort  of  the  most  distin- 
guished society,  but  the  rival  of  our  own  most  magnificent  establish- 
ments. She  was  deeply  engaged  in  all  the  cabals  with  Mr.  Canning 
in  the  year  1827,  which  ended  in  the  resignation  of  the  duke,  and 
the  short-lived  Administration  of  the  other.  On  his  grace's  return 
to  office  in  1828,  she  was  anxious  to  regain  his  friendship,  but  the 
breach  had  been  too  flagrant  ever  to  be  entirely  made  up  again. 
That  event  and  the  death  of  the  Empress-mother,  with  whom  she 
was  living  on  the  most  intimate  terms  of  correspondence,  latterly 
very  much  diminished  her  political  importance  in  London.     Prince 


900  THE  LIFE  OF  OEOUOE  IV. 

Lieven  was  always  very  much  supposed  to  act  according  to  her  sug- 
gestions. She  was  a  great  favorite  of  George  IV.,  who  much  ad- 
mired her  musical  talents,  and  in  those  days  she  was  a  constant  vis- 
itor at  the  cottage  in  Windsor  Park. " 

Not  less  annoyed  was  the  duke  by  the  various  attempts  of  the 
King  to  exercise  patronage  which  belonged  of  right  to  the  minister. 
He  was  often  "caught"  in  attempts  of  this  kind.  But  the  duke 
held  him  in  check  with  a  cold  stern  authority.  Thus,  in  August,  he 
conceived  the  idea  of  going  over  to  Paris  on  a  visit  to  Charles  X., 
and  Sir  W.  Knighton  was  despatched  to  Walmer,  to  open  the  mat- 
ter. The  duke,  as  he  said,  "put  an  extinguisher  on  the  foolish  pro- 
ject," showing  at  once  that  as  the  French  King  was  highly  unpopu- 
lar, it  would  be  looked  on  as  an  attempt  to  give  him  support.  He 
sometimes  met  a  mortifying  rebuff  even  from  those  to  whom  he 
wished  to  extend  his  bounty  in  an  irregular  way,  as  when  he  sent 
for  Lord  Aberdeen  to  tell  him  that  he  intended  sending  a  ribbon  to 
his  brother.  It  is  amusing  to  see  the  adroit  caution  with  which  the 
Thane  puts  the  offer  aside,  writing  the  while  to  the  Prime  Minister: 
"The  King,"  he  says,  "after  giving  me  'Nugent's  History,'  men- 
tioned my  brother  with  great  approbation ;  upon  which  I  thanked 
him  for  his  gracious  intentions  towards  him.  He  said  that  the  rib- 
bon should  be  sent  out  to  him  directly,  and  desired  me  to  go  to  Nay- 
lor,  and  have  it  done  directly.  I  told  him  that  I  had  already  com- 
municated to  my  brother  his  Majesty's  gracious  intentions,  which  I 
was  sure  would  be  quite  satisfactory,  and  that  he  could  very  well 
afford  to  wait.  He  pressed  this  two  or  three  times,  to  which  I  al- 
ways made  the  same  answer;  at  last  he  said  very  abruptly:  'Very 
well,  just  as  you  please.'  I  thought  it  would  be  rather  too  strong 
to  tell  him,  in  direct  words,  that  he  ought  to  speak  to  you.  He  was 
in  very  good  humor,  and  appeared  to  be  very  well.  As  usual,  he 
talked  a  great  deal  about  the  Lievens.  He  abused  Lord  Grey,  and 
told  me  that,  sitting  with  Madame  de  Lieven  some  time  ago,  and 
talking  about  the  French  Government,  she  had  said  that  Chateau- 
briand was  the  most  distinguished  man  in  the  country,  and  that 
Charles  X.  ought  to  make  him  his  minister.  The  King  replied  that 
Charles  X.  was  not  fallen  quite  so  low  as  that,  and  need  not  so  dis- 
grace himself;  adding  that  it  would  be  almost  as  bad  Jis  if  he  were 
to  send  for  Lord  Grey." 

Another  conflict  was  even  more  mortifying  for  his  Majesty,  In 
November,  General  Garth — associated  with  so  many  ilistressing 
scenes  in  the  illness  of  the  late  King — died,  and  the  Cooimander-in- 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  901 

Chief,  Lord  Hill,  submitted  two  names  for  promotion;  but  the  King 
nominated  two  friends  of  his  own.  The  duke,  called  in  council, 
seemed  to  shirk  the  matter,  advising  his  friend,  if  the  King  per- 
sisted, "  not  to  go  on;"  admonishing  his  friend  that,  "  if  he  does  go 
on,  and  gives  way,  there  will  be  an  end  to  his  authority.''  Finally, 
if  the  King  does  not  yield,  then  "send  for  me."  "  Unless  the  King 
gives  way,"  he  added  in  his  blunt  fashion,  "this  affair  cannot  be 
settled.  We  cannot  allow  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  to  conduct  the 
military  affairs  of  the  country."  As  a  matter  of  course  his  Majesty 
had  to  yield. 

THE  KING  TO  LORD  HILL. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  Nov.  22, 1829. 
"My  dear  Lord, 

"Subsequent  to  the  receipt  of  your  letter  this  day,  your  letter 
of  the  19tli  reached  my  hand ;  and,  with  reference  to  the  recom- 
mendation therein  preferred,  I  have  to  observe  to  you  that  I  consider 
it  essential  for  the  service  that  the  Royal  Dragoons  should  ever  be 
held  by  an  officer  of  rank  (notwithstanding  the  two  successive  prec- 
edents to  the  contrary);  and  as  Lieut. -General  Yandaleur  has  al- 
ready a  regiment  of  equal  emolument,  I  prefer  that  Lieut. -General 
Lord  Edward  Somerset  should  be  removed  from  the  17th  Lancers 
to  the  Royals.  I  readily  accede  to  your  recommendation  of  Major- 
General  Sir  John  Elley  to  succeed  to  the  17tli  Lancers;  but  in  relin- 
quishing in  his  favor  my  recommendation  of  Major-General  Sir  E. 
Kerrison,  I  must  express  my  desire  that  Major-General  Kerrison  be 
selected  for  the  next  occurring  vacancy ;  and  that  in  future  you 
should  pursue  the  mode  adopted  by  my  late  lamented  brother, 
namely,  that  of  submitting  for  promotion  three  or  four  names  to  me 
for  my  selection. 

"G.  R." 

In  the  following  instance  the  appointment  was  unexceptionable; 
but  the  King  probably  guessed  that  he  was  only  anticipating  the 
course  of  those  in  authority,  and  was  eager  to  have  the  credit  of 
being  the  author  of  the  suggestion. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLINGTON. 

"  Royal  Lodge,  August  86. 
"  My  DEAR  Friend, 

"I  have  just  written  to  Lord  Hill,  in  consequence  of  the 

unexpected  and  sudden  death  of  poor  Sir  Henry  Torrens  being 


902  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

reported  to  me,  to  acquaint  him  of  my  intention  that  Sir  Herbert 
Taylor  should  be  his  successor.  I  am  sure  that  neither  you,  nor 
Lord  Hill,  nor  myself,  nor  indeed  the  whole  army,  can  have  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  of  this  appointment.  His 
long  service  as  Secretary  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  (my  late  for- 
ever-regretted brother),  and  in  which  place  he  succeeded  the  late 
Sir  Henry  Torrens  wiien  he  was  appointed  Adjutant-General,  en- 
titles him;  while  by  the  correctness  of  his  conduct,  as  well  as  the 
amiable  tone  of  his  manners  to  every  one,  he  gained  and  insured  to 
him  the  affections,  good-will,  and  respect  of  the  army.  One  word 
more :  besides,  it  is  a  real  pleasure  to  me  to  have  him  at  the  head  of 
my  own  staff. 

"This  appointment  of  Sir  Herbert  Taylor  to  be  Adjutant-Gen- 
eral will  of  course  vacate  the  oifice  of  Surveyor-in-General  to  the 
Ordnance,  and  I  thought  you  would  be  glad  to  have  the  earliest 
information  of  it. 

**  Always  your  sincere  Friend, 

"G.  R." 

In  December,  when  a  political  question  of  extreme  delicacy 
arose,  the  King  allowed  his  own  prejudices  to  influence  him  in  a 
most  irregular  interference.  The  question  was  that  of  the  candi- 
date for  the  throne  of  Greece,  and  Prince  Leopold  learned  that  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  had  been  closeted  hours  with  the  King,  and 
had  handed  him  a  letter  in  favor  of  the  Prince  of  Mecklenburg, 
one  of  the  candidates.  The  King  told  Lord  Aberdeen  that  he 
intended  writing  to  the  King  of  Prussia  in  his  favor.  The  duke 
determined  that  this  interference  should  end,  and  declared  to  his 
correspondent  that  "  either  you  or  I"  must  have  a  discussion  with 
his  Majesty.  The  latter  gave  \vay,  engaging  to  make  no  further 
answer  but  one  of  civility.  The  duke  however  ascertained  from 
the  Prussian  minister  that  the  King  had  actually  promised  his  sup- 
port to  the  camlidute.  There  was  more  behind  this  than  at  first 
appeared.  For  there  was  here  an  unworthy  dislike  of  long  stand- 
ing to  one  of  the  candidates — his  son-in-law  Prince  Leopold — whom 
he  was  trying  to  deprive  of  his  annuity.  The  prince  had  appealed 
indignantly  to  the  duke:  "The  King  should  be  made  to  feel  that  he 
exposes  himself  in  a  manner  unprecedented  as  a  British  king,  in 
acting  upon  a  feeling  of  dislike,  which,  I  can  say  with  truth,  I 
have  never  given  him  cause  for  these  fourteen  years."  His  Maj- 
esty, having  unavailingly  shown  his  feelings,  yielded  the  point. 


TEE  LIFE  OF  OBORGE  IV.  903 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  WELLUTOTON. 

"[Memorandum.] 

"Windsor  Castle,  January  19th,  1830. 

"The  King  cannot  but  deeply  regret  the  selection  made  by 

France  and  Russia  of  Prince  Leopold,  as  the  prince  to  be  placed  at 

the  head  of  the  Greek  kingdom. 

"Without  entering  into  a  detail  of  reasoning,  the  King  considers 
Prince  Leopold  not  qualified  for  this  peculiar  station. 

"Nevertheless,  the  two  great  Powers — France  and  Russia — having 
conjointly  named  Prince  Leopold  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Greek  kingdom,  the  King,  in  deference  to  the  desire  of  those  two 
great  Powers,  gives  his  assent. 

"George  R." 

Early  in  the  following  year  the  prince,  having  come  to  London, 
submitted  himself  humbly  to  his  Majesty's  pleasure,  writing  from 
Marlborough  House,  Feb.  27: 

"Sire, 

"I  learn  with  the  most  profound  grief  from  Lord  Aber- 
deen, that  your  Majesty  is  dissatisfied  with  my  conduct. 

"  I  never,  during  all  the  fifteen  years  since  you  sent  forme  to  this 
country,  have  been  wanting  in  deference  and  respect,  etc.  For  my 
part,  I  have  always  determined  never  to  enter  on  this  new  course 
without  the  powerful  protection  and  approbation  of  your  Majesty. 
I  couldn't  give  a  more  marked  proof  of  this  than  by  resigning  into 
your  hand  the  position  in  which  the  negotiations  have  placed  me. 

"I  will  conform  to  your  wishes  as  to  allowances." 

The  Prince  of  Mecklenburg  was  a  connection  of  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  which  accounted  for  his  persevering  interest,  which 
he  still  exerted  to  the  persistent  thwarting  of  the  duke's  plans. 
The  latter,  in  January,  had  once  more  to  reprove  his  Majesty  m 
reference  to  this  matter.  "I  do  not  complain  of  his  personal 
hostility,  but  I  complain  that  his  is  not  fair  political  opposition.  I 
complain  of  his  reports  of  me  personally  at  Windsor,  and  of  his 
using  your  Majesty's  name  in  communication  with  political  char- 
acters in  this  country,  as  well  as  abroad.  From  frequent  long 
interviews  with  your  Majesty,  he  is  supposed  to  speak  your  Maj 
esty's  language,  even  when  he  does  not  use  your  Majesty's  name. 
It  exposes  your  Majesty  to  be  misunderstood;  that  you  keep  min- 


904  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

isters  to  whom  you  do  not  give  your  confidence.  I  supplicate  your 
Majesty's  attention  to  this  subject. " 

Perhaps  the  last  instance  of  unjustifiable  interference  took  place 
a  few  weeks  before  the  King's  demise,  in  April.     A  person  named 

C ,  in  the  county  of  Clare,  of  the  rank  of  a  gentleman,  had  been 

capitally  convicted  for  setting  fire  to  his  house.  A  petition  had 
been  sent  to  Windsor,  where  it  had  been  supported  by  high  influ- 
ence, and  urged  upon  the  Home  Secretary.  The  Lord-Lieutenant, 
unaware  of  this  interference,  had  refused  to  extend  any  mercy. 
Meanwhile  the  King,  eager  to  gratify  those  who  were  interested, 
had  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Lord-Lieutenant. 

THE  KING  TO  THE  DUKE  OP  NORTHUMBERLAND. 

"Windsor  Castle,  10th  April,  1830. 
"My  DEAR  Duke, 

"  Having  received  a  petition  from  the  respectable  inhabitants 

of  the  county  of  Clare  in  favor  of  P C ,  now  under  sentence 

of  death  for  burning  his  house,  and  there  being  some  favorable 

circumstances  in  his  c^se,  I  am  desirous  of  exercising  the  best 

prerogative  of  the  Crown,  that  of  mercy,  in  saving  his  life ;  leaving 

to  your  grace  the  commutation  of  punishment  you  may  think  fit. 

"  My  eyes  being  indifferent,  I  make  use  of  an  amanuensis. 

"Your  sincere  Friend, 

"George  R." 

The  excitement  in  the  Cabinet  on  this  interference  was  great,  the 
Duke  taking  part  with  the  Secretary.  It  was  announced  to  be 
"quite  intolerable."  Letters  were  despatched  down  to  Windsor  of 
the  usual  reproving  character.  After  all,  the  offence  did  not  appear 
to  be  great.  But  the  King  at  the  time  was  on  the  eve  of  his  last 
sickness,  and  languidly  gave  up  the  point,  being  found  "ready  to 
accept  any  suggestion  about  C ." 

The  strange  idea  of  secluding  himself,  which  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  him  for  some  years,  was  in  part  owing  to  his  consciousness 
of  tlie  alteration  in  his  figure  and  appearance,  which  had,  alas! 
grown  bulky  and  bloated  to  a  degree  which  no  vanities  or  flatteries 
could  blind  him  to.  Even  the  well-known  picture  by  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence,  representing  the  King  on  a  sofa,  and  in  which  this 
painter  had  no  doubt  softened  these  blemishes  as  much  as  possible, 
exhibits  this  corpulency  to  a  remarkable  degree.*   The  singular  life 


•  This  well-known  portrait  was  lately  sold  for  seventy  pounds. 


THE  LIFE  OF  OEOmE  IV.  905 

he  led  at  "Windsor  for  some  years  seemed  to  give  an  idea  of  un- 
settled mind.  All  the  rides  at  Windsor  were  strictly  guarded,  no 
one  was  admitted,  while  his  outrider  rode  on  before  to  see  that  no 
one  was  spying.  A  favorite  spot  of  the  King's  was  the  sandpit, 
near  which  his  "menagerie"  was  maintained,  and  here  he  was  fond 
of  partaking  of  his  favorite  cherry  brandy,  kept  specially  for  his 
majesty.  Here  he  devised  those  strange  whims  and  "fads"  of  the 
hour:  "a  new  dress  for  the  Guards,"  a  new  mode  of  folding  the 
envelope  of  a  letter,  in  which  form  he  required  all  papers  to  be  sent 
to  him.  This  system  led  him  to  adopt  a  lazy  languid  life,  very 
prejudicial  to  his  health.  The  picture  of  this  closing  scene  of  one 
who  had  devoted  his  life  to  pleasure  is  not  an  agreeable  one.  No 
doubt  that  life  might  have  been  prolonged,  had  he  chosen  to  adopt 
a  more  active  course,  instead  of  sinking  into  a  sort  of  languid 
state,  as  he  so  strangely  did,  shutting  himself  up  at  Windsor  at  his 
Lodge,  and  with  eccentricity  worthy  of  the  proprietor  of  Fonthill 
Abbey. 

In  February,  1830,  Mr.  Greville,  who  had  been  at  Windsor  for  a 
Council,  noted  that  he  was  very  blind,  mistaking  the  Chancellor 
for  Mr.  Peel.  At  the  same  time  Sir  W.  Knighton  experienced  his 
irritability,  "expressed  in  his  manner,  as  well  as  in  his  frame." 
The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  solicitous  about  a  contribution  to  the 
enlargement  of  "our  church"  at  Kew,  which  was  at  a  standstill, 
was  gratified  by  a  "noble  and  kingly  donation"  from  his  royal 
brother,  whom  he  found  looking  pale,  and  seeming  to  labor  under 
an  oppression  of  his  chest.  The  fact  was,  he  was  known  from  the 
beginning  to  be  suffering  from  dropsy,  affection  of  the  heart,  and 
other  dangerous  maladies,  and  his  condition  was  serious;  but,  as 
we  have  seen,  both  Halford  and  Knighton  hoped  that  his  good  con. 
stitution  would  help  him  through. 

Now  the  strange  lists  of  delusions  under  which  he  labored  re- 
ceived an  addition.  Talking  enthusiastically  of  the  performances 
of  Fleur-de-Lys,  who  won  the  cup  at  Goodwood,  he  came  at  last  to 
think  "he  had  ridden  the  horse  himself."  His  collection  of  clothes 
sold  by  auction  after  his  death  might  have  filled  a  green-room  ward- 
robe. He  hardly  ever  gave  away  anything,  Mr.  Greville  heard 
from  his  page,  except  his  linen,  which  was  distributed  every  year, 
"These  clothes  are  the  perquisite  of  his  pages,  and  will  fetch  a 
pretty  sum.  There  are  all  the  coats  he  has  ever  had  for  fifty  years, 
three  hundred  whips,  canes  without  number,  every  sort  of  uniform, 
the  costumes  of  all  tlie  orders  in  Europe,  splendid  furs,  pelisses, 


906.  THE  LIFE  OF  QEORQE  IV. 

hunting-coats  and  breeches,  and  among  other  things  a  dozen  pair 
of  corduroy  breeches  he  had  made  to  hunt  in  when  Don  Miguel 
was  here.  His  profusion  in  these  articles  w^as  unbounded,  because 
he  never  paid  for  them,  and  his  memory  was  so  accurate  that  he 
recollected  every  article  of  dress,  no  matter  how  old,  and  that  they 
were  always  liable  to  be  called  on  to  produce  some  particular  coat 
or  other  article  of  apparel  of  years  gone  by." 

The  Duke  of  Clarence,  who  had  a  real  affection  for  him,  kept 
troubling  the  Duke  of  Wellington  with  strange  letters.  He  says: 
"The  critical  situation  of  the  sovereign  must  make  me  think  seri- 
ously, and  I  consider  it  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  I  see  the  true 
objects  contained  in  the  last  letter  as  your  grace  does ;  and  I  trust 
during  the  continuance  of  his  Majesty's  illness  our  sentiments  will 
agree,  for  I  must  look  to  your  grace  in  that  event,  which  would 
involve  me  in  particular,  and  the  empire  at  large,  in  grief  for  the 
loss  of  the  best  and  most  amiable  of  monarchs.  But  I  am  lament- 
ably afraid  of  the  worst,  which  God  avert." 

He  was  particularly  sensitive  as  to  the  visits  of  his  family,  which 
he  thought  disturbed  the  King. 

"I  am  afraid,"  he  wrote  on  May  11th,  "the  King  will  not  be 
found  at  all  better,  because  this  day  he  has  appointed  to  see  Princess 
Augusta  and  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester.  These  interviews  produce 
harm  instead  of  good,  and  unfortunately  my  sisters  have  not  the 
power  to  restrain  their  feelings." 

It  was  now  the  beginning  of  May,  and  we  find  the  Duke  of  "Wel- 
lington and  Mr.  Peel  interchanging  views  in  a  businesslike  way  as 
to  the  issue.  "  Pray  consider,"  wrote  the  latter,  "  as  to  summoning 
the  Council  in  case  of  the  King's  death."  The  duke  feared  that 
the  result  was  certain.  Yet  it  was  strange  to  find  the  moribund 
King  still  planning  his  building  improvements;  a  question  of  bring- 
ing the  estimate  for  the  Windsor  buildings  offered  great  difliculties, 
owing  to  the  temper  of  the  House;  "difficulties  aggravated  by  his 
tenacity  on  the  subject  of  the  passage  from  Carlton  Gardens,  which 
it  is  impossible  to  remove  or  soften  at  present."  The  duke  saw  him 
on  the  5th,  the  day  before  he  had  a  serious  seizure  which  lasted  for 
an  hour,  but  he  recovered  by  degrees  and  slept  well.  He  eat  with 
an  appetite  and  talked  of  himself  in  good  spirits,  expressing  a  hope 
that  "  he  should  soon  get  out."  He  still  preserved  his  looks.  The 
duke  had  ventured  on  an  ominous  but  salutary  step — the  sending  Dr. 
Carr,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  who  was  to  remain  at  the  Castle, 
and  with  whom  tlie  King  had  "  two  satisfactory  conversations." 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  907 

So  the  days  dragged  on,  the  King  now  rallying,  now  going  back; 
so  that  Sir  W.  Knighton  began  to  think  that  he  would  recover ;  but 
Halford  and  Tierney  did  not  give  him  many  days  of  life.  Waller, 
another  doctor,  thought  the  danger  was  from  a  sudden  attack  on 
his  chest.  Yet  he  himself  could  not  bear  to  think  there  was  danger, 
but  was  full  of  plans,  and  talked  cheerfully  of  the  coming  Ascot 
meeting.  On  the  23rd  his  symptoms  became  worse,  and  a  few  days 
later  Knighton  was  writing  that  he  was  gradually  breaking  down. 
On  that  day  he  was  persuaded  to  sign  an  appeal  to  Parliament  for 
the  use  of  a  stamp  to  be  affixed  in  the  presence  of  persons  he 
deputed  for  the  purpose.  Lord  Farnborough  was  named,  because 
his  society  was  agreeable  to  him ;  and  the  King  refused  to  name 
any  one  else  as  joint  official,  though  pressed.  Lord  Farnborough, 
being  about  seventy  years  old,  accepted  reluctantly.  Sir  W. 
Knighton  had  placed  on  his  Majesty's  table  "a  quarto  Bible  of  large 
size,  an  attention  which  the  King  appreciated,  and  it  was  remarked 
read  in  the  volume  a  good  deal."  At  the  beginning  of  the  next 
month  a  form  of  prayer  was  issued  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury in  the  usual  form  of  such  papers. 

Dr.  Carr  afterwards  related  that  he  repeated  this  prayer  on  his 
knees  by  the  King's  bedside.  At  the  close,  his  Majesty,  having  lis- 
tened to  it  with  his  utmost  attention,  three  times  repeated  "  Amen" 
with  the  greatest  fervor  and  devotion.  He  expressed  himself  highly 
gi'atified  with  it,  and  begged  that  his  thanks  should  be  conveyed  to 
its  author.  On  June  the  8th  the  physicians  told  him  of  the  proba- 
ble result.  To  which  he  replied,  exactly  as  his  brother  had  done, 
"  God's  will  be  done."  And  on  the  13th  he  received  the  sacrament 
and  "talked  a  good  deal." 

Then  came  a  rally.  The  disease,  it  was  thought,  was  then  ar- 
rested, and  it  was  thought  he  might  go  on  for  a  long  time,  as  his 
appetite  and  digestion  seemed  to  improve.  But  the  weakness  of 
the  heart  might  kill  him  at  any  moment.  The  truth  was  he  never 
could  be  got  to  submit  to  the  treatment  regularly  or  to  take  the 
medicines. 

In  the  course  of  Friday  evening,  the  25th,  before  nine  o'clock, 
the  physicians  intimated  their  inability  to  give  him  further  relief, 
and  their  opinion  that  his  last  moments  were  rapidly  approaching. 
To  this  communication  his  Majesty  replied,  "  God's  will  be  done;" 
and  in  a  few  moments  after  he  asked,  "  Where  is  Chichester?"  The 
Bishop  of  Chichester  was  instantly  summoned  to  the  royal  chamber, 
and  at  his  hands  the  dying  sovereign  received  the   sacrament. 


008  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

During  the  administration  of  this  rite  his  Majesty  was  much  less 
troubled  by  the  cough  than  he  had  previously  been. 

A  simple  and  not  undramatic  account  of  the  last  scene  was  sent 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  by  a  correspondent  who  withheld  his 
signature. 

"At  half -past  eleven  on  Friday  night,  not  finding  himself  worse 
than  he  had  been  for  some  days,  he  dismissed  Sir  H.  Halford, 
who  had  attended  him  from  seven  in  the  morning.  His  Majesty 
composed  himself  for  the  night,  and  the  pages  retired  to  the  outer 
room.  The  King  soon  fell  asleep  in  the  position  to  which  he  had 
accustomed  himself;  leaning  on  a  table,  his  forehead  resting  on  one 
hand,  and  the  other  in  Sir  Wathen  Waller's,  who  was  sitting  up 
with  him.  He  slept  very  quietly  till  a  quarter  to  two,  when  he 
awoke  and  asked  for  his  medicine,  and  after  it  he  had  a  little  clove 
tea.  He  then  resumed  his  former  position  and  slept  again  for  an 
hour,  when  he  desired  a  page  to  be  rung  for,  when  he  had  a  purga- 
tive motion.  He  returned  to  his  own  armchair  and  ordered  the 
windows  to  be  opened,  according  to  his  custom  day  and  night.  He 
said  he  was  a  little  faint,  and  asked  for  some  sal  volatile.  This  he 
endeavored  several  times  to  drink,  but  could  not.  Sir  H.  Halford 
was  then  called  by  his  command.  His  Majesty  then  pressed  the 
hand  of  Sir  Wathen  Waller,  which  still  remained  in  his,  more 
strongly  than  usual,  and  looking  full  at  him,  exclaimed:  ''My  hoy, 
this  is  death!''  and  then  closing  his  eyes,  reclined  back  in  his  chair. 
At  this  instant  Sir  H.  Halford  entered  the  room.  His  Majesty  gave 
him  his  hand,  but  never  spoke  afterwards;  and  with  a  very  few 
short  breathings,  expired  exactly  as  the  clock  struck  a  quarter  after 
three  o'clock,  June  26th.  Sir  W.  Knighton,  Sir  M.  Tierney,  Mr. 
Brodie — whose  room  was  much  more  distant — and  Sir  H.  Halford 
entered  the  room,  and  were  present  during  his  last  moments.  Sir 
W.  Knighton  had  sat  up  all  Thursday  night."* 


*  His  will  was  made  in  1823  by  Lord  Eldon,  and  his  executors  were  Lord 
Giflford  and  Sir  W.  Knighton,  On  searching  his  cabinets  and  drawers  (the 
Duke  of  Wellington  told  Mr.  Greville)  when  he  died  they  found  £10,000  in  his 
boxes,  and  money  scattered  about  everywhere,  a  great  deal  of  gold.  There 
were  about  500  pocket-books,  of  different  dates,  and  in  every  one  money- 
guineas,  one-pound  notes,  one,  two,  or  three  in  each.  He  had  never  given 
away  or  parted  with  anything.  There  was  a  prodigious  quantity  of  hair- 
women's  hair— of  all  colors  and  lengths,  some  locks  with  the  powder  and 
pomatum  still  sticking  to  them:  heaps  of  women's  gloves,  j/age«  d' amour 
which  he  had  got  at  balls,  and  with  the  perspiration  still  marked  on  the 
fingers;  notes,  and  letters.    The  whole  were  destroyed.    Mr.  V.  Fitzgerald 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  909 

There  is  something  touching  in  this  spectacle,  and  that  pressure 
of  the  hands  of  those  he  liked,  at  such  a  crisis,  showed  that  his 
affectionate  temper  was  of  a  genuine  cast.  But  the  "  looking  full " 
at  his  friend,  with  the  strange  expression:  "My  boy,  this  is  death!" 
has  an  awful  and  original  ghastliness.* 


told  Mr.  Greville  "  that  the  King  had  been  annoying  them  as  much  as  he 
could,  that  he  took  pleasure  in  making  his  Government  weak,  that  the 
money  matter  (which  the  duke  told  me  of  before)  had  been  settled  by  '  con- 
trivances,' or  that  they  must  have  gone  to  Parhament  for  the  amount;  that 
he  has  just  ordered  plate  to  the  amount  of  £25,000."  The  royal  plate  at 
Windsor  is  said  now  to  be  worth  £1,800,000.  The  gold  service,  ordered  by 
George  IV.,  dines  140  persons,  and  he  also  added  to  the  collection  one  of  the 
finest  wine-coolers  in  the  world,  a  shield  formed  of  snuffboxes  worth  £9000, 
and  thirty  dozen  plates  worth  £10,000.  There  are  also  a  variety  of  pieces 
brought  from  abroad  and  from  India ;  the  latter  include  a  peacock  of  pre- 
cious stones  of  every  kind,  worth  £30,000,  and  Tippoo's  footstool,  a  tiger's 
head  with  crystal  teeth,  and  a  solid  ingot  of  gold  for  his  tongue.  Whilst  the 
Catholic  Bill  was  passing,  it  was  said  that  he  ordered  plate  almost  daily  to 
annoy  his  ministers.  His  coronation  cost  £250,000.  Indeed,  during  these  last 
days,  the  reign  of  extravagance  may  be  gathered  from  the  state  of  things  in 
the  Lord  Steward's  department.  One  who  in  the  succeeding  reign  had  to  re- 
form this  Augean  disorder  thus  describes  the  state  of  things:  "  There  was  an 
allowance  of  £500  a  year  to  the  lower  servants  in  lieu  of  small  beer.  The  his- 
tory is  that,  when  allowed  small  beer  in  kind,  they  were  all  allowed  access 
ad  libitum  to  the  cellar,  and  often  would  not  take  the  trouble  to  turn  the 
cock  after  having  drawn  their  quantity,  but  let  hogsheads  run  off  fi*om  very 
wantonness.  The  then  officers  in  power,  instead  of  punishing  them,  thought 
it  right  to  turn  the  beer  into  money  (the  servants  having  ale  and  porter 
besides  fully  sufficient);  and  hence  this  £500  a  year  compensation  for  not 
being  permitted  to  continue  this  wasteful  extravagance.  Every  person  seems 
allowed  to  carry  away  as  much  provision  as  he  can  scramble  for,  after  being 
himself  satisfied.  If  a  bottle  of  wine  or  porter  is  opened  for  a  glass,  the  rest 
is  carried  off;  the  meat  in  a  napkin,  which  seldom  finds  its  way  back  again; 
and,  in  addition  to  this,  scores  of  persons  who  have  no  connection  with  the 
domestic  establishment  appear  to  run  riot  upon  the  unlimited  allowance  for 
these  tables." 

*  There  were  several  forms  given  out  of  this  ejaculation.  "  O  God !  I  am 
dying!"  as  if  in  despair.  Mr.  Raikes  has  it:  "Watty!  what  is  this?  It  is 
death.  They  have  deceived  me!"  This  last  expression  must  have  been 
uttered,  and  has  often  been  repeated.  In  some  admirable  remarks,  suggested 
by  this  scene,  Sir  Henry  Halford  vindicates  the  course  he  pursued,  and  with 
such  good  sense  and  feeling,  as  shows  that  he  was  eminently  suited  to  have 
been  the  confidential  adviser  of  the  royal  family.  "If,  in  cases  attended 
with  danger  in  private  life,  the  physician  has  need  of  discretion  and  sound 
sense  to  direct  his  conduct,  the  difficulty  must  doubtless  be  increased  when 
his  patient  is  of  so  elevated  a  station  that  his  safety  becomes  an  object  of 
anxiety  to  the  nation.  In  such  circumstances,  the  physician  has  a  duty  to 
perform,  not  only  to  the  sick  personage  and  his  family,  but  also  to  the  public, 


910  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

During  these  painful  scenes  it  is  pleasant  to  find  that  the  image 
of  the  woman  to  whom  he  had  given  his  affections  and  plighted  his 
troth,  was  not  absent  from  his  thoughts.  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert  was  brought  to  him,  in  which  that  much-tried  lady  offered 
to  come  to  him,  and  watch  over  and  soothe  his  last  moments.  She 
was  told  afterwards  that  her  remembrance  was  said  to  have  given 
him  much  comfort.  She  cherished  the  belief  that  he  always  wore 
round  his  neck  her  miniature,  and  desired  to  have  it  buried  with 
him. 

In  the  early  days  of  their  affection  the  Prince  had  given  her  a 
jewel,  wliich  she  had  formed  into  two  lockets,  to  hold  their  minia- 
tures. On  the  first  breach  she  returned  his,  but  he  did  not  hers, 
which  was,  as  the  true  woman  seemed  to  think,  a  proof  of  affection, 
reluctant  to  part  with  all.  Lord  Albemarle  heard  that  he  begged 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  that  he  might  be  buried  as  he  lay,  without 
his  night-dress  being  disturbed;  and  he  adds  that  the  Duke  could 
not  resist  looking  to  see  the  reason  of  this  request,  and  found  the 
jewel  round  his  neck,  and  "attached  to  a  dirty  piece  of  black 
ribbon."    This  the  Duke  told  to  Mrs.  Damer. 


who,  in  their  extreme  solicitude  for  his  recovery,  sometimes  desire  dis- 
closures which  are  incompatible  with  it.  These  public  documents  may- 
become  known  to  the  royal  sufferer  himself.  Is  the  physician,  then,  whilst 
endeavoring  to  relieve  the  anxiety  or  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  nation,  to 
endanger  the  safety  of  the  patient;  or,  at  least,  his  comfort?  Surely  not. 
Meanwhile,  the  family  of  the  monarch  and  the  government  have  a  claim  to 
fuller  information  than  can,  with  propriety  or  even  common  humanity,  be 
imparted  to  the  public  at  large.  In  the  case  of  his  late  Majesty,  the  King's 
Government  and  the  royal  family  were  apprised  as  early  as  the  27th  of  April 
that  his  Majesty's  disease  was  seated  in  his  heart,  and  that  an  effusion  of 
water  into  the  chest  was  soon  to  be  expected.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the 
latter  end  of  May— when  his  Majesty  was  so  discouraged  by  repeated  attacks 
in  the  embarrassment  in  his  breathing,  as  to  desire  me  to  explain  to  him  the 
nature  of  his  complaint,  and  to  give  him  my  candid  opinion  of  its  probable 
termination— that  the  opportunity  occurred  of  acknowledging  to  his  Majesty 
the  extent  of  my  fears  for  his  safety.  This  communication  was  not  necessary 
to  suggest  to  the  King  the  propriety  of  religious  offices,  for  his  Majesty  had 
used  them  daily.  But  it  determined  him,  perhaps,  to  appoint  an  early  day  to 
receive  the  sacrament.  He  did  receive  it  with  every  appearance  of  the  most 
fervent  piety  and  devotion,  and  acknowledged  to  me  repeatedly  afterwards 
that  it  had  given  him  great  consolation— true  comfort.  After  this,  when  '  he 
had  set  his  house  in  order/  I  thought  myself  at  liberty  to  interpret  every  new 
symptom  as  it  arose  in  as  favorable  a  light  as  I  could,  for  his  Majesty's  satis- 
faction; and  we  were  enabled  thereby  to  rally  his  spirits  in  the  intervals  of 
his  frightful  attack.s,  to  maintain  his  confidence  in  his  medical  resources,  and 
to  spare  him  the  pain  of  contemplating  approaching  death,  until  a  few  minutes 
before  his  Majesty  expired."— "Essays  and  Orations,"  p.  89. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV,  911 

The  bishop  who  attended  the  King,  Dr.  Carr,  assured  Mr.  Boden- 
hara  that  he  had  noticed  a  portrait,  but  it  had  a  silver  chain. 

When  in  1825  Miss  Seymour  was  married  to  Colonel  Dawson 
Damer,  the  King  sent  her  a  present  of  £2000  with  an  affectionate 
letter,  in  which  he  begged  of  her  "to  be  kind  to  her  best  friend, 
Mrs.  Fitzherbert. "  This  showed  that  the  old  affection  still  burned 
bright.  After  Mrs.  Fitzherbert's  death,  her  ward  one  day  displayed 
to  a  visitor.  Lady  Morgan,  a  coffer  containing  all  the  relics  of  this 
famous  attachment.     She  describes  its  contents : 

' '  There  were  two  lockets  of  very  curious  description,  minutely 
small  portraits  of  the  Prince  and  the  lady;  they  were  each  covered 
with  a  crystal,  and  this  crystal  was  a  diamond  cut  in  two.  They 
were  less  than  the  size  of  a  halfpenny,  set  in  small  brilliants.  On 
the  death  of  George  IV.  she  sent  to  William  IV.  to  request  back 
some  of  her  pictures,  gems,  and  letters,  left  in  the  late  King's  hands. 
He  sent  her  everything  that  he  could  find  in  the  cabinet  of  his 
brother,  and  a  beautiful  picture  in  oil  of  Mrs.  Fitzherbert ;  but  the 
diamond-enshrined  miniature  was  not  forthcoming.  After  some 
time,  however,  she  received  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
who  wrote  to  say,  having  heard  that  such  a  locket  had  been  inquired 
for,  he  would  be  happy  to  place  it  in  her  hands,  as  it  was  in  his  pos- 
session. He  added,  that  in  his  quality  of  the  King's  executor,  he 
had  gone  into  his  room  immediately  after  his  decease,  and  perceiv- 
ing a  red  cord  round  his  neck,  under  his  shirt,  discovered  the  locket 
containing  the  miniature. "  * 

We  may  hope  it  was  so,  though  not  much  turns  upon  it.  After 
his  death  the  good-natured  Sailor-King  made  her  all  amends. 

"  Soon  after  his  death,"  as  she  told  Lord  Stourton,  "she  left  town 
for  Brighton.  There  she  a  second  time  received  the  kindest  mes- 
sages from  William  the  Fourth;  but  upon  his  inquiry  why  she  did 
not  come  to  see  him,  she  stated  the  peculiar  difficulties  of  her  situa- 
tion, and  a  wish,  if  it  was  not  asking  too  much  from  his  condescen- 
sion, that  he  would  graciously  honor  her  with  a  personal  communi- 
cation at  her  own  house,  previously  to  her  visit  to  the  Pavilion.  The 
King  kindly  complied  with  her  request  without  delay,  and  she  told 
him  that  she  could  not,  in  her  present  circumstances,  avail  herself 
of  the  honor  of  waiting  upon  his  Majesty,  without  asking  his  per- 
mission to  place  her  papers  before  him,  and  requesting  his  advice 
upon  them.  Upon  her  placing  in  his  hands  the  documents  which 
have  been  preserved  in  justification  of  her  character,  and  especially 

*  Lady  Morgan,  "  Memoirs,"  ii.  425. 


912  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

the  certificate  of  her  marriage,  and  another  interesting  and  most 
affecting  paper,  this  amiable  sovereign  was  moved  to  tears  by  their 
perusal,  and  expressed  his  surprise  at  so  much  forbearance  with  such 
documents  in  her  possession,  and  under  the  pressure  of  such  long 
and  severe  trials.  He  asked  her  what  amends  he  could  make  her, 
and  offered  to  make  her  a  duchess.  She  replied  that  she  did  not 
wish  for  any  rank ;  that  she  had  borne  through  life  the  name  of  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert;  that  she  had  never  disgraced  it,  and  did  not  wish  to 
change  it ;  that,  therefore,  she  hoped  his  Majesty  would  accept  her 
unfeigned  gratitude  for  his  gracious  proposal,  but  that  he  would  per- 
mit her  to  retain  her  present  name. 

' '  Well,  then, '  said  he,  '  I  shall  insist  upon  you  wearing  my  livery, ' 
and  ended  by  authorizing  her  to  put  on  weeds  for  his  royal  brother. 
He  added :  *  I  must,  however,  soon  see  you  at  the  Pavilion ; '  and  I 
believe  he  proposed  the  following  Sunday,  a  day  on  which  his  family 
were  more  retired,  for  seeing  her  at  dinner,  and  spending  the  even- 
ing at  the  Pavilion.  *  I  shall  introduce  you  myself  to  my  family, ' 
said  he,  '  but  you  must  send  me  word  of  your  arrival. ' 

*  •  At  the  appointed  hour,  upon  her  reaching  the  Pavilion,  the 
condescending  monarch  came  himself  and  handed  her  out  of  her 
carriage,  and  introduced  her  to  his  family,  one  after  the  other,  as 
one  of  themselves.  He  ever  after  treated  her  in  the  same  gracious 
manner. " 

Mr.  Raikes  corroborates  this,  her  own  story. 

On  her  death,  which  took  place  in  1837,  she  enjoyed  an  annuity 
of  £6000,  procured  for  her  from  the  Prince,  through  the  agency  of 
the  late  Queen,  strange  to  say,  and  her  best  friend  the  Duke  of 
York.  She  was  buried  at  Brighton,  the  scene  of  all  joys  and 
troubles,  living  to  be  nearly  eighty  years  old. 

By  arrangement  between  her  friends  and  those  of  the  royal 
family,  it  was  determined  to  destroy  all  papers,  save  such  as  were 
necessary  for  the  vindication  of  her  character.* 

♦  Those  that  fell  under  this  category  were: 
"  1.  The  Mortgage  on  the  Palace  at  Brighton. 
"  2.  The  Certifleate  of  the  Marriage,  dated  Dec.  Slst,  1785. 
"  3.  Letter  from  the  late  King,  relating  to  the  Marriage,  signed  [George 

the  Fourth]. 
"  4.  Will  written  by  the  late  King  [George  the  Fourth]. 
"5.  Memorandum  written  by  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  attached  to  a  letter  written 
by  the  clergyman  who  performed  the  Marriage  Ceremony." 
It  will  be  seen  that  these  papers,  seen  and  sanctioned  by  men  of  such 
character  as  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Lord  Albemarle,  were  convincing. 
They  lie  now  at  Coutts's  Bank  sealed  up. 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  913 


L'ENYOI. 

After  recounting  the  course  of  the  long  life  of  George  TV.,  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  make  a  formal  estimate  of  his  character.  Many 
instances  could  be  given  of  his  kindly  feeling  and  good  heart.  His 
charities  were  often  magnificent:  as  in  1825,  during  the  Spitalfields 
distress,  when  he  gave  three  donations  of  £1000  each;  and  when  a 
case  of  private  suffering  was  reported  to  him,  he  sent  £500,  and 
procured  by  subscription  £1500.  His  name,  too,  is  pleasingly  asso- 
ciated with  that  of  Beethoven,  for  whose  wants  he  contributed  £200. 
But  the  recorded  instances  of  this  sort  would  fill  many  pages.  At 
the  dismal  conferences  with  the  Recorder  of  London,  when  the 
fates  of  prisoners  were  finally  determined,  the  King  was  invariably 
on  the  side  of  mercy,  and  would  conscientiously  and  for  hours  in- 
vestigate ever}'  case  that  seemed  to  have  a  claim  to  mercy.  This 
was  an  indulgence  of  his  feelings,  but  a  troublesome  duty  which  he 
always  adhered  to.  He  had,  for  a  certain  sort,  a  deep  religious,  or 
rather  devotional  feeling:  and  even  in  his  early  days,  Lady  Harcourt 
used  to  declare  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  royal  brothers  "that  had 
any  religion."  - 

It  is  also  evidence  of  his  sound  taste,  that  he  should  have  begun 
a  collection  of  the  Dutch  and  Flemish  masters  at  a  time  when  the 
merits  of  the  school  were  not  acknowledged.  But  what  gives  him 
a  high  claim  to  the  title  of  a  true  patron,  was  the  really  splendid 
project  of  having  the  portraits  of  the  sovereigns,  ministers,  and 
ambassadors  painted  for  the  Great  Banqueting-room  at  Windsor. 


*  There  is  a  •well-known  story  of  his  having  discharged  a  servant  in  a 
passion  one  Sunday  morning,  and  of  his  being  respectfully  told  by  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  that  he  w^as  not  in  a  proper  frame  of  mind  to  I'eceive  the 
sacrament.  He  thanked  his  monitor,  and  restored  the  man  to  his  place.  On 
another  occasion  he  wept  and  went  down  on  his  knees  to  a  bishop  when 
reproved  for  desecrating  the  Sabbath. 


914  THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV. 

The  scheme  iuvol  ved  the  painting  of  thirty-eight  full-length  pictures, 
of  which  no  less  than  thirty-live  are  the  work  of  Sir  Thomas  Law- 
rence. This  work  was  completed  between  the  years  1815  and  1821, 
and  the  artist  has  recorded  the  interesting  progress  of  his  travels 
abroad  as  he  attended  on  his  royal  sitters.  One  of  these  portraits 
is  justly  considered  the  finest  of  modern  times,  and  will  bear  just 
comparison  with  the  finest  of  ancient  days,  namely,  that  of  Pope 
Pius  VII.  His  encouragement  of  the  arts,  and  of  projects  of  all 
intellectual  character,  was  also  truly  splendid.  The  best  instance 
is  his  patronage  of  Wilkie,  from  whom  on  his  return  from  Spain  hi- 
secured  his  six  works  for  £2800. 

One  good  instance  of  his  cleverness  at  repartee,  or  readiness  in 
conversation,  is  worth  recording.  The  Rev.  Sydney  Smith  was 
beside  him  at  a  dinner,  when  an  odd  subject  of  discussion  was 
started:  "Who  was  the  most  wicked  man  that  ever  lived?"  Mr. 
Smith  said,  awkwardly  enough,  "The  Regent  Orleans — and  he 
was  a  Prince!"  On  which  the  English  Regent  said,  "I  should 
give  the  preference  to  his  tutor,  the  Abbe  Dubois,  and  he  was  a 
priest,  Mr.  Sydney." 

His  patronage  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature,  to  which  he 
contributed  £1000  a  year;  his  many  pensioners;  his  love  of  music 
and  of  the  stage — all  this  showed  an  instinct  truly  royal.  Actors 
he  also  patronized,  and  the  more  jovial  sort — "Jack"  Johnstone, 
Matthews,  and  others,  were  often  bidden  to  Carlton  House.  Re- 
ports of  his  conversations  with  these  performers  show  a  rational 
spirit,  with  a  wish  for  gathering  such  information  and  entertain- 
ment as  they  could  furnish,  and  without  any  sacrifice  of  dignity. 

A  good  specimen  of  his  love  of  fun  and  frolic  is  furnished  by 
the  story  of  his  present  of  the  cream-colored  Hanoverian  horse  to 
Admiral  Nagle,  at  Brighton;  who,  delighted  at  the  gift,  mounted 
the  animal  in  presence  of  the  whole  Court  to  "  try  him."  Some 
heavy  showers  washed  off  the  paint  which  \\\o  Prince  had  had 
applied  in  the  stable,  and  the  admiral,  to  liis  asionishment,  pres- 
ently found  himself  with  a  dark-bay  horse.  His  royal  master,  after 
due  enjoyment  of  the  joke,  took  care  to  present  him  with  an  ani- 
mal of  the  true  color  and  breed. 

But  it  was  in  his  relations  with  certain  remarkable  men  of  maik 
and  judgment  that  he  really  shone,  and  such  he  always  impressed 
in  the  most  favorable  manner. 

It  was  thus  that  Walter  Scott,  when  he  came  to  town,  became,  as 
it  were,  quite  fa-dnated  by  his  advances,  and  it  must  be  confessed 


THE  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.  915 

that  his  treatment  of  this  new  friend  justified  to  some  extent  that 
charm  of  manner  which  obtained  for  liim  the  well-known  sobriquet. 
"Let  me  know,"  said  the  Regent  in  1815,  "wiienhe  comes,  and 
I'll  get  up  a  snug  little  dinner  that  will  suit  him.  And  the  more 
Scotch  the  better,"  he  added.  Such  a  little  dinner  was  got  up,  the 
Duke  of  York,  Lord  Yarmouth,  Lord  Melville,  and  others,  being 
of  the  company.  "The  Prince  and  Scott,"  said  Mr.  Croker,  "  were 
the  two  most  brilliant  story-tellers,  in  their  several  ways,  I  have 
ever  happened  to  meet.  Both  exerted  themselves,  and  he  could  not 
say  which  had  shone  the  most.  The  Regent  was  enchanted  with 
Scott,  and  Scott  with  him.  Afterw^ard  Scott  told  stories  of  Scotch 
judges,  which  the  Regent  capped  with  some  of  his  owm  judges." 
The  description  of  the  evening,  it  must  be  said,  gives  a  very  good 
idea  of  the  Prince's  powers  of  pleasing  and  readiness.  At  midnight 
he  called  for  a  bumper  to  the  author  of  ' '  Waverley. "  Scott  declared 
the  author  should  hear  of  the  compliment;  on  which  the  Prince 
drank  to  the  author  of  "  Marmion,"  quoting  happily:  "  Now,  Wal- 
ter, my  man,  I  have  checkmated  you  for  ance."  The  Prince  sting 
many  songs  in  good  style,  and  presented  his  friend  with  a  magnifi- 
cent snuffbox.  And  on  his  merits  in  society  the  poet  passes  this 
judicious  opinion,  in  which  we  may  allow  a  little  for  partiality: 
"  He  w^as  the  first  gentleman  he  had  seen,  certainly  the  first  English 
gentleman  of  his  day.  As  to  his  abilities,  as  distinct  from  his 
charming  manners,  how  could  any  one  form  a  fair  judgment  of 
that  man  who  introduced  what  subject  he  chose,  discussed  it  just 
as  long  as  he  chose,  and  dismissed  it  when  he  chose?" 

He  was  particularly  anxious  to  impress  and  attract  men  of  worth 
and  character,  wiiose  good  word  would,  of  course,  be  valuable.  It 
has  been  showm  how^  eager  he  was  to  secure  Romilly;  but  more 
characteristic  was  his  attempt  to  win  that  "good  man  eminent  ' 
and  "saint,"  Wilberforce.  There  is  something  almost  amusing  in 
liis  account  of  the  struggle  between  conscience  and  the  bait  of  the 
Court.  "The  Prince  and  Duke  of  Clarence  very  civil.  Prince 
showed  he  had  read  Cobbett.  Spoke  strongly  of  the  blasphemy  of 
liis  late  papers,  and  most  justly.  I  was  asked  again  last  night,  and 
to-night;  but  declined,  not  being  well."  This  excuse,  how^ever, 
would  not  long  serve,  and  three  days  afterwards  he  was  again  at  the 
Pavilion.  "The  Prince  came  up  tome  and  reminded  me  of  my 
singing  at  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire's  bull  in  1782,  of  the  particu- 
lar song,  and  of  our  then  first  knowing  each  other.  '  We  are  both, 
I  trust,  much  altered  since,  sir,'  was  his  answer.     '  Yes,  the  time 


916  niE  LIFE  OF  LiEUlWE  IV. 

which  has  goue  by  must  have  msude  a  gi'eat  alteration  in  us.' 
'Something  better  than  that  too,  I  trust,  sir.'" 

Jovial,  epicurean,  sliifty,  clever,  and  good-natured,  he  offers  one 
more  disastrous  spectacle  of  a  life  wrecked  by  self-indulgence  and 
an  unbounded  love  of  pleasure. 


THE  END. 


917 


INDEX, 


Addmgton,  Henry  (afterwards  Lord  Sid- 
mouth),  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, accused  of  romping  with  Caro- 
line of  Brunswick,  331,  note 

'•  Almack's,"  670,  671 

AmateurFarmingof  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  Duke  of  York,  22,  23 

Amateur  Theatricals,  rage  for,  60,  a39 

Amelia,  Princess,  death  of,  471  ;  supposed 
secret  marriage  of,  473,  474;  verses 
written  by,  474 

B 

Bagshot,  strange  council  at,  137 
Barrymore,  Honorable  Henry,  65,  69 
Barrymore,  Lord  ("  Hellgate"),  family  of, 

65 ;  freaks  of,  66,  67 ;  entertainments  at 

Wargrave  of,  67  ;  tragic  death  of,  68 
Barrymore,  Rev.  Augustus,  65,  69 
Barrymore,  — ,  afterwards  Lady  Melfort. 

65,  69 
Beckford,  William,  author  of  "  Vathek," 

665 
Beefsteak  Club,  64 
Bergami,  715  and  note 
"  Berners  Street  Hoax,"  666 
Berwick's  Lord,  strange  masquerade  at, 

61  j 

Blackheath.  adventure  at,  36  ! 

Blueher,  General,  decoration  of,  by  the  j 

Regent,  594 
"  Bread  or  the  Regent's  head,"  617  I 

Brighton,  frivolity  at,  256,  516 ;  effect  of 

Prince  of  Wales's  patronage,  128,  129 
"  Brother  Hiley  and  Brother  Bragge,"  ;J46 
Brougham,     Henry    (afterwards     Lord 

Brougham),  686,  695-697,  712  and  note, 

717 
Brummel,  Greorge,  life  of,  654-664 
Brunswick,  Court  life  at,  291 

Duchess  of,  b79 

Buckingham,  Duke  of,  correspondence 

of,  8:38-842 
Building  mania  of  Greorge  IV.,  51,  734-736 
Burke,  Edmund,  assails  Pitt  in  the  House 

154;  attacks  the  ministry,  16:3;  ridicules 

Thurlow,  177 ;  fury  of,  178 ;  indecorous 

conduct  of,  180;  "  dagger  scene,"  282 
Burney,   Doctor,   amusing    account    of 

Prince  of  Wales,  414-417 
Byron,  Lord,  334,  3:^5,  613,  673 


Calais,  675 

Canning,  George,  345 ;  708  and  note,  709 
711,  721,  722,  742,  743,  778,  797,  812,  818-820, 
828,  834-837,  84:3,  847  ■ 

Carlton  House,  51,  56,  61,  282,  502-509  and 
note,  510-512,  547,  548 

Caroline    of    Brunswick,    Princess    of  I 
Wales  and  Queen  of  England,  descrip- 
tion of,  290  :  anecdote  of,  292 ;  indlscre-  I 
tion  of,  293 ;  letter  of,  294 ;  starts  for  ! 
England,  297;   arrival   at   Greenwich,  I 


:302 ;  meeting  of,  with  Prince  of  Wales,. 
;302;     early   unpleasantness    of,   with 
Prince  of  Wales,  3U3  ;  marriage  of,  304 ; 
presented  to  the  public,  306;  treatment 
of,  by  Queen,  307;  jointure  voted  to, 
311 ;  strange  miscarriage  of  letters  otV 
313 ;   birth  of  a  daughter   to,  323 ;   ill- 
treatment  of,  after  accouchement,  324 , 
letter  of,  to  Prince  of  Wales,  325,  326 ; 
removes    to   Charlton,   328;    scandals 
about,  428;   charges   of   Lady  Douglas 
against,    428-432;    letter    of,    to    Lord 
Eldon.  433;  vindication  of,  presented 
to    George    IH.,   434;    indictment   of, 
against   Prince   of   Wales   and   other 
accusers,  4:35-439;  defence  of,  laid  be- 
fore the  public,  439, 440 ;  acquittal  of,  by 
commissioners,  440,   441 ;   meeting   or, 
with  Prince  of  Wales,  441 ;  want  of  pru 
dence  of,  453 ;  attaches  to  her  interest 
Canning  and  Brougham,    455;  denied 
admission  to  her  daughter,  570 ;  appeals 
to  the  public,  574 ;  address  voted  to,  by 
City  of  London  and  others,  58:3 ;  strange 
meeting  of,  with  Regent,  584 ;  desired 
j      not  to  attend  Queen's  Drawing  Rooms, 
!     592  ;  writes  to  Regent,  593  ;  good  sense 
of,  606  :  grant  made  to,  on  leaving  Eng 
land,  609 ;  departure  of,  from  England, 
611 ;  character  of,  611 ;  affection  of,  for 
Lord  Byron,  613 ;  extraordinary  life  of, 
on  the  Continent,  629-634.  &S6  and  note, 
688,  695 ;  name  struck  off  the  Liturgy, 
694;  reception  of,  in  England,  699;  dis- 
trust of,  for  Brougham,  710 ;  resides  at 
Brandenburgh  House,  710;  arrival  of 
witnesses  against,  712  and  note;  trial 
of,  begins,  713  and  note ;  appearance  of, 
in  the  House,  714 :   evidence   against^ 
716;  Brougham's  defence  of,  716,  717; 
unfortunate  quotations   used   during 
trial  of,  719  and  note;  "  Regina,"  720; 
accepts  £50,000  a  year,  ?24  ;  claims  to  be 
crowned  with  George  IV.,  727-731 ;  de- 
nied   admission    to    coronation,    784; 
death  of,  747,  7-58  ;  funeral  of,  759-762 
Castlereagh,  Lord,  534 
Catherine,  Grand  Duchess,  dies,  591 
Catholic   Emancipation,  leading   mem- 
bers in  both  Houses  In  favor  of,  425; 
agitation  about,  513,  531-533;  Duke  of 
York  and,  805,  806 ;  rejection  of,  in  the 
Lords,  807;  minutes  signed  by  George 
IV.,  873;  want  of  candor  of  George  IV. 
with  regard  to,  882-885 ;  receives  royal 
assent,  890 
Cato  Street  conspiracy,  691 
'•  Celebrated  Letter,"  the,  540,  541,  544-546 
Charles  I.,  opening  of  coffin  of,  588,  589 
Charles  X.,  900 

Charlotte,  daughter  of  Greorge  IV.,  chris- 
tening of,  32:3 ;  governesses  of,  329 ;  edu- 
cation of,  393:  juvenile  will  of,  394  and 
note  ;  traits  of  character  of,  395 ;  Dowa- 
ger Lady  de  Clifford  appointed  to 
charge  of,  410;  letter  of,  to  Mr.  C!on- 


918 


J\J)EX. 


way.  45S  .  excluded  from  Repency  fete, 
5(15 ;  friendly  interest  of,  to  Mr.  Keppel, 
5tiy;  espouses  her  mother's  cause,  569; 
removed  to  Warwick  House,  578  ;  flir- 
tations of,  5T9,  580 ;  Prince  of  Orange 
selected  as  a  suiter  for,  586 ;  arrival  of 
envoys  from  Holland  in  England  with 
proposals  for,  601 ;  flirtation  of,  with 
Prince  Leopold,  602 ;  elopement  of,  we, 
604 ;  returning  home  of,  605 ;  Duke  of 
Sussex  not  allowed  to  visit,  607 ;  returns 
from  Weymouth,  619 ;  marriage  of,  to 
Prince  Leopold,  620 ;  happy  life  of,  at 
Clarenumt  House,  622;  letters  of,  to 
Lady  Charlotte  Lindsay,  637  ;  accouche- 
ment of,  638  ;  death  of,  639,  640 

Charlotte,  Princess  Royal,  648 

Charlotte,  Queen  of  England  (wife  of 
George  IIL)— see  "  Queen" 

Chartres,  Duke,  37,  ;38 

Chifney.  Sam,  the  Prince  of  Wales's 
jockey,  266-270 

City  of  London  proposes  to  make  Pitt  a 
present  of  £:^,000  a  year,  164 

Clarence,  Duke  of,  64^62-865,  906 

Clarke  scandal  46«M6?5nd  note,  465-469 

Colchester,  Lord,  diary  of,  413 

Columbian  envoy,  820 

Comyn,  Peter,  case  of,  904 

Concannon,  Mrs.,  674,  675 

Cornelys,  Mrs.,  60,  61 

Cornwall,  Duchy  of,  disputes  about 
revenues  of,  309,  310 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  cold  replies  of,  to 
Prince  of  Wales's  letters,  259,  260 

Crew.  Mrs.,  5.5,  119 

Crolev,  Dr.,  anecdotes  of,  418,  419 

Cumberland,  Duke  of.  27.  28,  :;c.,  r,.  17;;, 
478,  645,  875  and  note,  876,  892 


Dances.  63,  671,  672 

Dandies  of  the  Regency  period,  663-665 

Denman,  the  lawyer,  persecution  of,  by 

Oeorge  IV..  896-898 
Devonshire,  Georgina,  Duchess  of,  53 

House,  57 

Doctors,  discord  amongst  the,  141 
Drink,  early  taste  of  George  IV.  for,  27 
Dudley,  Henry  Bate,  581 
Duel  between  Duke  of  York  and  Colonel 

Lenox,  official  account  of,  209;  King 

and  Queen  hear  of,  210 
Colonel     Lexon     and     Theophilus 

Swift,  216 

Pitt  and  TIemey,  .342 

Duelling,  prevalence  of,  342 
Duncannon,  Lady,  54 


Economy  of  George  III.'s  household,  101 

Edward,  Prince,  story  of,  272,  '273 

Edward,  Lord,  Prince  of  Wales's  rude- 
ness to.  151;  friendship  of,  for  Caroline, 
iXi ;  retirement  of,  844 

Elizalwth.  Princess,  352,  647 

Elliott.  Hugh,  77 

Elliston.  Robert  William,  the  actor,  at 
Windsor,  :i38;  anecdotes  of,  at  Wey- 
mouth. :i38.  :5J9 

Epigram,  t«ste  for,  666,  667 

Esterhaxy,  Prince,  821-S2;j 

Examiner,  The,  attack  of,  upon  the 
Regent,  551,  .5.52 


Pare,  204 

Fltcgerald,Lord  Edward,  383 


Fitzhorbert,  Mrs.,  first  meets  Prince  of 
Wales,  86;  strange  t)etrothal  of,  at 
Carlton  House,  S7  ;  leaves  England,  but 
wearied  out  bj-  Prince  of  Wales's  im- 
portunities, agees  to  return,  88 ;  Fox 
miplores  Prince  to  beware  of  enter- 
ing into  matrimony  with,  89,  90;  wit- 
nesses to  marriage  of,  92 ;  clergyman 
oftlciateii  at  marriage  of,  92 ;  early 
symptoms  of  unhappiness,  94;  denial 
by  I*  ox  of  Prince's  marriage  to.  106; 
hears  of  Fox's  denial  of  her  marriage, 
108;  secret  consultation  at  residence 
of,  248 ;  general  acceptation  of  fact  of 
i  marriage  of,  '249 ;  mortiflcatlon  of,  at 
Prince  of  Wales's  marriage  with  Caro- 
line, :*51 ;  exclusion  of,  from  Regency 
fete,  506;  at  Lady  Avlesbur\'s  ball, 615; 
death  of,  912 
Fitzpatrick,  R.,  letters  of  ,to  Lord  Os.sory, 

43 
Fitzroy,  Captain,  supposed  secret  mar- 
riage of,  to  the  Princess  Amelia,  474 
Foreign  loans  to  Prince  of  Wales,  .scan- 
dalous conduct  with  regard  to,  247  and 
'     note 
Fox.   Charles  James,   personal  appear- 
I      ance,  38 ;  George  III.  s  hatred  of,  39 ; 
letters  exhibiting  earlv  friendship  or 
i      Pi'ince  of  Wales  for,  40,  41 :  letters  of 
!      Lord  Loughborough  to.  46 ;  letters  of 
i      Prince  of  Wales  to,  47;  letters  of,  to 
!     Lord  Northiugton,  48  ;  election  of,  for 
I      Westminster,    .55 ;    warns    Prince    of 
!     Wales  about  Mrs.  Fitzherbert.  Wt,  «>; 
\     wife  of.  90  and  note;  miarrels  with 
Prince,  105*;  returns  to  England,  14;^; 
attempts  to  win  over   Thurlow.   146; 
t'lnaciated  appearance  of.  1.52  :  quarrels 
i      with  Pitt  over  Regency  question.  1.5:S ; 
j     makes  an  indiscreet  attack  upon  Pitt, 
I      161  ;  jealousies  among  his  party.   182 ; 
opinion  of  Prince  of  Wales's  military 
ardor.  .386;  letter  of.  ;S91;  opinion  of  rela- 
tions between  (ieorge  III.  and  Prince  of 
Wales,  404  ;  death  of,  443  ;  bust  of,  .5(t0 
i  Francis.  Sir.  Philip,  letter  of.  to  Prince 
i      of  Wales.  385,  ;*t6:  correspondence  of, 
i      with  Duchess  of  Devonshire,  386-388; 
i     complaint  of,  495 
Frederick,  Prince,  sent  to  Connecticut, 
31 ;  romantic  history  of,  274-'279 


Gaming  and  gaming  parties,  340 

Gaming,  ladies  famed  for.  ;ilO 

Gaming  Club,  ball  given  by  the,  .356 

Gell,  Sir  W..  tr29 

George  III.,  early  estrangement  of.  with 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  17  ;  wimple  tastes 
and  manners  of,  24 ;  violent  objection 
to  contemplated  allowance,  4."?;  refuses 
to  sanction  an  increase  of  I'rince  of 
Wales's  income,  97,  98 ;  rumors  of  ill- 
ness of,  13l»;  early  symptoms  of  malady 
of,  i:«>,  131 ;  health  of,  suddenly  Im 
proves,  136 ;  visit  to,  by  the  mlnistera 
at  Windsor,  147  ;  removal  of,  to  Kew, 
150  ;  state  of  health  of,  170 ;  custody  of 
person  of,  given  to  the  Queen,  176 ; 
entire  recovery  of.  1S7;  meeting  of, 
with  his  sons,  192;  receives  keys  of  his 
papers,  etc.,  from  his  favorite  son 
Frederick,  196  ;  extraordinary  letter  of. 
to  Prince  of  Wales,  2i:i-216;  lett«'r  of, 
to  Prince  of  Wales,  ;{22,  X£i;  endeavors 
to  reconcile  Prince  of  Wales  and  Caro- 


I\l)h\X. 


919 


line,  327 ;  illness  and  recovery,  •>l!),  :V^)  -. 
encumbrances,  ;i58  ;  letters  of,  to  Lord 
Eldon,  397-399  ;  intense  dislike  of,  for 
Prince  of  Wales,  401  ;  meeting  of,  with 
Prince  of  Wales,  401,  402 ;  letter  of,  to 
Princess  of  Wales,  402;  letter  of,  to  Lord 
Chancellor,  407,  408  ;  letter  of,  to  Lord 
Eldon,  408.  409  ;  death,  653 

George  IV.,  Prince  of  Wales,  nurses,  9, 
10;  birth,  9;  christening,  10;  inocula- 
tion, 11 ;  numerous  portraits  taken,  12 ; 
early  education  of,  13 ;  tutors  of,  14-16  ; 
early  symptoms  of  estrangement  of, 
from  his  rather,  17  ;  meeting  with  Dr. 
Johnson,  20;  removed  to  Kew,  22 ;  be- 
gins to  rebel,  23,  24;  celebration  of 
birthday  of,  25;  develops  a  taste  for 
clandestine  amusements,  26  ;  early  in- 
difference to  truth,  26  ;  drink,  27 ;  influ- 
ence of  Duke  of  Cumberland,  27  ;  in- 
trigue with  Mrs.  Robinson,  28, 29;  comes 
to  town  during  Gordon  riots,  30,  note  ; 
establishment  for,  31,  32 ;  appears  at 
Court,  3.3 ;  Mrs.  Robinson's  description 

.  of,  34 ;  extravagance,  35 ;  adventure  at 
Blackheath,  36;   contracts   friendship 
with  Duke  of  Chartres,  37;  early  friend- 
ship for  Fox,  41,  42;  majority  at  hand, 
42 ;  promises  of  the  Shelburne  party, 
42;    letters  to  Fox,  4.5-47;   settlement 
about  allowance,  49 ;  building  mania, 
51 ;   majority,  51 ;   attend.s  debates  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  52;  unpopu- 
larity,  Ki;    Thackeray's    estimate    of 
character  discussed,  58;   passion    for 
driving.  59  ;  strange  companions,  65-76 ; 
turkey -and-geese   wager.  76;   contem- 
plates  going   abroad,  78 ;   embarrass- 
ments, 79-85 ;  vehement  declaration  of 
not  marrying,  85 ;  meets  Mrs.  Fitzher- 
bert,  86 ;  strange  betrothal  to  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert,  87;  marries  Mrs.  Fitzherbert, 
91  ;  taste  for  the  turf,  94 ;  fondness  for 
mesmerism.  95 ;  attacked  by  illness,  96  ; 
appeals   for   relief   to  his  father,  97; 
breaks  up  his  establishment,  100 ;  bor- 
rows from  Duke  of  Orleans,  102 ;  public 
opinion  in  favor  of  the  Prince,   103; 
reconciliation  w^ith  Pitt,  112 ;  letters  to 
Fox,  109, 114;  debts,  115;  temporary  re- 
lief voted,  116:  reconciliation  with  the 
King,  116;  meets   Duke  of  York,  118; 
organizes   a   new   club.    121;    riotous 
gambling  of,  122   and  note;   letter  to 
Lord  Cornwallis,  123;  discountenances 
prize-fighting,  124 ;  rudeness,  124,  125 ; 
benevolence,  125,  126;   diplomacy,  135; 
affection  for  Thurlow,  144 ;  unfeeling 
conduct,    144;    quarrels    with    Queen 
about  Regency,  150,  151 ;  seals  up  his 
father's  papers,  167 :  denies  having  had  i 
interviews  with  Pitt,  168  ;  consequence  : 
of  marriage,  179  ;  reply  to  address  from  \ 
Ireland,  184-186 ;  letters  to  Queen,  188,  ' 
189,  197-199  ;  open  hostility  with  Queen,  I 
201,  202;   extraordinary  letter   to  the  \ 
King,  213-216;   letter  to   Lord   Lough-  i 
borough,  218 ;  letter  to  the  King,  220, 
221 ;  memorial  to  the  king,  221-2:31 ;  let-  ! 
ter  to  the  King,  232-2:«  ;  letter  to  Lord  I 
Cornwallis,  239-241 ;  serious  embarrass-  | 
ments,  241 ;  bond  with  John  Cator,  242  I 
and  note;   operations  to  relieve,  243,  j 
244 ;   seven  Frenchmen   executed   for  i 
lending   money   to    the    Prince,    245 ;  1 
musical  tastes,  2.52 ;  good  humor  and  j 


!  King  and  Queen.  257;  letters  to  Lord 
Cornwallis,  258-259 ;  horse-racing,  261 ; 
I  hunting  in  Hampshire,  262;  Newmar- 
ket, 'i&i ;  wins  the  Derby,  264  ;  number 
I  of  races  won  from  1788  to  1792,  264  ;  list 
!  of  successes  on  the  turf,  265,  note ;  tei*- 
I  minates  connection  with  Newmarket, 
j  270  ;  Lord  Malmesbury  taken  into  coun- 
I  cil,  280;  letter  to  Duchess  of  Devon- 
1  shire,  284,  285 ;  alienated  from  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert,  288  ;  letter  to  Lord  Malmes- 
bury, 295,  300, 301 ;  motives  for  hurrying 
marriage  with  Caroline,  296 ;  marries 
Caroline,  :304  ;  sympathy  with  Ireland, 
314  ;  memorial  to  Pitt,  314,  321 ;  birth  of 
a  daughter,  323  ;  letter  to  Caroline,  325 ; 
intercedes  for  Lord  Edward  Fitzger- 
ald, S3i;  letter  to  Lord  Kenyon,  340, 
341 ;  letter  to  his  father,  343,  344;  clam- 
ors for  military  command,  353,  .354,  360- 
378  ;  harangues  volunteers,  378  ;  over- 
tures to  Pitt,  380 ;  correspondence  with 
Queen,  396,  397;  improvement  of  rela- 
tions with  Fox,  400 ;  refu.ses  to  give  up 
custody  of  his  daughter,  405 ;  letter  to 
Lady  de  Clifford,  410,  411 ;  memoran- 
dum for  education  of  Princess  Char- 
lotte, 412,  413;  letter  about  Nelson's 
funeral,  419,  420 ;  meets  Nelson's  chap- 
lain, 420 ;  change  in  political  opinions, 
421 ;  tour  through  England,  442, 443 :  let- 
ter to  Mr.  Grey,  444-447  ;  letter  to  Lord 
Moria,  449-451 ;  change  in  political  opin- 
ions, 451, 452;  letters  to  Lady  de  Cliflford, 
4.56,  457 ;  meeting  of  creditors,  458,  459  ; 
Clarke  scandal,  466-468,  469;  letter  to 
Perceval,  478,  479:  difficulties  with 
the  minister*,  481-490;  consults  Mrs. 
Fitzherbert  and  Lady  Hertford,  493; 
letter  to  Perceval,  494 
George  IV.  Regent,  swearing  in,  499; 
rudeness,  .501 ;  preparation  of  speech. 


wit,  253 ;  made  a  Freemason,  254  ;  trav 


els   to   Yorkshire,  "256 ;   reconciled   to  ' 


501 ;  King's  jealousy,  501 ;  fluctuations 
of  policy,  514,  515,  523,  .524;  visits  Brigh- 
ton, 516, 517 ;  meets  Theodore  Hook,  518; 
extraordinary  do.ses  of  laudanum,  .585; 
celebrated  letter,  540,  541 ;  unpopu- 
larity, 549;  conversation  with  Lord 
Wellesley,  555,  556;  irresolution,  556; 
reconciled  to  Lord  Moii-a,  556;  recon- 
ciled to  Lord  Grey,  557 ;  schemes  for 
formation  of  ministry,  559-566;  letter 
to  Lord  Eldon,  575 ;  Wellington's  vic- 
tories, .577 ;  letter  to  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton, 585 ;  Bel  voir  Castle,  588  ;  festivities 
in  honor  of  foreign  sovereigns,  595-598 ; 
letter  to  Lord  Liverpool,  617 ;  extrava- 
gance, 617  and  note ;  serious  illness,  62:3 ; 
yachting,  626;  letters  to  Lord  Eldon, 
im,  635,  685 
George  IV.  King,  accession,  681 ;  letter  to 
the  Sovereigns,  682;  declaration,  682, 
683 ;  clearing  off  old  debts,  683 ;  troubles 
with  Caroline,  686, 690, 702-710,  723 ;  coro- 
nation. 726,  732;  coronation  banquet, 
733 ;  building  mania,  7;^-736  ;  dislike  for 
Canning,  737;  letters  to  Lord  Eldon, 
685,  743,  744,  773,  783 ;  letters  to  Knighton, 
746,  747,  824,  825,  829,  831,  852 ;  visits  Ire- 
land, 748,  751  and  note,  751,  752;  leaves 
Ireland,  752;  suffering  at  sea,  754,  755; 
visits  the  Continent,  76.3,  764 ;  religious 
feelings,  765,  803:  visits  Scotland,  76(5- 
770 ;  letters  to  Lord  Liverpool,  772,  773, 
776,  777,  780-782,  794,  797-804,  &30 ;  letters 
to  Duke  of  Wellington,  775,  779,  794,  796, 
808,  809,  827-829,  851.  852,  857-860,  864-868. 
870,  871,  874,  878-881, 894,  897,  901,  903 ,  for- 


920 


IM)EX. 


•  eign  ambassadors,  Sll,  Sl'2 ;  secret  mem- 
orandum, 812-818 ;  appeals  to  Welling- 
ton, 846 ;  letter  to  Canning,  847  ;  fear  of 
Knighton,  855;  social  life,  861,  862; 
Catholic  emancipation,  869,  872  ;  eccen- 
tricities in  old  age,  895  ;  letter  to  Lord 
Hill,  ittn  ;  letter  to  Duke  of  Northum- 
berland, 904;  wardrobe,  905;  last  ill- 
ness, \K)& ;  death,  908  and  note  ;  affection 
to  the  last  for  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  910 

Goderich,  Lord,  850,  851 

Gordon,  Lord  George,  110 

Gordon,  Duchess  of,  171 

Greece,  candidates  for  the  throne  of, 
'.102 

"  Green  Bag,"  The,  700 

Grenville,  William  Wvndham,  Lord,  405, 
448,  481,  484,  486,  539,  542-544 

Grey,  Charles,  Lord,  481,  484,  486,  539,  542- 
544 

Guards,  dissatisfaction  of  the,  705,  706 
and  note 

H 

Halford,  Sir  H.,  474.  491 

Hamilton.  Lady  Anne,  612 

Hanger,  Hon.  Greorge  (afterwards  Lord 
Coleraine),  geese-and-turkey  wager 
with  the  Prince  of  Wales,  76 

Harris,  Sir  J.,  conversations  of,  with 
Prince  of  Wales,  80-85 

Henry  IX.,  curious  prophecy  with  regard 
to,  628,  note 

Herries,  849,  850 

Hertford  famil}%  influence  of,  over 
George  IV.,  424,  518,  546 

Holland,  Dr.,  the  fashionable  physician, 
613,  614 

"  Holy  Alliance,"  the.  598 

Hook,  Theodore,  518,  666 

Hookham's  Libraiy,  Princes  send  their 
ball  tickets  for  .sale  to,  204 

Hunting  divines,  anecdotes  of,  262,  26;^ 

Hurd  and  Markham,  preceptors  to  the 
royal  children,  19 


1  Leach,  Sir  J.,  684 

Leeds,  Duke  of.  172.  m\  283 
I  Lenox,  Colonel,  letter  of,  207,  208;  chal- 
'      lenges  Duke  of  York,  ^i.iS 

Leopold.  Prince,  recollections  of,  620,  621 
;  Lieven,  Madame  de,  the  Bussian  ambas- 
I     sadress,  899 

!  Lindsay,  Lady  Charlotte,  714 
I  Litchfleld,  Bishop  of,  18,  21 
I  Liverpool,  Lord,  .5.52,  573,  617,  618,  833 

I Ministry,  inauguration  of,  567 

! Parliament,  opening  of,  572 

t  London-on-the-Sea.  126 

'  Londonderry,  Lord,  771  and  note,  886-889 

i  Loughborough,  Lord,  134,  139,  172, 190,  28.'i 

:m 

MacMahon,  Sir  John,  :^;  >.' 

MaJocchl,  715 

Malmesbury,  Lord,  notes  of,  on  his  jour- 
ney to  England  with  Caroline,  297-299 

Marble  Arch,  the,  736 

Marj",  Princess,  letters  of,  471,  472 

Mesmerism,  95 

"  Ministry  of  all  the  Talents  "  collapses. 
439 

Moira,  Lord,  neglect  of,  by  the  ministry, 
447  ;  interposes  in  Clarke  scandal  case, 
462 
1  "  Monk"  Lewis,  454 

I  Moore,  Thomas,  friendship  of  Prince  of 

I     Wales  for,  :?;*,  3:^7 :  diarv  of,  487,  note  ; 

song   of  "The    New   Costumes,"  .522; 

parody  of '•C'<lolirar(Hl  Letter,"  .544-546 

I  ^' 

Nash,  John,  the  .architect.  ,582 

New  way  to  pay  ohl  debts,  *« 

Nicknames,  prevalence  of,  663 
:  North,  Lord,  George  III.'s  abhorrence  of, 
I      44 

North  Ministry,  dismissal  of,  :J8 


India  Bill,  .52 

Ireland,  excitement  created  in.  at  the 
news  of  Greorge  IV. 's  visit,  745;  George 
IV.  arrives  in,  748 ;  first  public  speech 
of  Cieorge  IV.  in,  749 ;  deporture  of 
George  IV.  from,  752 

"  Ireland"  imposture,  the,  335 

Irish  ambassadors  in  London,  184-186 

"Irish  Avator,"  756 

Irish  Parliament  invite  Prince  of  Wales 
to  accept  Regency  of  Ireland,  183 


Jeffereys  the  jeweller,  312 

'•  Jeremv  Diddler,"  the  original,  74 

Jersey,  Lady.  287 

Jewellers,  Prince  of  Wales's  extraordi- 
nary transactions  with,  250,251,  312  and 
note 

John  Bull  newspaper  established,  dl 
and  note 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  20 


Kent,  Duke  of,  grievances,  64S ;  death  of, 

65S 
Knighton,  Doctor,  547,  789,  TOG  and  note 

L 
Lade,  Sir  John,  74 
Lauderdale,  Lord,  717,  note 


O 
O'Brien,  the  Irish  cripple.  770,  note 
O'Connell,  Daniel,  rudeness  of  George 

IV.  to,  894 
Oracle   newspaper,   secret   correspond- 
ence of  editor  of,  .523,  525,  note 
Orleans,  Duke  of.  arrives  In  London.  256 
Otto,  the  French  plenipotentiary,  355 
Oxford,  Bishop  of,  525 


;  Pavilion  at  Brighton,  the.  128,  129 
Payne,  "  Jack,"  l.>4,  443  and  note 
Peel,  Robert,  defeat  of,  at  Oxfonl.  877 
'  Pembroke,  I^dy,  romance  of  (ieorKe  III. 

about,  475,  476  and  >i<</.' 
;  Perceval,  Spt-ncer,  e>iiiii.tte  . 
sassination  of.  5."hi 
Physicians  to  George  III.,  expt  i..^, ,-  ..i, 
:      1!»5 

Pitt,  William,  objection  to  .scheme  for 
j     Prince  of  Wales's  allowance,  .50;   ar- 
rangement with  Prince  of  Wales.  114; 
i     breaks  down  In  the  House  after  a  de- 
bauch, 119  ;  fears  a  demonstration,  132; 
accjlsecl  of  designs  upon  the  Regency, 
1.55;  Introduces  resolutions  about  the 
Regency  into    the  House,  160;    resolu- 
tions carried,  162:  "restrictions,"  175  : 
retirement.  :i46  ;  contempt  for  Prince 
of  Wales,  :«90;  death,  426;  bust.  .TOO 
Princesses,  characters  of  the,  193,  194 


IMJEX. 


921 


Protest  of  male  members  of  the  Royal 
Family  against  restricted  Regeucy,  4(9, 

4K) 

Q 

Quadrille,  introduction  of,  into  England, 
671 

Queen,  The  (Charlotte,  wife  of  George 
III.),  quai-rel  with  Prince  of  Wales,  151 ; 
demand  addressed  to,  by  the  Princes, 
188,  189 ;  affection  for  George  III.,  Ml ; 
endeavors  to  prevent  reconciliation 
between  George  III.  and  his  sons,  191  ; 
insensibility  to  Duke  of  York's  danger, 
211,  212 ;  indictment  of,  219  ;  indictment 
resolved  to  be  withdrawn,  219,  220; 
hissed  and  hooted  in  public,  608  ;  death 
of,  650 ;  distribution  of  property,  652 

Queensberry,  William,  Duke  of,  "  Old  Q," 
70 ;  eccentricities,  70,  71 ;  will  disputed, 
72,  73 

R 

Regency,  introduction  of  Bill  into  the 
House,  178  ;  excitement  during  struggle 
about,  181 ;  adjourned  in  consequence 
of  improvement  in  Geoge  III.'s  health, 
18:^ ;  again  on  the  tapis,  347,  348 ;  fete, 
502-512;  ladies  of  the  period,  6()9-675; 
eccentric  chai-acters,  664-669  and  note 

Regent,  The— see  George  IV. 

Regent's  Park  and  district  contemplat- 
ed, 519,  520 

Robinson,  Mrs.,  Intrigue  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  with,  28,  '2i) ;  description  of 
Prince  of  Wales's  charms,  :34,  35 

Rolle's  certainty  of  Prince  of  Wales's 
marriage  with  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  106, 
107 

Romillv,  Sir  S.,  421, 423 

"  Royal  Brothers,"  the,  .536,  537,  587,  641 

Royal  Household,  25,  101,  352 

Royal  taste  for  opera  and  theatre,  3:37 

Rumors  of  war,  360 

Russian  Emperor  arrives  in  England,  594, 


Sandwich,  Lord  ("  Jemmy  Twitcher"), 
251,  252 

Seymour,  iliss  Mary,  case  of,  421-423 

Sheridan,  Richard  Brinsley,  "  says  some- 
thing" about  Mrs.  Fitzherbert,  113; 
indiscreetness,  156  ;  devotion  to  Prince 
of  Wales's  interests,  :559;  appointed 
Receiver  of  Duchy  of  Cornwall,  383; 
accused  of  lying  and  baseness,  482,  483 ; 
vindication,  484  ;  ridicule  of  the  forms 
of  the  address,  485;  hoax  played  on 
"  Romeo"  Coates,  510 ;  allowed  to  die 
of  poverty  and  neglect,  623,  624 

Spa,  676  and  note,  215 

St.  George's  Hall,  royal  fete  at,  2a3 

St.  James's  Palace,  scandal  at,  216 

St.  Paul's,  ceremony  at,  to  return  thanks 
for  George  III.'s  recovery,  204 

Stadtholder  of  Holland,  307 

Stael,  Madame  de,  672 

Sumners,  the,  7;38-:42, 889 

Surrey,  Lord  (afterwards  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk), gross  tastes  and  habits  of,  73 


I  T 

Taylor,  Michael  Angelo,  486,  487 
1  Thackeray's  estimate  of  George  IV.  dis- 
cussed, 58 
;  Thistlewood  conspiracy,  the,  691,  692 

Thurlow,  Edward,  Lord  Chancellor,  sus- 
■      picious  behavior,  133,  148  ;  Loughbor- 
ough's opinion  of,  149  ;  hypocrisy,  157 ; 
I      effect  of  his  treachery,  158  ;  at  Windsor, 
166  ;  tears  and  treachery,  177 
Ticknor,  George,  the  people  whom  he 
met,  614 
;  Tiger,  invention  of  the,  by  Hon.  Henry 
I      Barrymore,  69 

\  Times  Jiewspaper  prosecuted  for  libel, 
250 
"Tim-whiskeys,"  59 
:  *'  Triumph  of  the  whale,"  757 
Truth,  early  indifference  of  Prince  of 

Wales  to,  26,  27 
Turkey-and-geese  race,  76 
Tutors  of  the  Princes,  14-16 


Vaucher,  Charles,  scandalous  conduct 
with  regard  to  his  bonds,  245 ;  guillo- 
tined, 246 

Vers  de  Societe,  666,  667 

Victoria,  Queen,  birth  of,  653 

Vimercati,  685 

Volunteering,  enthusiasm  for,  342,  343 

W 

Waltz,  introduction  of  the.  671,  672 

Waterloo,  news  of  victory  at,  received 
at  Mr.  Boehm's  ball,  615,  616 

Watson,  Bishop  of  Llandaff,  176 

Wellesley,  Richard  Colley,  Lord,  480, 
522,  523,  525-529,  538,  554,  566,  567 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  845,  846,  898,  900,  901 

"  Weltjie's"  organized  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  121,  122 

Weymouth,  Lord,  double-dealing  of,  45 

Whltbread,  suicide  of,  625 

White's  Club,  ball  given  by,  at  the  Pan- 
theon, 204 

Wilberforce,  William,  703,  701  and  note 

William,  Prince  (afterwards  King  Wil- 
liam IV.),  273,  911 

Willis,  Dr.  John,  476 

Wine,  extraordinary  prices  paid  for,  517 


Yachting,  626,  767  and  note 

York,  Cardinal,  pensioned  by  George 
III.,  627  ;  papers  and  effects,  627 ;  papers 
seized  by  Papal  authorities,  628 

Duchess  of,  645 

Duke  of,  born,  12  ;  returns  to  Eng- 
land, 117 ;  establishment  formed  at 
Oatlands  Park,  118  ;  defends  his  broth- 
er, 169 ;  visits  his  father  at  Kew,  197 ; 
quarrel  with  Col.  Lenox,  206 ;  marries 
Princess  Royal  of  Prussia,  2?2 ;  expedi- 
tion to  the  Netherlands,  285 ;  Clark's 
scandal,  460-464  ;  character,  643,  644 


I 


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